Rhode Island Democrats Withhold Governor Endorsement as McKee Falls 2 Votes Short
Updated
Updated · The Boston Globe · Jun 20
Rhode Island Democrats Withhold Governor Endorsement as McKee Falls 2 Votes Short
3 articles · Updated · The Boston Globe · Jun 20
Summary
82 votes for Governor Daniel McKee left him two short of the 84 needed for a Rhode Island Democratic State Committee endorsement, while challenger Helena Buonanno Foulkes drew 73 and 11 members chose no endorsement.
The same 50% plus one threshold also blocked endorsements in two other statewide primaries: Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos won 55 votes to Xay Khamsyvoravong’s 71, and no attorney general candidate reached the 80 votes required.
McKee cast the result as a campaign win because he led the governor tally, but the non-endorsement deepened a rough stretch that has included weaker polling, fundraising pressure and his hometown Cumberland committee backing Foulkes.
One notable defection came from former McKee adviser Eva-Marie Mancuso, who backed Foulkes and cited McKee’s signing of a 3-year moratorium on new charter schools as evidence he had lost focus.
Party officials said they could not recall the last time the state committee declined to endorse an incumbent Democratic governor, even as it unanimously backed Jack Reed, Seth Magaziner, Gabe Amo, Gregg Amore and James Diossa by voice vote.