Follow us on social media:
How to check your voter registration online in Rhode Island
Rhode Island voters can check their registrations and find their polling places on the Secretary of State’s website
Potential 2026 Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes expanded her fundraising advantage over incumbent Gov. Dan McKee in the third quarter of the year.
Foulkes, who lost the 2022 Democratic primary to McKee by 2 percentage points, raised $412,164 from July 1 through Sept. 30 and now has $842,441 in the bank, campaign spokesman Jon Romano said Thursday.
That’s nearly three times the $144,232 McKee raised in the third quarter, according to his filing with the Board of Elections. McKee finished September with $505,031 in the bank.
Second-quarter fundraising between the two rivals was much closer than in the third quarter, with McKee holding a slight advantage in new donations and Foulkes a narrow edge in total cash at the end of June.
The latest campaign finance figures were reported on a day that McKee clashed with Attorney General Peter Neronha, whom McKee accused of conducting a politically motivated investigation into the ILO Group school reopening contract to benefit Foulkes.
Neronha, who mulled running for governor himself a year ago, didn’t raise any money in the third quarter, according to his filing. He still has around $65,000 in the bank.
The largest campaign warchest in the state still belongs to House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, who raised another $73,000 from Oct. 8 to Oct. 28 and had $2.95 million in the bank. Shekarchi is unopposed for reelection to the House this year.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, also unopposed, raised $300 over the same period. He has $159,000 in the bank.
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts.
Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the free WPRI 12+ TV app.
Follow us on social media:
A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The future of local TV news has taken a Trumpian turn
Pope Leo says remarks about world being ‘ravaged by a handful of tyrants’ were not aimed at Trump: report
Trump renews bridge, power plant threat against Iran in push for deal, mocks ‘tough guy’ IRGC
Loneliness may be silently eroding your memory, new research reveals
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd
Chinese robot breaks human world record in Beijing half-marathon
Civil case against Alec Baldwin, ‘Rust’ movie producers advances toward a trial
Karol G at Coachella was a global hit. Yet other foreign acts fear touring the U.S.