House Effects
Monday, September 21, 202643 days until Election Day, November 3, 2026
Governors · 2026

Rhode Island Governor

Helena Foulkes (D)v.Aaron Guckian (R)SAFE D

Open seat, currently Democratic. Three-way race: Ken Block is polling at about 20%, ahead of the Republican (17%), in the 4 polls that name all three. The margin shown is Democrat minus Republican, and the model gives a third candidate no chance of winning, so read this race's numbers with care.

Projected margin
D+24.6
Nine in ten outcomes: D+35 to D+14
Chance of winning
>99%
Helena Foulkes
Polls alone
D+24.6
4 polls from 3 pollsters; latest Aug 24. Weight in projection: 100%.
Fundamentals alone
D+10.9
Weight in projection: 0%.
Polls

The average over time

Each poll is first shifted by its sponsor's and its pollster's measured lean, then weighted by recency and track record. Sample size gets no weight: in 2,000-plus past races it predicted nothing about accuracy. Why.

R+5EvenD+5D+10D+15D+20D+25D+30May ’26JunJulAugSepOctNovD+24.6Election Day
adjusted weighted average shading: which side the average favors each poll, as published party-aligned pollster or sponsor
Before any poll

What the fundamentals say

A regression on past governor's races, fit without looking at this year. The national environment term uses the generic ballot after its historical correction (D+5.3).

What each term adds to the estimate
BaselineR+1.1
Partisan leanD+9.1
National environmentD+2.9
Incumbency0.0
Incumbent's last over/under-performance0.0
Fundamentals estimateD+10.9
Input: partisan lean
D+15.3
Presidential vote relative to the nation, 2024 (and 2020).
Handicappers, for comparison
Cook: Safe D · Sabato: Safe D · Inside Elections: Safe D
Not an input to the projection.
Table view

All 4 polls in the average

“Share” is how much of today’s average each poll supplies. It depends on recency, the pollster’s record, whether the poll screens for likely voters, and how many other polls the same firm has in the race. It does not depend on sample size.

DatesPollsterSampleFoulkesGuckianAs publishedAdjustedShare of average
Aug 20–24University of New Hampshire Survey Center739 LV4015D+25D+25.1
moved 0.1 toward D
34%
source
Aug 21–22Emerson College1,000 LV4518D+27D+27.0
50%
source
Jun 18–23University of New Hampshire Survey Center664 LV3822D+16D+16.1
moved 0.1 toward D
7.9%
source
Apr 13–16Opinion Diagnostics
for Block's campaign
802 LV3316D+17D+17.1
moved 0.1 toward D
8.8%
source

LV: likely voters. RV: registered voters. A: all adults. “Adjusted” is the published margin after removing the sponsor shift and the pollster’s measured house effect; the small print says how far that moved the poll. Dem.-aligned and Rep.-aligned mark polls paid for by a party, a campaign, or an allied group, or taken by a firm whose published work is mostly for one side. They are shifted by the average lean of such polls, then counted at full weight.

History

Recent results for this office

YearDemocratRepublicanResult
2022Daniel J. McKeeAshley KalusD+19.1
2018Gina M. RaimondoAllan W. FungD+15.5
2014Gina M. RaimondoAllan W. FungD+4.5