Moneyball: Foulkes’ Out-of-State Contributions Eclipse McKee and Shekarchi

Moneyball: Foulkes’ Out-of-State Contributions Eclipse McKee and Shekarchi

The first-quarter fundraising reports are in for 2025 - as the 2026 Rhode Island gubernatorial race further takes shape. 

Democrat Helena Foulkes had the largest haul with $617,533.30, and now sits on a cash balance of just over $1.5 million. 

Foulkes did return $8,000 in donations, according to campaign finance records.  She did keep $2,000 from Purdue Pharma lobbyist Stephen Kinney. Foulkes, the former CVS President, had said she was “very angry” with the Oxycontin manufacturer for its role in the deadly opioid crisis. 

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Incumbent Governor Dan McKee raised $256,950 for the quarter - and in addition to State House insiders and labor, $4,000 of it was from the “billionaire buying up Newport,” Nicholas Schorsch and his wife Shelly. 

GoLocal was first to report on Schorsch’s background - and his previous donations to politicians - and first to report on his expansion into Providence after purchasing The Old Canteen. 

Speaker of the House Joseph Shekarchi, however, continues to sit on the largest war chest of state officials and candidates with over $3.4 million cash on hand.

There is no reported (or potential) Republican candidate at this time. 

 

McKee in Focus

According to the McKee campaign’s first quarter report, he now has a cash balance of $748,565. 

McKee, who officially declared he is running again for Governor in 2026 this past February, beat Foulkes in the 2022 Democratic primary with 32.8% of the vote (37,288) to Foulkes’ 29.9% (33,931). In that primary, Nellie Gorbea and Matt Brown combined for over 35% of the vote.

Contributors to McKee’s campaign in the first quarter included staff members (Chief of Staff Tony Afonso, Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Almond), current and past elected officials (former Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed, former Speaker of the House and lobbyist Bill Muphy), state house lobbyists, and some of the big state construction names (Dimeo, DiPrete, Vinagro).

Labor PACs amounted for just over $20,000 and included IBEW Local 99, Iron Workers Local 37, IUOE Local 57, NEARI, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 51, Providence Lodge 3, RI AFL-CIO, RI Laborers Political League, RI Laborers Public Employees, RI Labrorers State Employees, RI State Association of Firefighters, Sheet Metal Workers, and the Utility Workers of America. 

McKee also received $2,000 from RI Energy PAC

Of his $60,245 in spending, his filing shows $22,500 was with AJS Consulting (Tony Silva, McKee's former Chief of Staff) and $4,500 with Galvin and Associates.

Records show his campaign spent $128 at the Capital Grille - the site of a previous meal, the payment of which was the subject of a GOP ethics complaint. McKee was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the Ethics Commission. 

Also of note - McKee received $1,000 from Friends of Joe Shekarchi.

 

Foulkes 2.0

At an event this week in Providence, the former candidate consistently referenced her plans for her “first 100 days in office.”

Foulkes’ out-of-state donations amounted to $310,162 - was just over half of all of her fundraising for the quarter. And her non-Rhode Island fundraising eclipsed both McKee and Shekarhi’s totals for period. 

Rhode Island politicos that contributed to her campaign included former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, former Attorneys General Patrick Lynch and Jeff Pine, and top Raimondo ally Jon Duffy. 

The majority of Rhode Island donations came from a who’s-who of some of the state’s wealthiest families. Foulkes received $9,000 from members of her own family (Buonananos and Foulkes), as well as significant donations from the Boss, Chace, and Gilbane clans, to name a few. The Dunes Club and Point Judith Country Club were well-represented. 

Distinctly absent again was labor - Foulkes’ PAC contributions came primarily from Hinckley Allen & Snyder.

Her expenditures were largely to fundraising consultants. 

They included CFO Compliance (over $25,000), $21,000 to “Reservoir Strategies” (led by fundraising consultant Kate Ramstad) in Providence, and $8,000 to Senator Jack Reed’s chief fundraiser Julie Andrews. 

 

Elephant in the Room

Shekarchi, who was first elected to the House in 2012, was elected Speaker by the body in 2021 (and again in 2023 and 2025). 

He is widely considered to be weighing his political future - and that’s a move from the third floor of the State House (where the Speaker’s office is) to the second (the Governor’s).

For the first quarter of 2025, he raised $287,247 and spent $50,239.06

Like McKee, Shekarchi received campaign contributions from his own staff (Larry Berman, Emily Martineau, Andrew Caruolo). 

As he has not made any formal declarations, there was notable overlap between McKee and Shekarchi.

The Speaker counted among his PAC contributions Citizens, Cox, Cranston Firefighters, Cranston Teachers, East Providence Firefighters, East Greenwich Firefighters, IAF Local 1774, IBEW Local 99, Iron Workers Local 37, Johnston Firefighters, LIUNA Education Fund, NEARI, Pawtucket Firefighters, AFSCME, Portsmouth Firefighters, Plumbers and Pipefitters, RI AFL CIO, RI Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, RI Carpenters, RI Federation of Teacher, RI Laborers’ PAC, RI State Association of Firefighters, RI State Lodge FOP, RI Troopers, Sheet Metal Workers, Warwick Teachers, West Warwick Firefighters.

Among his campaign spending included over $1,000 at the Aurora Civic Association on Broadway, $1,500 at the Coast Guard House, and $941.45 at Costantino’s.

Editor's Note: A previous version incorrectly had that Foulkes received Citizens PAC money. It has been updated to reflect she did not.