Foulkes defeats Rhode Island's Gov. McKee. He's the first governor in 8 years to lose a primary. KIMBERLEE KRUESI Updated Tue, September 8, 2026 at 9:00 PM PDT Election 2026 Rhode Island. Candidate for Rhode Island governor Helena Buonanno Foulkes speaks during a Get Out the Vote event, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in Providence. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell) (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell) PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Helena Foulkes has defeated Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee in the state's Democratic primary Wednesday, making him the first governor in any U.S. state to lose a party primary since 2018. McKee's defeat ends his bid for a second full term and marks the first time in more than 30 years that a sitting Rhode Island governor has been beaten in a primary. Foulkes, a former senior executive at CVS and the retailer Hudson's Bay, wasn't the only challenger to oust an incumbent Wednesday. The mayor of Providence lost to David Morales, a young democratic socialist endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. For Foulkes, the win was a redemptive rebound from 2022, when she narrowly lost to McKee in a more crowded primary field - on a night when the governor notably refused to take her concession call. In their rematch, McKee was dogged by questions about his administration's work to replace a critical bridge in the state capital that was abruptly closed due to safety problems in 2023. Foulkes leveraged public exasperation over the cost and pace of the bridge project for her argument that McKee's administration isn't working for most Rhode Islanders. "Tonight, we may have won the Democratic primary for governor, but let me be clear about what happens next: You will have a governor for everyone," Foulkes told a large crowd in Providence during her victory speech Wednesday. "Because there is so much work that needs to be done, and we need to do this together." McKee attempted to characterize Foulkes as an out-of-touch elite who turned a blind eye to the opioid crisis during her tenure at CVS, arguing that he had a stronger record. However, in his concession speech in Providence, McKee promised to work with Foulkes to ensure a "smooth transition." "This is something that I think is difficult to deal with, but we just got to hold our heads high," McKee said, adding that he has his head "very high because I know the work we've done together is really special." Incumbent governors rarely lose party primaries. The last time it happened in Rhode Island was in 1994, when Democrat Bruce Sundlun lost to state Sen. Myrth York, ending his bid for a third term. In that race, Sundlun was facing multiple controversies and voter fatigue while York ran on reform. In a separate election shakeup, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley lost his reelection bid to Morales, 27, in the Democratic primary. Smiley, 47, has held the seat since 2022. Aside from Sanders, Morales also had the backing of U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna and several high-profile labor unions. McKee has been governor since 2021. In 2023, McKee closed the Washington Bridge, a vital link that carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River and connects Providence to its eastern suburbs, the south coast of Massachusetts. During the summer, it also carries traffic bound for Cape Cod. State transportation officials had flagged a "critical failure" in an older part of the bridge, but demolishing and replacing it has taken longer than the governor initially estimated. Traffic continues to flow but has been squeezed into fewer lanes on a newer part of the span, leading to lengthy commute times. McKee maintains that his decisions kept people safe and that the bridge construction will be finished by 2028. He often points to Maryland, saying the Washington Bridge will be complete ahead of the replacement of Baltimore's much larger Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed and killed six construction workers in 2024 after a container ship crashed into it. Foulkes' grandfather and uncle, Thomas and Chris Dodd, were both Democratic U.S. senators in Connecticut. She worked at CVS for 25 years, eventually becoming president of the company's pharmacy division between 2014 and 2018. She then became chief executive officer of the Canadian retail giant Hudson's Bay before leaving in 2020. When pressed on her time at CVS, Foulkes argued that CVS reduced its opioid dispensing by 40% when she was president of CVS' pharmacy division. In 2022, after Foulkes had left CVS, the company agreed to pay $5 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the toll of opioids without admitting wrongdoing. The last governor to lose in a primary was former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, who narrowly lost the Republican nomination to Kris Kobach in 2018. In the Republican gubernatorial primary, Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino are vying for the nomination. Guckian is a state trade association executive and was the nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022. Pelino is a former actor and first-time candidate. The state party has endorsed Guckian.

New illustrated book tells the colourful stories of Winnipeg buildings. Peter Caulfield April 6, 2026 Winnipeg Stories Our Buildings Tell is a new book that uses words and drawings to describe the city's history as one comprised of its vast array of buildings. Published by Heritage Winnipeg, the book is full of original artwork by Winnipeg artist Robert Sweeney and contains 120 stories written by Sweeney and Heritage Winnipeg (HW) president Greg Agnew. HW calls the book "a celebration of the heritage buildings, vibrant communities and diverse cultures that have shaped our city." The 120-page book will be of interest to Winnipeggers and anyone who is familiar with the city as well as those who know there is more to River City than Portage and Main at 40-below. What makes Winnipeg - and its architecture - unique is that it is an eastern Canadian city in a western Canadian province. The illustrated stories are in rough chronological order, starting with the 19th century Red River Settlement and ending with the rebuilt Disraeli Bridge. In between there are plenty of interesting stories and handsome illustrations. For example, the Woodbine Hotel (page 11), named after the Woodbine racetrack in Toronto, was built on Main Street in 1878. Although it is no longer operating, the building still stands. It is a municipally-designated historic site and, in 2019, the owners received a Preservation Award from Heritage Winnipeg. The Medical College (page 22) opened on McDermott Avenue in 1883 as the first of its kind in Western Canada. The first female graduate was Hattie Foxton, who graduated in 1892 with a Doctor of Medicine degree and a master of surgery. The building housing the college is long gone and the site is now part of the campus of the University of Manitoba's Max Rady College of Medicine at the Health Science Centre. In 1901, the Evangelical Association commissioned the design of a church on Alexander Avenue, near the Canadian Pacific Railway passenger station, an area of new immigrants to the city. Over the years, the church has been home to a variety of different congregations. Today it houses the Hui Thanh Tin Lahn Viet Nam Vietnamese Mennonite Church (page 39). The book also contains illustrations of some architecturally notable fire halls (pages 51-53) that have gone on to other uses, such as Talbot Fire Hall #8 in Elmwood (now a church), Dorchester Fire Hall #12 in Crescentwood (condominiums) and Lipton Fire Hall #14 in Wolseley (a private residence). The James Avenue Pumping Station (page 54) was built in 1906 to feed the city's new pump house near the city centre so that high-pressure water would be available to the city's fire-fighters. The book is a follow-up to Winnipeg 150 Stories Our Buildings Tell, which was published in 2024, the 150th anniversary of the city's incorporation. In the words of Mayor Scott Gillingham, who wrote the foreword, "This book takes us on a journey through time, from 1874 to 2024, chronicling the evolution of Winnipeg through its unique architectural treasures...As you turn the pages, you will be transported through the decades, from the great real estate rush of the late 1800s, to the boom of the early 1900s, large city building projects of the 1960s and 1980s to today." The Hudson's Bay Company (page 16) relocated its store at Main Street and York Avenue to compete with the T. Eaton Company's store on Portage Avenue, which had shifted the city's retail centre. The new HBC store on Portage Avenue opened in 1926. Today the six-storey building is being redeveloped as an Indigenous residential, commercial mixed-use project. Riel House (page 20) is where Metis leader Louis Riel was born in 1844. The building still stands as a National Historic Site and has been restored to its 19th century condition. The Canadian Pacific Railway station (page 23) was built in 1906 and 1915. It was attached by tunnel to the luxurious Royal Alexandra Hotel. The station was closed in 1978 and is now the Aboriginal Centre of Winnipeg. The Carnegie Library (page 52) was built on William Avenue in 1904-5, and was made possible by a grant from American industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was Winnipeg's first purpose-built library. When the downtown Centennial Library was opened in 1977, the Carnegie Library was taken over by the City of Winnipeg archives. The University of Manitoba's Administration Building (page 27) on the Fort Garry campus was built in 1913. The university was established in 1877 and was western Canada's first institute of higher learning. To find out more about the book click here.