PROVIDENCE — Governor Daniel J. McKee will enter this election year with the most campaign cash on hand now that General Treasurer Seth Magaziner has jumped from the governor’s race into the contest for the 2nd Congressional District.
McKee, a Democrat expected to run for governor in 2022, raised $177,829 in the fourth quarter, ending up with $844,087 in campaign cash.
The fourth-quarter campaign finance reports, which were due Monday night, showed a strong debut by former CVS executive Helena Foulkes. In her first-ever campaign finance report, the Democratic candidate for governor amassed $1.07 million in the quarter, raising $969,958 while putting in $100,000 of her own money. She ended up with $830,896 in cash on hand. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was a college roommate of Foulkes’ late mother, gave the maximum $1,000 donation.
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Magaziner, a Democrat who just announced he will pivot to the 2nd Congressional District race now that US Representative James R. Langevin is leaving, raised $166,112 in the fourth quarter, ending up with $1,602,096 in cash on hand. Now, he faces the task of offering refunds to donors and asking them to donate to his congressional campaign.
Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea, a Democratic candidate for governor, raised $161,645 in the fourth quarter, ending with $769,604 in cash on hand. Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the smash Broadway musical “Hamilton,” didn’t throw away his shot to donate $1,000 to Gorbea, who would be the first Puerto Rico-born governor of a state.
Matt Brown, a Democratic former secretary of state, took in $87,544 in the quarter, ending up with $38,124 in campaign cash. That quarterly total included $62,748 in individual donations and $24,796 in reimbursements for expenses shared with Senator Cynthia Mendes, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. Brown and Mendes are running together, leading a slate of Rhode Island Political Cooperative progressive candidates.
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Brown and Mendes announced they had raised a combined total of $108,000, saying those numbers were “especially strong” given that they both slept in tents outside the State House for 17 days, “at the height of the fundraising quarter,” to press the state to address homelessness.
Dr. Luis Daniel Muñoz, who is running for governor as a Democrat, raised $2,689 in the quarter, entering the election year with $3,356 in cash on hand.
No Republican candidate has filed campaign finance reports in the governor’s race, although David A. Darlington — a North Kingstown Republican who was chairman of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority and who served in former Governor Lincoln C. Almond’s administration — has said he plans to run. And Cranston’s Republican mayor, Kenneth E. Hopkins, has issued a statement, saying he is exploring the possibility of running for governor.
Democratic Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos raised $62,430 in the quarter, leaving her with $309,010 in her campaign account, while Mendes raised $46,372, end up with $53,337 in cash on hand. Paul E. Pence Jr., a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, raised no money in the quarter, leaving him with $115.
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.