Follow-up: Costco's First Rhode Island Store Becomes Campaign Flashpoint
The October 22 announcement that Costco had chosen Smithfield for its first Rhode Island store quickly spilled into the governor's race. On October 23, independent candidate Ken Block and Republican Aaron Guckian criticized Democratic nominee Foulkes — a Costco board member — for using the announcement to boost her campaign.
Foulkes's campaign responded through WJAR television, saying word of the site selection had already been circulating and that her confirmation of it came through the negotiation process with Costco, not campaign staging.
Costco's corporate public relations office did not respond to media inquiries. The governor's race is among Rhode Island's headline contests in this year's midterm elections.
Source: GSM·America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Costco 批发门店外观。摄影：Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States，CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: a Costco Wholesale store, by Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-23Follow-up: Costco's First Rhode Island Store Becomes Campaign FlashpointThis story
