McKee has said he intends to run, and at least two other statewide office holders, Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, have also been floated as potential candidates. Who would run for governor in 2022 remains an open question. “I’m a backup quarterback that’s not part of a team,” he complained to The Providence Journal over the summer. McKee has been vocal about being left out of Raimondo’s inner circle. In Rhode Island, the governor and lieutenant governor run separately, not as a joint ticket. The former Cumberland mayor has had a strained relationship with Raimondo that’s only become more pronounced during the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit the tiny state particularly hard. “I am prepared, and I’ve been working for the last six years to make sure that I am prepared.” “My job is to always be prepared in that unlikely scenario,” he told the station. McKee’s office didn’t comment Thursday, but he told WPRI-TV recently he’s ready to lead the state if his time came. He would also have the power to pick a new lieutenant governor to serve out his term, though a bill filed this week would give state lawmakers that authority instead. Daniel McKee would become acting governor and serve out the final two years of Raimondo’s term if the former venture capitalist heads to Washington.
Senate confirmation, but the announcement has immediate political implications for the region:ĭemocratic Lt.