Rhode Island 2026 GOVERNOR FORECAST

2026 Rhode Island Governor Forecast:

The Pollsmax 2026 Rhode Island Governor forecast currently gives Democrat Helena Foulkes a 97.4% chance of defeating Republican Elaine Pelino. Pollsmax projects Foulkes to receive 62.6% of the vote compared with 37.4% for Pelino, a projected Democratic margin of 25.2 percentage points. The model currently rates the race as Solid Democratic. The forecast is updated using 100,000 simulations incorporating polling and race fundamentals. See the Pollsmax forecast methodology.

The 2026 Rhode Island governor election features Democrat Helena Foulkes and Republican Elaine Pelino. The governorship is open and is currently controlled by Democrats. In 2024, Kamala Harris won Rhode Island by 13.8%, and Democrats are expected to easily retain the state's governorship in 2026. Rhode Island has leaned Democratic in recent statewide elections, but open-seat races can still draw national attention when control of the governorship is at stake.