Two businesswomen running for governor who are also mounting their first political campaigns have so far led the way in digging into their personal wealth to give themselves much-needed horsepower in the crowded race.
Republican candidate Ashley Kalus, a health care executive who moved to Rhode Island last year, has reported loaning her campaign a total of $2.2 million since she first declared her candidacy in February, including $1.2 million in June alone, according to state campaign finance filings as of Aug. 16.
Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Helena Buonanno Foulkes, former president of CVS Health Corp.’s pharmacy division, has loaned $615,00 to her own campaign – a $100,000 loan late last year after launching her campaign, $400,000 in March and another $115,000 in August, election finance reports from the same period say.
By comparison, incumbent Democratic Gov. Daniel J. McKee and fellow Democrat Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea haven’t loaned themselves any money since each officially declared their intention to run for governor.
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Instead, McKee has raised about $1.4 million in individual contributions from April 1, 2021, to Aug. 16, 2022, and accepted $81,300 in political action committee donations. In the same period, Gorbea raised $1.3 million from individuals and $18,000 from PACs. Both candidates already hold public offices and have had time to build a network of donors and kicked off their campaigns with a solid set of contributors. Other candidates do not have the same luxury.
“For candidates who are new to the political arena, it’s really hard to raise money,” said June Speakman, political science professor at Roger Williams University and a Warren state representative running for reelection. “So it’s not surprising to me that these two candidates who are wealthy and new to the arena are self-funding.”
Indeed, John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, notes that there’s a history of six- and seven-figure personal loans to gubernatorial campaigns in Rhode Island, citing former Democratic candidate Myrth York and Republican Gov. Donald L. Carcieri as examples.
But campaign finance filings show Foulkes – granddaughter of the late U.S. Sen. Thomas J. Dodd and niece of U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn. – has also tapped into a network of donors that stretches nationwide despite being a political newcomer.
While Kalus has reported only $86,647 in individual contributions since her campaign launch earlier this year, including $62,529 in the second quarter, Foulkes had collected $2.7 million in donations from individuals as of Aug. 16, making her the fundraising leader of the seven candidates.
“We’re seeing an uptick in candidates who have national networks that they’re able to tap into,” Marion said.
Looking for donors outside of the state might be another solution for candidates who are not as established in the state, observers say. Foulkes and Kalus, respectively, have seen only 38% and 44% of their donations come from Rhode Islanders, according to an analysis of campaign finance records as of June 30.
That’s in contrast to McKee, whose campaign heavily relies on his local roots – he grew up in the Blackstone Valley – and can flaunt over 76% of his contributions being from Rhode Island. For Gorbea, about 53% of her donations came from people with Rhode Island addresses.
Does it matter where the money is coming from?
Some political observers say it’s unrealistic to expect candidates to only look for in-state donors.
“[Rhode Island] is a very small state with a very small donor base,” Speakman said. “All these candidates are going after a relatively small number of Rhode Islanders for their money.”
But ultimately, Kevin DeJesus, associate professor of political science at Johnson & Wales University, says the issue is the exponential increase of campaign expenditures. For candidates to be taken seriously, they often need to raise vast sums of money. For some, that means relying on out-of-state donors or on self-funding.
“The continued elevation of cost of campaigns at the local and national level is a daunting problem that needs to be addressed without the government completely controlling elections,” DeJesus said.
A mix of self-funding and fundraising has left Foulkes with much financial firepower, which she has put to work. Facing a Sept. 13 Democratic primary against McKee, Gorbea, former Secretary of State Matthew A. Brown and Dr. Luis Daniel Muñoz, Foulkes has spent $3.2 million as of Aug. 16 – the most of all the candidates – including $1.4 million during the second quarter. As of Aug. 16, $182,781 remained in her war chest.
Kalus, who faces lightly funded Jonathan Riccitelli in the Republican primary, had spent $2 million as of Aug. 16, with most of that coming in the second quarter. She had a $246,675 balance as of Aug. 16.
Gorbea has spent $1.4 million on her campaign as of Aug. 16 and had $362,706 in cash on hand. McKee, meanwhile, spent $1.3 million as of Aug. 16 and had $633,256 on hand.
For his part, Brown expended $320,920 on his campaign as of Aug. 16 and had $80,418 remaining while Muñoz had spent $13,750 and had $789 on hand. Riccitelli, who loaned himself $3,000, spent $2,873 in the second quarter and had $226 left as of June 30.
