Less than 24 afters after losing a bruising primary reelection battle, Gov. Daniel J. McKee backed his rival, Helena Buonanno Foulkes for the Nov. 3 general election.
Yet endorsements have not materialized in other heated primary matchups, including the Providence Democratic mayoral race. Mayor Brett P. Smiley declined to endorse his progressive challenger, David Morales, as first reported by The Boston Globe Rhode Island.
Meanwhile, Elaine Pelino, who narrowly lost the Republican gubernatorial nomination to Aaron Guckian, appears unwilling to endorse her opponent, despite pleas for party unity by Guckian.
But will any of it sway voters?
Not really, according to Adam Myers, an associate professor of political science at Providence College.
“These kinds of personal endorsements from former rivals can make a difference in the margins, but I don’t think there’s strong evidence they matter a lot,” Myers said. “Most voters don’t pay attention enough for it to make a difference.”
Unlike Foulkes and McKee, whose differences are more personal than ideological or generational, GOP nominee Aaron Guckian and his primary opponent, Elaine Pelino, represent vastly different brands of conservatism.
Guckian, 50, of East Greenwich, is a self-described compassionate conservative while Pelino, 72, of Smithfield is a strong MAGA supporter. Guckian cemented his place as the nominee by 259 votes on Tuesday, following a review by election administrators of the memory sticks for ballot-counting machines.
Guckian said he’s still waiting to hear from Pelino to concede the race. He has not asked Pelino for her endorsement. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want it.
“I would hope she would endorse me,” Guckian said in an interview. “We need to unify as a party for November.”
With just 14% of state voters registered as Republicans, the already slim path to victory for Guckian is only possible with a united base of conservative supporters, Myers said.
“Even the appearance of a divided Republican base does not look good for Guckian,” Myers said.
Especially when matched up against former Republican-turned independent gubernatorial challenger Ken Block, 60, of Barrington, who trailed Foulkes by 20 points in August public polling. But he has nearly as much support among registered Republican voters as he does independents, according to the surveys.
“He could definitely peel off a lot of Republican voters,” Myers said of Block.
Especially if he got the backing of Pelino.
Block penned a complimentary message to Pelino on Facebook Wednesday, congratulating her on an “amazing” campaign.
“Most candidates don’t get past signatures, let alone scare the other candidate,” Block said. “Well done.”
But Block insists he’s not courting Pelino – or anyone – for an endorsement.
“I don’t want to be beholden to any special interests,” Block said in an interview.
He knows, though, that he will have to chip away support on both sides of the aisle to win.
“That’s where our path to victory is,” Block said.
Pelino did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In a Facebook post on Thursday, she suggested she does not intend to make a public endorsement.
“My choices are mine and not for public discussion, as again, I am a private citizen,” she wrote. “Please respect that.”
While still very much a public figure for the remainder of his time in office, McKee’s choices for the Nov. 3 general election are also not very influential given the pending end of his political career, Myers said.
“I don’t think voters are thinking about who Dan McKee endorsed,” Myers said.
Meanwhile, Smiley has avoided wading into the endorsement pool, answering questions about his general election endorsement by noting that his primary opponent did not ask for his support.
In a national headline-worthy upset, David Morales, a 28-old progressive, ousted the more moderate Smiley by 1,300 votes in a Democratic mayoral competition centered on rent control and affordability concerns.
“I don’t plan to get involved in that race,” Smiley, 47, said in a statement Friday. “Over the next few months, my focus will be on continuing to serve my constituents as mayor and ensuring a smooth transition to the next administration.”
But Providence’s partisan bent is dominant enough that Morales doesn’t need – or maybe even want — support from more moderate Smiley voters to win the general election, where he will face Republican Dave Talan and independent Allen Waters.
“Even among people who really don’t like Morales, the sense is this November general election is a done deal,” Myers said. “To vote for anyone else would just be a protest vote.”
Morales’ campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
The last Republican to win the Providence mayor’s race was Buddy Cianci during his first stint as city leader from 1976 to 1984; Cianci subsequently returned to the mayor’s seat as an independent in 1990.
More than half of Providence voters are registered Democrats, while just 7% are Republicans, with the remainder unaffiliated, according to registration data with the R.I. Department of State.
Despite the attack-laden battle between McKee and Foulkes, there was no hesitation by the governor’s campaign team to endorse Foulkes, Sophie Mestas, a McKee campaign spokesperson, said in a text message.
“The campaign is over,” McKee said in an interview with WPRI-TV after results came in on the primary night. “We’re focused on ensuring a smooth transition.”
Also quick to bury the hatchet, Foulkes praised McKee for a “gracious” concession call in her victory speech on primary night.
“Helena is very happy to have Governor McKee’s support and will continue crisscrossing the state and meeting with Rhode Islanders to earn every vote,” Angelika Pellegrino, a campaign spokesperson, said.
McKee has also endorsed the rest of the Democratic ticket for state general office seats: Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, Kim Ahern for attorney general, Secretary of State Gregg Amore, and General Treasurer James Diossa.
The Rhode Island Democratic Party has scheduled a “Unity Reception” fundraiser for Democratic nominees for federal, state and local offices on Oct. 6. The Rhode Island Republican Party has only advertised fundraising events for individual candidates.
Nancy Lavin is a senior staff writer for the Rhode Island Current.
