PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Incumbent Gov. Dan McKee has more campaign cash in the bank than any of his challengers heading into the final stretch of the Democratic primary, even as rival Helena Foulkes continues to outspend him.
New campaign-finance reports due to the Board of Elections on Tuesday night showed McKee’s campaign had $633,000 on hand as of Monday. The incumbent has spent $726,000 since the start of July, while raising $126,000.
McKee is also set to get a big external financial boost starting this week: separate reports also filed Tuesday showed groups affiliated with the Laborers union are pouring $500,000 into an outside entity — “Forward Rhode Island” — that plans to begin airing TV ads urging voters to support the governor.
“Our campaign is entering the final four weeks of this race in an incredibly strong position: leading in the polls, backed by strong support from organized labor, and maintaining a significant resource advantage,” Brexton Isaacs, McKee’s campaign manager, said in a statement Tuesday night.
Foulkes, a former CVS executive and first-time candidate, continued to shell out far more than the other Democrats. She has spent just over $1 million since the start of July, and had $183,000 on hand as of Monday.
The Foulkes campaign would have run a deficit during the latest reporting period if not for $240,000 in personal loans that the wealthy business leader plowed into her campaign.
It’s unclear how much more Foulkes is willing to put in between now and Sept. 13, but last week her campaign indicated plans to spend an additional $1.2 million by the day of the primary.
Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea’s campaign had $363,000 on hand as of Monday after spending the least money of the top three — $525,000 — during July and the first half of August. She took in just over $100,000 during the period, as her campaign strains to keep pace financially with McKee and Foulkes.
The new financial reports arrived on the same day as a brand-new 12 News/RWU poll of likely Democratic primary voters, which showed McKee and Gorbea still in a close fight for the gubernatorial nomination, with McKee at 28% and Gorbea at 25%.
Foulkes was well behind the top two at 14%, but roughly one in five voters remain undecided. Two other candidates — former Secretary of State Matt Brown and community activist Luis Daniel Muñoz — continue to poll in single-digits.
Brown reported $80,000 in his campaign account as of Monday, and is going on the air Wednesday with his first TV spot, which also features state Sen. Cynthia Mendes, who is running alongside him for lieutenant governor.
Muñoz reported less than $1,000 in his campaign account as of Monday.
On the Republican side of the aisle, GOP gubernatorial candidate Ashley Kalus spent more than all but one of the Democrats during July and the first half of August, reporting $858,000 in expenditures over that period.
Kalus raised little money — just $13,000 — and instead continues to rely on her personal wealth to fund her candidacy. She had $247,000 on hand as of Monday but is expected to keep pouring her own funds into her campaign, with a budget of over $2.5 million for TV ads through the November election.
Jonathan Riccitelli, who is challenging Kalus in the Republican primary, reported less than $250 in his campaign account as of Monday.
Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi’s Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook
