Foulkes, Block share views on government efficiency and affordability in first post-primary matchup

Compared with the insult-laced, tense exchanges in both parties’ gubernatorial primaries, the first head-to-head between general election candidates Helena Buonanno Foulkes and Ken Block proved mild, even congenial.

Despite their different labels — Foulkes, a Democrat, and Block, an independent — there was little daylight between the competitors on many of the questions posed by moderator Ian Donnis, Ocean State Media political reporter, during the hourlong forum at Roger Williams University School of Law on Wednesday night. Republican Aaron Guckian was invited, but canceled Wednesday morning because of a scheduling conflict, Michael Fahey, his campaign spokesperson, confirmed.

Organized by the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and the League of Women Voters, the event put women’s issues and equity for marginalized communities front and center.

Both Block and Foulkes pledged to bring more diversity to state government while reforming the state’s contracting laws governing procurement and purchasing contracts to women and minority-owned businesses. Each said they would support a Rhode Island Voting Rights Act to enshrine discrimination protections for voters into state law amid federal rollbacks. 

Neither thought state policies and funding adequately addressed affordability concerns, particularly for vulnerable populations like domestic violence victims, low-income residents who qualify for government subsidized healthcare, and prospective homeowners priced out of every community in the state.

Differences emerged on tax and spending, however. Block, who ran as a Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2014, touted classic conservative lines about “regressive” and “unnecessary” taxes and fees” while denouncing the one-third of state spending devoted to Medicaid.

“Our $5 billion Medicaid spending needs to be smaller,” Block, 60, of Barrington, said in his closing statements.

A software engineer whose consulting firm has helped optimize spending and root out waste and fraud for international companies and state governments, Block suggested that state Medicaid spending could be trimmed without adverse impacts on the low-income families who qualify for it.

“We need to spend that money differently than it is right now,” he said, referring to annual reports by the state auditor general which routinely flag overpayments or errors in the Medicaid system.  

Foulkes, a former CVS executive, instead advocated for increasing state Medicaid spending to maximize matching federal dollars and raise reimbursement rates to healthcare providers. Low reimbursement rates relative to neighboring states are routinely cited as a reason for problems recruiting and retaining primary care doctors and other healthcare providers.

Foulkes, 62, of Providence, also touted her vocal support for the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, which since its 2023 passage has ensured insurance coverage for abortion for Medicaid participants.

Although the forum did not offer a chance for candidates to respond to each other, Foulkes criticized Block for his relatively weaker position on protecting abortion access, gender-affirming care and other key services under threat by the Trump administration.

Block said he would sign any bills sent to him by the General Assembly.

Foulkes’ take: “I don’t think just saying you’ll sign what the assembly passes speaks to advocacy for reproductive health. In this national environment, we need someone who really, really cares about reproductive health.”

Foulkes repeatedly denounced the Trump administration for severe cuts to social safety net programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Block also referenced problems created by the federal government, though he never mentioned Trump by name.

Block’s firm was hired by Trump’s campaign in 2020 to audit the election in the hopes of proving Trump’s allegations of voter fraud. Block found no such proof, publishing his account in a 2024 book aptly titled “Disproven.”

But the one-time Republican candidate has refused to answer multiple media outlets’ questions, including from Rhode Island Current, about whom he voted for in any of the last three presidential elections. 

A poll commissioned by Block’s campaign and published a day earlier showed he could beat Foulkes by 6 points if Guckian was not in the race — suggesting Block could draw support from GOP voters. Guckian insisted he is not dropping out.

“The liberal media can try as hard as they want to make it sound like he’s dropping out, but there’s no way, no how,” Fahey, of Guckian’s campaign, said in an interview with Rhode Island Current Wednesday afternoon.

Fahey said Guckian chose to attend a fundraiser in Florida, planned just the night before, instead of the forum.

The most recent public polling by the University of New Hampshire shows Foulkes with a commanding 20-point lead over Block, with Guckian in third. However, Block was the only one of the three candidates who voters viewed more favorably than not, although 1 in 3 survey respondents still didn’t know much about Block

About 9% of respondents didn’t know Foulkes, who comes in fresh off primary victory against Gov. Dan McKee with ample campaign cash to put her face before voters. During the forum, Foulkes referenced her 25-point win against McKee — a historic defeat for a Democratic incumbent in Rhode Island — as evidence that voters want change.

Block, too, framed himself as a political outsider ready to bring transparency and efficiency to state government.

Neither has ever held political office, though both have sought the governor’s seat before: Foulkes in 2022, and Block in 2010 and 2014. Each supported a line-item veto, which would empower the executive branch to excise select budget items from the entire spending plan.

McKee included a line-item veto in his fiscal 2027 proposal, which was eliminated by lawmakers.

Asked how he planned to work with a Democratic-led General Assembly, Block said he would hold weekly press conferences to put public pressure on legislative leaders when necessary.

“If the General Assembly is doing something that’s really problematic for me, the main tool I have is to yap, and I can yap pretty good,” he said.

Foulkes, who declined to take questions from reporters at her victory party on primary night, also promised transparency, replacing the politically connected cabinet members with outside experts.

“We’re a state where you’ve got to know a guy,” she said. “Sometimes it’s fun and we laugh about it, but it really really doesn’t work for people.”

Early voting begins Oct. 14 ahead of a Nov. 3 general election. The gubernatorial race also includes independent candidate C.D. Reynolds and Jasjit Gotra.

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Courtesy of Rhode Island Current