The three top candidates vying to be the next governor of Rhode Island skirmished on a range of issues during a televised debate Tuesday.
The hour-long debate on WPRI-TV, staged at Rhode Island College with questions posed by reporters Tim White and Ted Nesi, reflected the state of the race.
Republican Aaron Guckian, who is lagging in polls, called independent candidate Ken Block a spoiler, and he criticized Democratic frontrunner Helena Foulkes for her oversight of opioids while at CVS.
Guckian also vowed to cut the $15 billion state budget by 10% within a year of taking office.
“You work directly with the frontline and union workers,” Guckian said. “When they find savings, they get a revenue share to incentivize them. The rest lowers taxes and fees.”
But Block, who has parsed state budgets for years, called Guckian’s plan unrealistic. And he said that Foulkes is not the change agent that the state needs.
“She’s a new face in front of the same political machine, the same political machine that’s been behind decades of governors in our state,” Block said. “She claims to be a political outsider, but what political outsider takes half a million dollars from one of the strongest labor unions in the state?”
As she has before, Foulkes defended her record on opioids as head of CVS’ retail pharmacy arm. She called her vow to create 20,000 new housing units more specific than what Block and Guckian offer. And Foulkes vowed to tackle the affordability crisis while shoring up healthcare against Republican cutbacks.
“Rhode Islanders deserve a strong governor who will work every day for working families, not a Republican who’s going to be cutting the millionaires’ tax,” she said. “Instead I’ll use that tax to build housing that the middle class can afford.”
Guckian said he opposes raising the state’s $17 minimum wage to $20 by 2030, while Foulkes said she supports doing so, and Block offered a qualified yes.
Block and Foulkes said they would sign a bill allowing Rhode Islanders facing a fatal illness to take part in assisted suicide, while Guckian said he needed to do more research.
On healthcare, Foulkes said her big idea is to put in place navigators who can assist Rhode Islanders facing the loss of Medicaid. Guckian touted an idea to get medical students to stay in Rhode Island by assisting them with loans. Block spoke of creating a regional marketplace for healthcare and requiring a “one stay, one bill” policy for hospitals.
Block said he will not disclose his income tax returns since they contain proprietary information that could harm his business. Foulkes has made her returns available on request by reporters – a sign of transparency, she said – and Guckian said he would be willing to do so.
Flock automated license plate cameras was another issue discussed by the candidates.
Block said he thinks Flock-style cameras should be closely regulated.
Guckian called for regulating the cameras with input from police.
Foulkes praised Gov. Dan McKee for unveiling a model policy with new guidelines, including deleting license plate data after 30 days, unless it is part of an investigation.
“I live in Providence, right near the Brown shooting in December,” she said. “Flock cameras played a role in that, in finding that shooter. And so I think they’re very important, but we need real protections.”
The candidates now have less than two weeks to make their final case before the 2026 election ends on Nov. 3.
