THE PUBLIC’S RADIO

Democrats running for RI governor start turning up the heat

By Ian Donnis

With Rhode Island edging into what is expected to be the first heat wave of summer – and with just weeks until the September 13 primary election – the Democratic candidates for governor are turning on the jets.

The current fight for the state’s top job has so far featured few of the issue-oriented campaign events typical of years past. It’s not really clear if that’s due to COVID fatigue or other reasons. But now, with the mercury zipping past 90 and Rhode Islanders flocking to beaches, the candidates are cranking up their e orts.

Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, one of five major Democratic candidates, staged a news conference outside the Statehouse [in July] to call on Gov. Dan McKee to do more to extend abortion coverage for women on Medicaid or who have the state employee insurance plan.

Without specifying particular actions, Gorbea called for McKee to be more forceful on the issue.

“I’m calling on all of my colleagues that are running for governor to stand firmly and to put pressure on the governor to exercise leadership and make sure that women in Rhode Island are able to exercise their right to choose whether or not to have an abortion and not be limited by financial reasons,” Gorbea said in an interview.

A recent Boston Globe poll suggested a tight race in the Democratic primary for governor between McKee, Gorbea, and former CVS Health executive Helena Buonanno Foulkes. Buonanno Foulkes called on McKee in May to do more to expand abortion coverage.

She also went on the air immediately after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade to propose a regional coalition of states in strong support of abortion rights, McKee’s campaign called Gorbea’s criticism an attempt to grab headlines. An executive order signed by McKee earlier this month would shield women who seek reproductive health services here from legal liability in other states.

But the coverage gap cited by Buonanno, Foulkes, and Gorbea has persisted despite

Gorbea, McKee and Buonanno Foulkes

the introduction of bills meant to close it for the last three years – and that’s a sore point for many supporters of abortion rights. Legislative leaders have signaled the issue may get more attention when the next General Assembly session starts in January. (Rhode Island adopted a law in 2019 to ensure abortion rights.)

McKee became governor last year when his predecessor, Gina Raimondo, landed the job as US Commerce secretary.

In another sign of a new stage in the race, McKee’s campaign unveiled its first TV commercial. McKee’s 90-something mother, Willa, wearing oversized sunglasses, gets a co-starring role while helping to burnish his record on issues like the accelerated phase out of the car tax (a move led by the legislature), new investment in a ordable housing and the passage of laws imposing new restrictions on guns.

“Not bad for a year and a half,” McKee quipped.

To which Willa retorted, “Not bad for a governor that lives with his mother!”

Gorbea and Buonanno Foulkes have already been advertising for weeks. Gorbea touts her record in the secretary of state’s o ce, while Buonanno Foulkes points to her management experience with a corporation, CVS Health, with a much bigger budget and many more employees than the state of Rhode Island.

Two other Democrats, Matt Brown and Luis Daniel Munoz, are among the other candidates running for governor, and they’ve registered in the single digits in polls. There is also an Independent candidate, Zachary Hurwitz, who qualified for the ballot, according to the secretary of state’s o ce. The winner of the Democratic primary is expected to square o against Republican businesswoman Ashley Kalus in the November general election.

Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org

This article was originally posted on July 19, 2022

OCEAN FRONT DINING

OPEN DAILY THROUGH OCTOBER