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Updated: October 14, 2026 @ 6:01 am
Over time Ken Block has made an impact in Rhode Island, and for the politically aware, he’s a known quantity.
His poll numbers reflect it.
More on that in a bit.
Professionally, he’s a big success. A software engineer and entrepreneur, he has worked with state governments to find efficiencies and has, as an example, saved Texas a billion dollars in its social service and welfare programs.
His reputation for data mining caused the Trump campaign to solicit his skills for proof of a stolen 2020 election. His research, having proved the opposite, provided a foundation for a book called “Disproven,” for which he has been nationally recognized.
As an advocate he was instrumental in ridding the state election ballot of the archaic master lever. And he has played the role as a watchdog for state and municipal spending.
In 2010 Block started and constitutionally qualified the “Moderate Party” by finishing fourth out of five with 6.5% of the vote for governor.
In 2014, he ran for governor again and spent a bucket from his personal wealth only to lose by a respectable 10 points in the GOP primary to then Cranston Mayor Allan Fung.
From all of this Ken Block has built equity with the public and the media, and is a go-to guest on talk radio.
So now, in the 2026 race, you would think he’d have a feel for the landscape.
He doesn’t.
Despite the occasional multi-candidate dogfight, most of our statewide races come down to the primary winners from each of the two major parties.
A cocky Block, holding his nose at those two parties, announced early in the year he would tentatively run as an independent, gave a deadline for raising some money and then kind of went underground.
He re-appeared in early summer and has raised and spent far less than his 2014 race. It seems he convinced himself that with his strategy the race would easily come to him.
It hasn’t.
Last month he paid for and published a very credible poll that said he could win a one-on-one race with Democratic primary winner Helena Foulkes.
One problem.
It’s a three-way scoring race with Republican Aaron Guckian amongst a field of five.
Guckian is a kind of circus act, having narrowly won an embarrassing primary over a complete unknown. He has zero money but he loves the action and attention of interviews and debates. Foulkes and the national Democrats wisely run occasional wrist-slapping attack ads on the Republican fooling him into thinking he’s competitive.
So, in the real scenario, Block’s pollster says that it’s Foulkes 41 percent, Block 24 and Guckian 19.
The independent’s computer and advocacy skills far outweigh his absent self-awareness and political instinct.
He has missed two big windows.
He could have rented the hapless local GOP primary, raising money and working to convince independents to vote there and bring him that win and a chance to go one-on-one with the Democrat winner.
And he could have at least stepped up last month with his poll numbers, recruiting credible Republican surrogates to make a hard demand for Guckian to get out.
In fact, last week Guckian, all giddy from his weird Channel 10 debate performance, flipped the table and demanded Block exit the race.
So now, three weeks ahead of the election, we ring the bell slowly for Ken Block’s political career and for those who want to see a culture shake up on Smith Hill.
He’s a dead man walking in second place in a race which will likely blow wider for Foulkes at the end.
Still somewhat oblivious to the reality of the situation, Block said Monday on WPRO that he was “licking his chops” to get to the Statehouse.
Well, sadly for him and maybe for the people, he should buy lots of Chapstick.
Dan Yorke is the afternoon drive talk show host on 99.7 FM and AM 630 WPRO and operates DYCOMM, a communications and consulting company.
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