Who is Winning the Money Game in the Race for RI Governor
Wednesday, February 02, 2022
The fourth quarter 2021 fundraising totals are in for the Rhode Island gubernatorial race, and Democratic candidate and former corporate CEO Helena Foulkes lapped the field.
Foulkes, a former top exec at CVS Health and former CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company, pulled in $1,075,458.14 in her first declared quarter of fundraising, which meant a large portion of her contributors maxed out on the year with $1,000 contributions — and they did.
Governor Dan McKee reported raising just over $177,000 on the quarter; Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea raised just over $161,000, and Matt Brown pulled in just over $62,000.
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Will Foulkes’ fundraising haul equate to success?
“A first-time candidate like Foulkes needs to spend money because she is not well-known by the general public and will need to spend in order to get better known,” said Darrell West, Vice President of Governance at Brookings in Washington, DC. “Since opponents already have attacked her for her business background, she also will need funding to defend herself against those kinds of charges.”
While Foulkes’ raised a considerable amount of money from in-state — her campaign finance records show the vast amount of donations mainly came in from around the country.
In Rhode Island, Foulkes’ campaign finance records show the expected East Side and Narragansett money, as well as construction industry contributions — names like Baccari, Cardi, Dimeo, and Gilbane all gave in the thousands.
Foulkes, however, went coast to coast fundraising, and the numbers show the results — and expenditures.
From $1,000 from James Beer of Altassian in San Francisco to Joakim Bergander of Nord Bay Capital in Florida (where he helped raise $7.1 million to acquire Hooters), Foulkes tapped her vast array of connections.
And campaign finance records show she spent accordingly.
Foulkes’ records show thousands in Amtrak expenditures, over $14,000 spent at the Hugh Groman Catering Group in Berkeley, California — and $13,047.70 to the Harvard Club of Boston.
Foulkes also lent the campaign $100,000, which pushed her over the million-dollar mark for the raise for the quarter.
“A clear indication of strength is a robust fundraising quarter. And here, it’s not the total cash-on-hand that matters most, but rather, the breadth of support,” said Jennifer Lawless at the University of Virginia. “Even if Foulkes can self-fund, voters want to see that they’re backing a winner. And lots of donations from a broad base of Rhode Islanders is one important cue. Being able to write yourself a large check? Not so much.”
Changing Playing Field
While Foulkes had a massive fundraising quarter, McKee is still sitting a slightly bigger war chest, with just over $844,000 cash on hand to Foulkes’ now $830,000.
Last week, the race for Governor shifted significantly when General Treasurer Seth Magaziner dropped out and opted to run for the second congressional district seat being vacated by Jim Langevin at the end of this term instead.
“McKee needs to demonstrate decisive, effective leadership to ensure the voters see him as a safe choice. It’s been a little rocky for him so far, dealing with the pandemic, which he’d like to declare over,’ but which is very much still a factor. Still, incumbency has its advantages, and his lieutenant governor, Sabina Matos, has been an asset; she’s a hard-working team player,” Providence College Professor of Political Science Tony Affigne told GoLocal.
“Gorbea has an opportunity to pick up some of Magaziner’s support, with their very similar pragmatic progressivism, and her easy rapport with voters, even as Foulkes’ entry in the race robs Gorbea of any advantage with female voters,” Affigne added. “Brown recently made waves with his activism around housing issues, and the State House protest, but he’s still carrying some baggage and ethical questions from his earlier misadventures.”
“Foulkes has a lot of name-recognition ground to make up, and will need all the money she can donate and raise, if she’s to catch her better-known Democratic opponents, all of whom have previously run, and won, statewide office,” said Affigne. “Any additional Democratic candidates who emerge are already running late, even if they’re former elected officials. Time’s a wasting. As for Republican and independent choices, it’s hard to imagine any of them making much headway against any one of the Democrats.”
Related Slideshow: Who Is Winning the Money Game in the Race for Governor - February 2022
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