Foulkes Will Make 5 Major Democrats Running for Governor in Rhode Island

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

GoLocalProv Political Team

 

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Helena Foulkes, former CVS Executive

In early August, GoLocal reported that Helena Foulkes — the former CVS executive and CEO of Hudson's Bay Company — was considering a run for governor of Rhode Island.

Now, Foulkes is on the verge of announcing.

The entrance of Foulkes makes for a crowded field that already includes four candidates for the Democratic nomination who have won statewide office.

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Governor Dan McKee won two statewide elections as for Lt. Governor, term-limited Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea won twice,  also term-limited Seth Magaziner won twice as General Treasurer, and Matt Brown was elected Secretary of State.

Foulkes has never run for or held elected office. She has spent her entire career in corporate business leadership.

She and her husband Bill have four children -- they have homes on Providence's East Side and in Narragansett.

 

The Shadow of Gina Raimondo

One of America’s top political scientists says Foulkes has some significant strengths and at least one challenge -- the shadow of former Rhode Island Governor and now U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

“The best way to build name recognition is with money and so you know she's in a position where if she's interested in running for governor and she's interested in quickly sort of rising to the top of that potential candidate or candidate list, she has the resources to make that happen," said Jennifer Lawless, who chairs the political science department of the University of Virginia on GoLocal LIVE in August.

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U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Helena Foulkes PHOTOS: GoLocal and Pablo Corradi CC 2.0

"The challenges are a couple. The first is that she does look like Gina Raimondo 2.0 in terms of her background. This is not to say that they're actually comparable but you've got a business background, you're running as a Democrat, you're wealthy, you've been highly successful -- the other issue is that she doesn't have much in the way of a political record," said Lawless.

Raimondo attended Yale and Harvard and then had a career as a venture capitalist, while Foulkes attended Harvard for both her undergraduate degree and for business school, and then had a career in the corporate world at CVS and then as CEO of the Canadian corporation Hudson's Bay Company.

Regarding Foulkes' family's political legacy -- her grandfather and uncle were U.S. Senators and her mother's college roommate was now U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Lawless said, "It's one thing to have a political family; it's another thing to demonstrate that you have some sort of political credentials yourself. Of course, Rhode Island has done well having business people as governors who don't have previous political experience.

 

Formidable Self-Funding Capacity

Foulkes has massive personal assets and significantly more personal wealth than Raimondo. In one year as CEO of Hudson's Bay Company, Foulkes earned more than $29 million.

"So given her own resources, given her name recognition, given her ability to build name recognition and given the circles with which she clearly would be able to access political consultants and people who understand how to run for office in New England, I think she's she would be a very formidable candidate," added Lawless.

 

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