2026 Rhode Island gubernatorial election

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2026 Rhode Island gubernatorial election
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Party Democratic Republican
Incumbent Governor

Dan McKee
Democratic



The 2026 Rhode Island gubernatorial election will be held on November 3, 2026. It will elect the governor of Rhode Island for a four-year term. Incumbent Democratic Governor Dan McKee, who became governor in 2021 upon the resignation of Gina Raimondo and was then elected to a full term in 2022, is running for re-election to a second full term in office.

Contents

While Rhode Island is a safely blue state, the Democratic primary and potentially the general election are predicted to be competitive due to McKee's low approval ratings and comparatively poor fundraising. [1] [2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Publicly expressed interest

Declined

Endorsements

Dan McKee
Statewide officials

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Helena
Foulkes		Dan
Mckee		OtherUndecided
University of New Hampshire [9] September 17–23, 2025275 (LV)± 5.9%35%19%6% [b] 40%
Hypothetical polling
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Helena
Foulkes		Dan
Mckee		Peter
Neronha		Joe
Shekarchi		OtherUndecided
URI/YouGov [10] August 1–18, 2025500 (A)± 6.0%14%19%15%7%4%41%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

  • Elaine Pelino, actress [11]

Publicly expressed interest

  • Aaron Guckian, former chair of the Warwick Sewer Authority and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022 [11]

Potential

Declined

Independents

Candidates

Declined

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [16] Solid DSeptember 11, 2025
Inside Elections [17] Solid DAugust 28, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [18] Likely DSeptember 4, 2025
Race to the WH [19] Likely DSeptember 16, 2025

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ↑ "Someone else" with 6%

References

  1. 1 2 3 Anderson, Patrick. "How Shekarchi's shadow looms large in the 2026 RI governor's race". The Providence Journal. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Kathy Hochul's Approval Rating Suggests an Uphill Climb to Re-Election". Morning Consult Pro. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Anderson, Patrick (September 9, 2025). "Helena Foulkes launches second bid for governor. What we know". The Providence Journal . Archived from the original on September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  4. ↑ Fortier, Marc (March 3, 2025). "RI Gov. Dan McKee announces reelection campaign". NBC10 Boston . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ McGowan, Dan (June 25, 2025). "It's decision time for Speaker Shekarchi in the Rhode Island governor's race". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  6. ↑ Nagle, Kate (April 21, 2025). "Here's the RI Business Owner Eyeing a Run for Governor in 2026". GoLocalProv. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  7. ↑ Donnis, Ian (March 7, 2025). "State Sen. Alana DiMario on Trump and what's next in the Rhode Island Senate". The Public's Radio . Retrieved March 7, 2025. I'll break it to you right here. I am not running for governor in 2026. You can take me right off that list.
  8. ↑ Lavin, Nancy (October 3, 2025). "Rhode Island AG Neronha will not run for governor". Rhode Island Current . Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  9. ↑ McKinley, Sean P.; Smith, Andrew E.; Azem, Zachary S.; Keirns, Tracy (September 29, 2025). "Approval of McKee Remains Low in RI, Few Likely Democratic Primary Voters Back Him Against Foulkes". University of New Hampshire . Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  10. ↑ Gregg, Katherine (September 15, 2025). "McKee leads – just barely – in hypothetical four-way primary race, according to new URI poll". Providence Journal. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  11. 1 2 Fitzpatrick, Edward (September 16, 2025). "Who will the Republican candidate for R.I. governor be in 2026?". The Boston Globe . Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  12. ↑ Crowley, Leah (July 15, 2025). "Community Focus: RI Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz". WPRI-TV .
  13. ↑ Nir, David; Singer, Jeff (July 17, 2025). "Morning Digest: Gavin Newsom wants to fight fire with fire". The Downballot. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  14. ↑ Nesi, Ted (July 19, 2025). "Nesi's Notes: July 19". WPRI-TV . Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  15. ↑ Donnis, Ian (June 3, 2025). "Six big questions about Rhode Island's 2026 race for governor". The Public's Radio . Retrieved June 5, 2025. Via campaign spokesman Jon Romano, Foulkes is ruling out running as an independent
  16. ↑ "2026 CPR Governor Race ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections . Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  18. ↑ "2026 Governor". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Governor Forecast - 2026-2026". Race to the WH. Retrieved June 30, 2025.

Official campaign websites

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