As the 2026 gubernatorial race inches closer, Gov. Dan McKee’s favorability among voters continues to nosedive, with a 25% approval rating among voters surveyed by the Pell Center at Salve Regina University — 11 percentage points less than a year ago.
Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed disapproved of McKee’s job performance, according to the poll published Wednesday. The poll was conducted by Embold Research, which surveyed 804 voters who participated in the 2024 presidential election. The margin of error is 3.6%.
Self-identified Democrats were less harsh on McKee, with 43% indicating they approved of his job performance. Just 5% of identified Republicans agreed, and 19% of independent voters, according to the survey.
McKee is the only declared candidate for the 2026 gubernatorial race, though his 2022 primary rival, Helena Buonanno Foulkes, is widely expected to mount a comeback challenge next year. Other names floated, but unconfirmed, for the race include House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and 2022 Republican candidate Ashley Kalus.
The Pell Center did not ask voters why they disapproved of McKee’s job performance. However, a separate survey question gauging voters’ confidence that the Washington Bridge rebuild will be completed on time, and on budget, offers at least one reason, said Katie Sonder, the Pell Center’s associate director.
More than eight in 10 survey respondents believed it was unlikely the reconstruction of the westbound highway would be finished by the November 2028 deadline, and for the $427 million price that state officials indicated in June. Republican voters were the most skeptical — 94% doubted the completion date and cost — but even 79% of Democrats did not trust the stated timeline and cost, according to the survey.
“That certainly doesn’t help the governor,” Sonder said in an interview.
But McKee’s favorability has been dropping even before the latest update extending the timeline and upping the cost for the major bridge rebuild project. A separate, national poll released Monday also put McKee’s approval rating at 25% — the lowest of any New England governor, and 9 percentage points lower than President Donald Trump, according to the Civic Health and Institutions Project’s 50 States Survey.
Rob Silverstein, McKee’s 2026 campaign manager, downplayed the governor’s polling numbers.
“Polls come and go — what matters is the work,” Silverstein said in an email Wednesday. “From breaking ground on new community learning centers across our state, to the opening of Amazon’s new facility, and preparing to complete our new state health lab — Governor McKee is focused on delivering results for Rhode Islanders.”
McKee is not the only state Democrat who has lost favor within their own party. Democrats nationwide are grappling with how to rebound from the results of the 2024 elections, Sonder said.
Boost for Amo, Reed still leads
Indeed, three of Rhode Island’s four-member Democratic congressional delegation also saw lower approval ratings in the July 9 Pell Center poll compared with a year ago. Only U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo, who represents the 1st Congressional District, got a boost in ratings, up 2 percentage points year-over-year. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed still maintains the highest approval rating, backed by 50% of survey respondents.
“Democrats in general are more negative right now,” Sonder said. “A lot of representatives have lost ground in the Democratic party.”
Polls come and go — what matters is the work.
Democratic state officeholders also did not have a strong showing: Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos’ approval rating was even lower than McKee’s, at 22%, while General Treasurer James Diossa and Secretary of State Gregg Amore each received a 29% approval rating, according to the survey.
But even more voters surveyed indicated they were unsure, suggesting the lesser-known state officeholders’ favorability has more to do with lack of name recognition than a true assessment of their job performance in office, Sonder said. More than four in 10 voters were not sure how to answer when asked about Amore and Diossa’s job performance, while three in 10 felt the same about Matos.
One exception: Attorney General Peter Neronha, whose 38% approval rating, with 25% unsure, proved the strongest among state general officers. Not a surprise to Sonder, given Neronha’s vocal stances and heavy involvement in the avalanche of state-led lawsuits against the Trump administration since January.
Political party held little sway over voters’ expectations around the Washington Bridge. But it dictated the breakdown in perceptions on a host of other national and state issues, including the high-profile assault weapons ban that dominated Rhode Island’s 2025 session.
Hot button issues
The question posed to voters gauged support for a statewide ban on assault weapons, including purchase, sale and possession — reflecting the original legislation introduced on Smith Hill this year, but not the final version, which only addresses sale and purchase, not possession. More than five in 10 respondents indicated support, compared with 44% opposed. However, the splits were more pronounced along party lines, with 85% of Democrats supporting a ban, while 81% of Republicans opposed it.
“That reflects what we see at the national level,” Sonder said. “Guns are a partisan issue.”
Most interesting to Sonder was the stance among unaffiliated voters, who leaned conservative on gun restrictions, with 55% opposing a state assault-style weapons ban, compared with 43% who supported it.
However, the state’s independent block leaned to the left on other prospective policies, like a millionaire’s tax: supported by 91% of Democrats, and 64% of independents. Legislation introduced this year to impose an extra 3% tax in the top 1% of state earners failed to advance in both chambers, though Shekarchi indicated that lawmakers might reconsider the extra tax if they return for a special, fall session to deal with federal funding cuts.
Democrats in general are more negative right now. A lot of representatives have lost ground in the Democratic party.
Also left on the State House cutting-room floor this year were various proposals to increase the minimum wage for tipped workers, either through a one-time increase or an incremental set of raises. Though the bills failed to advance, voters of all parties overwhelmingly supported the policy, according to the Pell Center survey.
Less popular was the prospect of a state bottle refund program, a perennial legislative hot potato which was punted to a state-commissioned study at the end of the 2025 session. Nearly six in 10 voters supported the prospect of a 10-cent, refundable deposit on recyclable beverage containers, compared with one-third who opposed it, according to the survey. The breakdown is similar to the results of a separate, March survey commissioned by Save the Bay, a vocal advocate for the policy idea. However, a competing April survey by beverage manufacturers and retailers revealed an opposite split — 34% support and 60% opposition — after voters heard messages from supporters and opponents.
Much of the bottle bill dispute on Smith Hill centered on word choice and phrasing: manufacturers and retailers labeled the deposit as a “tax” that would hurt working families, while environmental advocates insisted the program was a proven way to reduce littering and incentivize recycling, at no additional cost to the state or consumers.
Sonder said the Pell Center tried to choose the most neutral language in wording its question about the bottle bill to survey takers.
On the national level, the survey also took respondents’ temperatures on the economy, immigration, the state of democracy, and federal funding for key programs like Medicare and Social Security. Responses were divided along party lines, with Republicans expressing positive views on the economy and the health of the country’s democracy, while Democrats soured on both. Across the aisle, however, those surveyed generally expressed support for more federal spending on Medicare, Social Security, and education.
Nearly half of the 804 survey respondents are unaffiliated voters, with 36% registered Democrats and 15% Republicans. More than eight in 10 identified as white, compared with 7% Hispanic and 4% Black. The survey also reflected a range of ages and educational statuses.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
