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McKee confirms he is running for governor again. Here's when he will make his announcement.

PROVIDENCE – News flash from Governor Dan McKee's campaign team: The Democratic governor intends to officially announce his bid for reelection to a second full term in the state's top office on March 3. Spokesman Mike Trainor said there will be more details in the coming weeks. But in the wake of a less-than-stellar fundraising quarter, when potential rival Helena Foulkes bested McKee by more than double, Trainor told The Journal that McKee raised "well in excess of $125,000" at a fundraiser this past Monday. Of note: Trainor said Dan A. Bianco, Jr., the New England Regional Manager of the Laborers' International Union of North America, which had a huge funding role in McKee's last campaign, delivered introductory remarks at the fundraiser, seemingly putting to rest some speculation that the Laborers were shopping for another candidate. McKee, 73, ascended from the lieutenant governor's office to the executive suite in March 2021 when then-Gov. Gina Raimondo resigned mid-term to become U.S. commerce secretary. He narrowly won the Democratic primary for his first full term in November 2022 and, despite some gains in areas he chose as priorities like municipal road repairs and school attendance, he's taken unrelenting heat for the Washington Bridge fiasco, the RIBridges computer system hack and other controversies. McKee's campaign on Friday hailed a new online poll that showed 44% of voters approve of the job he is doing. While that was an improvement over a poll last summer that pegged his approval rating at 38%, McKee's 44% approval rating was the lowest of any governor in the most recent Morning Consult poll and 40% of voters polled disapproved of the job he is doing. The Morning Consult survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2024. During that same period, Foulkes – who has been gearing up for a second run for governor – raised more than $241,120 in fourth-quarter campaign donations, compared to McKee's $107,647 fundraising haul, according to reports filed with the state Board of Elections. Foulkes, a former top executive at CVS, ended the year with $1.04 million cash on hand, compared to McKee's $552,084. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Governor Dan McKee will officially announce his reelection bid March 3