PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Helena Foulkes has defeated Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee in the state’s Democratic primary, making him the first governor in any U.S. state to lose a party primary since 2018.
McKee’s defeat ends his bid for a second full term and marks the first time in more than 30 years that a sitting Rhode Island governor has been beaten in a primary.
Foulkes, a former senior executive at CVS and the retailer Hudson’s Bay, narrowly lost to McKee in a more crowded primary field in 2022, when the governor notably refused to take her concession call.
In their rematch, McKee was dogged by questions about his administration’s work to replace a critical bridge in the state capital that was abruptly closed due to safety problems in 2023.
Foulkes leveraged public exasperation over the cost and pace of the bridge project for her argument that McKee's administration isn’t working for most Rhode Islanders.
“Tonight, we may have won the Democratic primary for governor, but let me be clear about what happens next: You will have a governor for everyone,” Foulkes told a large crowd in Providence during her victory speech Wednesday. “Because there is so much work that needs to be done, and we need to do this together.”
McKee attempted to characterize Foulkes as an out-of-touch elite who turned a blind eye to the opioid crisis during her tenure at CVS, arguing that he had a stronger record.
However, in his concession speech in Providence, McKee promised to work with Foulkes to ensure a “smooth transition.”
“This is something that I think is difficult to deal with, but we just got to hold our heads high,” McKee said, adding that he has his head “very high because I know the work we've done together is really special.”
Incumbent governors rarely lose party primaries. The last time it happened in Rhode Island was in 1994, when Democrat Bruce Sundlun lost to state Sen. Myrth York, ending his bid for a third term. In that race, Sundlun was facing multiple controversies and voter fatigue while York ran on reform.
McKee's loss wasn't the only major election shakeup on Wednesday. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley lost his reelection bid to Democratic socialist David Morales, 27, in the Democratic primary. Smiley, 47, has held the seat since 2022. Morales had the backing of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna and several high-profile labor unions.
McKee has been governor since 2021, when he stepped into the position after then-Gov. Gina Raimondo was tapped as U.S. commerce secretary.
In 2023, McKee closed the Washington Bridge, a vital link that carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River and connects Providence to its eastern suburbs, the south coast of Massachusetts. During the summer, it also carries traffic bound for Cape Cod.
State transportation officials had flagged a “critical failure” in an older part of the bridge, but demolishing and replacing it has taken longer than the governor initially estimated. Traffic continues to flow but has been squeezed into fewer lanes on a newer part of the span, leading to lengthy commute times.
McKee maintains that his decisions kept people safe and that the bridge construction will be finished by 2028. He often points to Maryland, saying the Washington Bridge will be complete ahead of the replacement of Baltimore's much larger Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed and killed six construction workers in 2024 after a container ship crashed into it.
Foulkes' grandfather and uncle, Thomas and Chris Dodd, were both Democratic U.S. senators in Connecticut. She worked at CVS for 25 years, eventually becoming president of the company’s pharmacy division between 2014 and 2018. She then became chief executive officer of the Canadian retail giant Hudson’s Bay before leaving in 2020.
When pressed on her time at CVS, Foulkes argued that CVS reduced its opioid dispensing by 40% when she was president of CVS’ pharmacy division. In 2022, after Foulkes had left CVS, the company agreed to pay $5 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the toll of opioids without admitting wrongdoing.
The last governor to lose in a primary was former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, who narrowly lost the Republican nomination to Kris Kobach in 2018.
In the Republican gubernatorial primary, Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino are vying for the nomination. Guckian is a state trade association executive and was the nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022. Pelino is a former actor and first-time candidate. The state party has endorsed Guckian.
FILE - Candidate for Rhode Island governor Helena Buonanno Foulkes speaks during a Get Out the Vote event, Aug. 30, 2026, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell, File)
FILE - Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee gives an acceptance speech in front of supporters at a primary election night watch party in Providence, R.I., Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
Candidate for Rhode Island governor Helena Buonanno Foulkes speaks during a Get Out the Vote event, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in Providence. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s “The Pitt” versus “Pluribus” and “Hacks” against “Widow’s Bay” at the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday night.
The stars of all four shows — Noah Wyle in “The Pitt,” Rhea Seehorn in “Pluribus,” Jean Smart in “Hacks” and Matthew Rhys in “Widow’s Bay” — look to be runaway favorites for the top acting awards. And prognosticators are nearly all picking “The Pitt” to win its second straight best drama prize.
But the television competition should otherwise be tight at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The ceremony will air live on NBC starting at 8 p.m. Eastern with one of the network’s signature stars, three-time Emmy winner Mariska Hargitay, hosting. Peacock will stream the show live. The network is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and will have a “peacock blue” carpet in place of the usual red.
Presenters announced Wednesday include Zendaya, Sally Field, Amy Poehler, Jon Hamm, Macaulay Culkin, Alan Cumming, Keke Palmer, Florence Pugh, Marcello Hernández, Odessa A'zion, Dan Levy, Niecy Nash-Betts and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz.
HBO Max’s day-in-the-life-of-an-emergency-room drama “The Pitt” has already become a cultural institution in two seasons, and after big wins as an upstart rookie, it was this year’s top overall nominee with 25. “Hacks,” which follows the travails of a stand-up comic fighting back against age prejudice, sexism and obscurity in the entertainment industry, led all comedies with a record-breaking 24 nominations for its fifth and final season.
Here’s a closer look at where things stand and how they might play out.
While the biggest stars are still awaiting the opening of the envelopes, the majority of this year’s Emmys were already handed out at early ceremonies Saturday and Sunday.
“Widow’s Bay,” the first-year Apple TV horror comedy with Rhys as the mayor of a small New England town dealing with a centuries-old curse, won a whopping eight Emmys including best guest actress for Betty Gilpin.
The show had been widely acclaimed for its sly shifting between humor and dread, and it got 19 nominations, but few expected such a trophy haul. It can win up to six more on Monday.
“Hacks” managed just one win.
“The Pitt” won four early Emmys including an emotional first career victory for 73-year-old Ernest Harden Jr. as best guest actor in a drama.
“Pluribus,” another Apple TV Emmy rookie, from “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan, also won four.
The soon-to-be-host Hargitay won two Emmys for the documentary she directed about her mother, Jayne Mansfield, to go with one she already had for her long-running role on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
The early Emmys weekend will be edited down to a single recorded show that airs on FXX on Saturday at 8 p.m. in all time zones.
The doctors, nurses and patients of “The Pitt” were flooded with Emmy nominations for Season 2. Many will be competing against one another. There’s so much category overlap that despite having 12 nominations for Monday night’s awards, it can win only six.
Wyle alone can win three Emmys including directing, best drama as a producer and best actor — an award he won last year in his role as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch.
The other best drama nominees are “Paradise,” “Slow Horses,” “The Diplomat,” “The Gilded Age,” “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” “Your Friends & Neighbors,” and “Pluribus.”
Rarely has a single actor carried a show as much as Rhea Seehorn does “Pluribus,” where she plays one misanthropic woman taking on an alien hive mind that has enveloped almost everyone else alive. Voters are likely to reward the former “Better Call Saul” star with her first Emmy after four nominations.
Seehorn’s fellow nominees include Zendaya, who has won the category twice before for “Euphoria.”
Katherine LaNasa won best supporting actress last year for her “Pitt” portrayal of Nurse Dana, and the character had an even bigger second season, guiding patients through harrowing dramatic moments and becoming a viral phenomenon for the way she says “Baby Jane Doe” — an abandoned child in the ER who plays a key role in the season.
This year she’ll have three castmates — Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif and Sepideh Moafi — as competition.
“It feels really exciting to have more of my colleagues up on the board,” LaNasa told The Associated Press after the nominations were announced.
Three “Pitt” men — Patrick Ball, Shawn Hatosy and Gerran Howell — are up for supporting actor.
The Emmys loves to give golden send-offs to outgoing shows, and it will be stunning if Jean Smart doesn’t win best actress in a comedy for playing stand-up comic Deborah Vance, as she did for all four previous seasons.
But Emmy voters’ clear affection for “Widow’s Bay” could keep “Hacks” from winning much more. The two shows will be competing for best comedy along with “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear,” “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Shrinking.”
Hannah Einbinder, who had a breakthrough win last year as best supporting actress in a comedy after four nominations for “Hacks,” will be up against Kate O’Flynn, who wowed with a breakout performance in the debut season of “Widow’s Bay.”
Both shows also have nominees for best supporting actor in a comedy, but they could easily be upstaged by Harrison Ford, who many think will finally win his first major Hollywood award for his performance on Apple TV’s “Shrinking.”
Apple TV has become the dominant force in Emmy comedy. This year’s nominees will benefit from the temporary absence of Apple’s “The Studio,” which had an all-time dominant Emmy performance last year, and of the streamer’s “Ted Lasso,” which put it on the Emmy map.
The limited series categories will have a diminished role at the main Emmys show after four of them were demoted to the early Emmys weekend.
HBO Max’s “DTF St. Louis” was the big winner of those awards, taking best supporting actor and actress for David Harbour and Linda Cardellini.
“Beef” brings star power to the lead acting categories, with Carey Mulligan the consensus favorite for best actress in a limited series and Oscar Isaac favored for best actor.
And after another year of antagonizing President Donald Trump, the late night shows of Jimmy Kimmel and the now-canceled Stephen Colbert are both up for outstanding variety series.
This story has been corrected to reflect that Noah Wyle is personally nominated for three Emmys, not four, and that three men from “The Pitt,” not two, are nominated for best supporting actor.
This combination of images shows, top row from left, Macaulay Culkin, Alan Cumming, Jon Hamm, Marcello Hernández, and Dan Levy, bottom row from left, Niecy Nash-Betts, Keke Palmer, Amy Poehler, Florence Pugh, and Zendaya. (AP Photo)
Noah Wyle poses in the press room during night two of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
