Dan McKee

Dan McKee
76th Governor of Rhode Island
Incumbent
Assumed office March 2, 2021
Lieutenant	Sabina Matos
Preceded by	Gina Raimondo
69th Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island
In office January 6, 2015 – March 2, 2021
Governor	Gina Raimondo
Preceded by	Elizabeth Roberts
Succeeded by	Sabina Matos
Mayor of Cumberland
In office January 7, 2007 – January 6, 2015
Preceded by	David Iwuc
Succeeded by	William Murray
In office January 2001 – January 2005
Preceded by	Frank Gaschen
Succeeded by	David Iwuc
Personal details
Born	(1951-06-16) June 16, 1951 (age 70) Cumberland, Rhode Island, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Susan McGill
Children	2
Education	Assumption University (BA) Harvard University (MPA)

Daniel J. McKee (born June 16, 1951) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 76th governor of Rhode Island since March 2021. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, McKee received his undergraduate degree from Assumption College and his Master's degree from Harvard Kennedy School. He served as a member of the Cumberland town council from 1992 to 1998 and mayor of Cumberland twice, from 2000 to 2004 and from 2006 until 2014.^[1] He was elected as the lieutenant governor of Rhode Island in 2014. When Governor Gina Raimondo resigned to become President Joe Biden's secretary of commerce in 2021, McKee acceded to the post of governor of Rhode Island.^[2]

Early life[]

McKee's family has owned and operated small businesses in northern Rhode Island for over one hundred years. He is a practicing Roman Catholic.

After graduating from Cumberland High School, McKee received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts and a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Early career[]

McKee was an officer of McKee Brothers, a heating, air conditioning, and home heating oil delivery business founded by his grandfather.^[3] In addition, he ran a health and fitness business for more than 30 years.^[3]

During his time on the Cumberland, Rhode Island Town Council (1992–1998), McKee was also a basketball coach, coaching groups of boys and girls at all levels, culminating in two State AAU Basketball Champions in 1998 and 2000.

He served six terms as Cumberland's mayor. McKee worked with state and federal officials in the aftermath of Cumberland's historic spring flooding to minimize the damage; and he steered Cumberland through Rhode Island's unprecedented economic downturn.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, McKee worked with mayors across the state to pass a law allowing for the creation of new, regional, mayor-governed and highly autonomous public schools known as “Mayoral Academies.” In 2009 and 2010, McKee again helped organize mayors and education advocates to enact a new education funding policy.

For over twenty-five years, McKee has been a member of the board of directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Cumberland-Lincoln, serving as past president of the executive board and chairman of the endowment committee.^[4]

Lieutenant Governor (2015–2021)[]

In 2013, McKee announced his candidacy for Rhode island lieutenant governor, defeating Secretary of State of Rhode Island Ralph Mollis and State Rep. Frank Ferri in the Democratic primary.^[5] McKee faced Republican Catherine Terry Taylor, a legislative aide and speechwriter for U.S. Senators John Chafee and Lincoln Chafee.^[6] McKee won with 54.3% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2018.^[7]

On January 7, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden selected Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo as his choice for Secretary of Commerce. Since McKee was next in line of succession, he would become governor once Raimondo would be confirmed by the United States Senate. She was confirmed on March 2, 2021 and submitted her resignation as governor shortly after.^[8]

In February 2021, McKee began to form a COVID-19 advisory board in anticipation whenever he would become Rhode Island's governor.^[9] He had criticized the Raimondo administration over a slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout.^[10]

Governorship (2021–present)[]

McKee was sworn in as the 76th Governor of Rhode Island on March 2, 2021 following Raimondo's appointment as U.S. commerce secretary.^[11]

COVID-19[]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2022)

McKee said his main priority was to advance COVID-19 vaccine rollout and to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Rhode Island.^[12] By July 4, Rhode Island had fully vaccinated over 633,000 people, representing 70% of its eligible adult population.^[13] It was the fifth state to reach that milestone.^[13] Also in July, McKee terminated the state mask mandate but extended the COVID-19 emergency declaration to August 6, citing the prevalence of the delta variant.^[14]

Electoral history[]

Cumberland Mayor[]

Cumberland Mayor Election, 2000^[15][16]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan McKee	4,390	61.48
	Democratic	Francis Gaschen	2,750	38.52
Total votes			7,140	100
General election
	Democratic	Dan McKee	11,625	100.00
Total votes			11,625	100

Cumberland Mayor Election, 2002^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan McKee (incumbent)	9,131	81.94
	Independent	Julian Pytka	2,012	18.06
Total votes			11,143	100

Cumberland Mayor Election, 2004^[18]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Iwuc	2,666	54.98
	Democratic	Dan McKee (incumbent)	2,183	45.02
Total votes			4,849	100

Cumberland Mayor Election, 2006^[19][20]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan McKee	4,331	62.33
	Democratic	David Iwuc (incumbent)	2,666	37.67
Total votes			4,849	100
General election
	Democratic	Dan McKee	10,612	100.00
Total votes			10,612	100

Cumberland Mayor Election, 2008^[21][22]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan McKee (incumbent)	3,871	64.40
	Democratic	David Iwuc	2,140	35.60
Total votes			6,011	100
General election
	Democratic	Dan McKee (incumbent)	12,650	100.00
Total votes			12,650	100

Cumberland Mayor Election, 2010^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan McKee (incumbent)	8,091	63.95
	Independent	David Iwuc	4,562	36.05
Total votes			12,653	100

Cumberland Mayor Election, 2012^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan McKee (incumbent)	12,667	96.55
	Write-in		452	3.45
Total votes			13,119	100

Lieutenant Governor[]

Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Election, 2014^[25][26]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan McKee	48,634	43.47
	Democratic	Ralph Mollis	40,208	35.94
	Democratic	Frank Ferri	23,029	20.59
Total votes			111,871	100
General election
	Democratic	Dan McKee	169,078	54.29
	Republican	Catherine Terry Taylor	105,305	33.81
	Moderate	William H. Gilbert	25,951	8.33
	Libertarian	Tony Jones	10,221	3.28
	Write-in		906	0.29
Total votes			311,461	100

Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Election, 2018^[27][28]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan McKee (incumbent)	57,983	51.09
	Democratic	Aaron Regunberg	55,517	48.91
Total votes			133,500	100
General election
	Democratic	Dan McKee (incumbent)	226,528	61.87
	Republican	Paul Pence	106,505	29.09
	Moderate	Joel Hellmann	11,332	3.10
	Independent	Jonathan J. Riccitelli	9,866	2.70
	Independent	Ross K. McCurdy	9,408	2.57
	Write-in		2,513	0.69
Total votes			366,152	100

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daniel McKee.

• Government website
• Campaign website
• Appearances on C-SPAN

• Profile at Vote Smart

Political offices
Preceded by Elizabeth Roberts	Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island 2015–2021	Succeeded by Sabina Matos
Preceded by Gina Raimondo	Governor of Rhode Island 2021–present	Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Kamala Harris as Vice President	Order of precedence of the United States Within Rhode Island	Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held
		Succeeded by Otherwise Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Roy Cooper as Governor of North Carolina	Order of precedence of the United States Outside Rhode Island	Succeeded by Phil Scott as Governor of Vermont