Months of attack ads by Gov. Dan McKee and counter-attacks by Democratic challenger Helena Foulkes have not fundamentally altered Foulkes’ double-digit lead over McKee, according to a new poll released Tuesday by the Pell Center at Salve Regina University.
The survey of 857 likely primary voters, who were surveyed between Aug. 3-11, found that 48% support Foulkes and 28% support McKee.
While the poll showed that 22% of primary voters remain undecided, even with early primary voting set to begin this week, it also cited strong support for Foulkes with voters under 50 (58%), college-educated voters (54%) and those in the Bristol/Newport area (58%).
The findings continue a trendline in which Foulkes has maintained a wide lead over McKee.
The two Democrats will square off during an 8 p.m. Tuesday debate on WPRI-TV and will appear for separate interviews next week on One On One on Ocean State Media.
Voting in the primary ends in just over three weeks on Sept. 9.
McKee, who first became governor in 2021 and who narrowly defeated Foulkes in a 2022 primary, has tried to shake up the race with aggressive debate tactics, as well as campaign ads faulting her oversight of opioid sales while a top executive at CVS, and for corporate contributions to Republicans.
Foulkes has responded by indicting McKee’s leadership of the state, pointing to his handling of the Washington Bridge after it was closed on an emergency basis, not making more progress on Rhode Island’s housing crisis and other issues.
Among GOP voters for governor, Elaine Pelino, a self-described MAGA candidate who has run her campaign largely on Facebook and with little in the way of campaign funds, leads the RI GOP’s endorsed candidate, Aaron Guckian, 37% to 17%, with 44% of Republican voters undecided.
In the four-way Democratic primary for attorney general, the poll shows 46% percent of respondents remain undecided. Kim Ahern attracted 23% of the support, compared with 13% for Keith Hoffmann, 10% for Joseph Solomon Jr. and 5% for Jason Knight.
Meanwhile, with 48% undecided, the poll depicts a close race for Lieutenant Governor between Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos (18%) and former Newport Mayor Xaykham “Xay” Khamsyvoravong (16%), followed by Providence City Councilor Sue AnderBois (8%) and former state Sen. Cindy Coyne (2%).
In other races:
- U.S. Sen. Jack Reed has 61% of the support in his Democratic primary with Connor Burbridge (12%) and Luis Daniel Muñoz (4%).
- In a Republican primary in the Second District, Stephen Skoly, who has the backing of the RI GOP, leads Victor Mellor, a MAGA supporter, 29% to 22%, with 48% undecided at the time of the survey.
The poll has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.
It was directed by Katie Sonder, associate director of Salve Regina’s Pell Center, conducted by Embold Research.
