Daniel McKee

Daniel J. McKee (born June 16, 1951) is an American politician serving as the 69th and current Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island since 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Daniel McKee
69th Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island
Assumed office
January 6, 2015
GovernorGina Raimondo
Preceded byElizabeth Roberts
Personal details
Born (1951-06-16) June 16, 1951
Political partyDemocratic
EducationAssumption College (BA)
Harvard University (MPA)

Prior to his election to the lieutenant governorship of Rhode Island, 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] As current Governor Gina Raimondo was selected by President Joe Biden as his Secretary of Commerce, he will accede to the post of Governor of Rhode Island should Raimondo be confirmed by the United States Senate and subsequently resign the governorship.[2]

Early life and education

McKee's family has owned and operated small businesses in northern Rhode Island for over one hundred years.

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.

Career

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.

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.[3]

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.[4] McKee faced Republican Catherine Terry Taylor, a legislative aide and speechwriter for U.S. Senators John Chafee and Lincoln Chafee.[5] McKee won with 54.3% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2018.[6]

On January 7, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden selected Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo as his choice for Secretary of Commerce. Should Raimondo be confirmed by the United States Senate, as is expected, McKee would become the 76th Governor of Rhode Island, upon Raimondo's resignation.[7]

Electoral history
Cumberland Mayor Democratic Primary Election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee 4,390 61.48
Democratic Francis Gaschen 2,750 38.52
Cumberland Mayor Election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee 11,625 100.00
Cumberland Mayor Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee (inc.) 9,131 81.94
Independent Julian Pytka 2,012 18.06
Cumberland Mayor Democratic Primary Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David Iwuc 2,666 54.98
Democratic Daniel McKee (inc.) 2,183 45.02
Cumberland Mayor Democratic Primary Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee 4,411 62.33
Democratic David Iwuc (inc.) 2,666 37.67
Cumberland Mayor Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee 10,612 100.00
Cumberland Mayor Democratic Primary Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee (inc.) 3,871 64.4
Democratic David Iwuc 2,140 35.6
Cumberland Mayor Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee (inc.) 12,650 100.0
Cumberland Mayor Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee (inc.) 8,091 63.9
Independent David Iwuc 4,562 36.1
Cumberland Mayor Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee (inc.) 12,667 96.6
Write-ins Write-ins 452 3.4
Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Democratic Primary Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee 50,229 43.0
Democratic Ralph Mollis 42,525 36.4
Democratic Frank Ferri 23,970 20.5
Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee 169,078 54.3
Republican Catherine Terry Taylor 105,305 33.8
Moderate William Gilbert 25,951 8.3
Libertarian Tony Jones 10,221 3.3
Write-ins Write-ins 906 0.3
Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Democratic Primary Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee 57,632 51.1
Democratic Aaron Regunberg 55,230 48.9
Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel McKee 226,528 61.9
Republican Paul Pence 106,505 29.1
Moderate Joel Hellmann 11,332 3.1
Independent Jonathan Riccitelli 9,866 2.7
Independent Ross McCurdy 9,408 2.6
Write-ins Write-ins 2,513 0.7

References
  1. Edgar, Randal. "Cumberland Mayor McKee announces bid for R.I. lieutenant governor". providencejournal.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  2. "Biden Picks Rhode Island Governor for Commerce Secretary". @nytimes. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  3. "Daniel McKee's file". @politifact. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  4. "Rhode Island lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  5. ChrisS. "FirstWorks Names Taylor President of Board". GoLocalProv. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  6. "Lt. Gov. McKee wins re-election". WPRI.com. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  7. "Biden Picks Rhode Island Governor for Commerce Secretary". @nytimes. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
Political offices
Preceded by
Elizabeth Roberts		 Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island
2015–present		 Incumbent
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