By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Thursday morning!
Do we have a lot of primary election results for you! And one race is too close to call.
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High tide in Providence is at 7:57 a.m. and 8:20 p.m. Low tide is at 1:06 p.m. Sunrise is at 6:20 a.m. Sunset is at 7:04 p.m.
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The Rhode Island Continuum of Care meets at 3:30 p.m.
Helena Buonanno Foulkes celebrates her victory over Gov. Dan McKee in the Democratic primary with supporters outside Track 15 in Providence Wednesday night. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Gov. Dan McKee won’t be in office to see through his promised “day of reckoning” over the Washington Bridge closure, after losing his reelection bid to Democratic challenger Helena Buonanno Foulkes on Wednesday, according to preliminary, unofficial results. Foulkes had 62% of votes, compared with McKee’s 38%, with more than half of votes reported as of 8:20 p.m.
State Rep. David Morales defeated Providence Mayor Brett Smiley in Wednesday’s Democratic primary. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
Providence voters handed a decisive win to progressive Rep. David Morales over the capital city’s pragmatic incumbent Brett Smiley in Wednesday’s Democratic mayoral primary. Morales captured 57% of the vote to Smiley’s 43% after polls closed at 8 p.m. according to unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections.
Kim Ahern, Democratic candidate for attorney general, holds her daughter Parker, 2, as she votes at Laurelmead Senior Living in Providence on Wednesday morning, Sept. 9, 2026. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
Former state cannabis regulator Kim Ahern on Wednesday won the Democratic nomination to be Rhode Island’s next attorney attorney general with 37% of the vote, defeating three other candidates including Keith Hoffmann, the chosen successor of the outgoing AG. Hoffmann, who largely funded his campaign with his own money, received 33% of the vote.
Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos checks in to vote at her polling site at Webster Avenue School in Providence to vote in Wednesday’s primary. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos held on to her seat, defeating four Democratic primary challengers Wednesday night with 37% of the votes just before 9 p.m., according to preliminary, unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections.
Republican gubernatorial candidates Aaron Guckian, left, and Elaine Pelino, right. (Left photo by Michael Salerno; right photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Just 264 votes separated moderate Aaron Guckian from MAGA candidate Elaine Pelino in the Republican gubernatorial primary as of 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, one of few races still too close to call. Guckian led Pelino by 1.1 percentage points according to preliminary and unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Results from Little Compton, Portsmouth, Providence, and Warwick were still incomplete, along with some mail ballots.
Voters waited in line outside The Salvation Army in Providence Wednesday morning, Sept. 9, 2026. The polling site opened one hour late. (Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Seven polling sites in Providence opened late on Primary Day due to unexpected staffing shortages, according to the Rhode Island Board of Elections. The capital city hired 640 people to staff polling sites, but more than 100 of them called out sick, or simply didn’t show up Wednesday morning, Miguel Nunez, elections director, told the board at its scheduled 6 p.m. meeting.
Vic Mellor, right, defeated Dr. Stephen Skoly, left, in the Republican primary for Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District seat. (Contributed photos)
By Alexander Castro
Warwick businessman and Jan. 6, 2021, U.S Capitol marcher Vic Mellor captured just over 58% of the vote, defeating Dr. Stephen Skoly with 42% in the Republican primary for Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District Wednesday, according to unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Mellor advances to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner in November. Magaziner has called a Thursday morning news conference outside the State House with police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed speaks to Head Start advocates and workers inside the Park Square Children’s Center in Woonsocket on Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, on Wednesday secured the Democratic nomination to pursue a sixth term in office, defeating two long-shot progressive challengers in Rhode Island’s primary. Reed, 76, secured roughly 76% among Democratic primary voters, according to unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Connor Burbridge received 14% of votes. Dr. Luis Daniel Muñoz came in third place with 9.8%
ICYMI
Early in-person voting breaks Rhode Island record | Nancy Lavin
An out of this world lineup for the URI 2026 Honors Colloquium | Alexander Castro
Trump’s Canadian trade war stirs up trouble for Republican candidates | Kevin Hardy, Stateline
Trump administration aims to exclude many noncitizens from the census | Ariana Figueroa, D.C. Bureau
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