Why does Rhode Island hate its governors so much?
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Radio host Jim Braude isn't necessarily an expert on Rhode Island politics, but he can read a poll as well as anyone. So in discussing Governor Dan McKee's recent dismal job approval numbers on Boston Public Radio last week,
'It would seem to me, based on the polling that I've seen, that if ... Vladimir Putin ran for governor of Rhode Island, he would beat Governor McKee,' Braude said during a conversation with Providence Mayor Brett Smiley. 'Governor McKee has the lowest approval rating I've ever seen for an incumbent politician ... in my whole life.'
Indeed, with recent job approval ratings ranging between 19 percent and 25 percent, McKee appears to be one of the
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But while McKee's numbers are exceptionally low among New England's governors, his predicament is hardly unique by Rhode Island standards. You'd be hard pressed to find a governor in recent history who enjoyed prolonged popularity in the state.
Of the state's last seven governors, two (Republican Ed DiPrete and Democrat Bruce Sundlun) suffered lopsided losses in their reelection bids, and one (independent-turned-Democrat Lincoln Chafee) was so unpopular that he didn't bother to seek reelection. Republicans Lincoln Almond and Don Carcieri did enjoy high approval ratings during parts of their tenures, but they left office deeply unpopular.
Gina Raimondo, McKee's predecessor, recently told political consultant David Axelrod that Rhode Island has '
So what gives?
Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who spent years leading political polling at Brown University, said Rhode Island has long had 'difficulty getting its act together, and that often leads to poor poll numbers for sitting governors.'
'As a small state, it is hard for Rhode Island to control its own fate,' West said. 'It typically is dependent on the national economy, congressional largesse, and defense dollars. When any of those things turn negative, voters blame governors even if they are not responsible for what happens elsewhere.'
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West also pointed out the obvious: Rhode Island has a long history of political corruption that has sapped the confidence of residents. DiPrete, who died last week at the age of 91, once allegedly dove through a dumpster outside a fast food restaurant searching for a $10,000 bribe that he had received but misplaced. He served a year in prison after leaving office.
Rhode Island's most famous modern-day politician was Buddy Cianci, the cartoonishly corrupt former mayor of Providence who landed in federal prison. Unlike the governors, the uber-charismatic Cianci enjoyed high approval ratings throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. But his lasting legacy is contributing to the perception among Rhode Islanders that many politicians are on the take — he was just the one who got caught.
Which brings us back to McKee, the current governor.
To be fair, McKee, who's been in office since 2021, has some accomplishments to his name, including creating a statewide strategy to address chronic absenteeism in schools
He hasn't faced widespread corruption allegations and largely benefited from free-flowing federal dollars following the pandemic. But he is dogged by competence questions, in part because of his handling of the 2023 closure of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge, which is the most common route you'd take from Providence to Cape Cod.
McKee isn't responsible for years of deferred maintenance on the bridge, but he repeatedly gave inaccurate repair timelines and cost estimates in the months following the closure. He was also dismissive of complaints from drivers and small business owners about traffic delays.
The bridge is now scheduled to be rebuilt by 2028 at a cost of more than $400 million, but it's become the latest symbol of government dysfunction in Rhode Island. The unhappiness of voters who face unusually long traffic delays as a result of the bridge closure is no doubt contributing to McKee's low approval rating, and that's before any of his potential opponents have spent a dollar on TV ads pouring gasoline on the fire of residents' frustrations.
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McKee's only path to reelection may be to run a relentlessly negative campaign attacking Foulkes and whomever else jumps in the race, which won't exactly endear any of them to jaundiced voters. Otherwise, he may very well suffer the same fate as so many before him: The wrath of Rhode Islanders.
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A dock in Harpswell, Maine, near where a shark killed a woman in 2020.
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Shark sighting:
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CORRECTION:
Yesterday's newsletter used the wrong pronouns for Andrea Gibson, a spoken-word artist who died this week and used they/them pronouns. We regret the error.
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