Aaron Guckian

Guckian is a lifelong resident of East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He describes himself as the son of a union plumber and a respiratory therapist and has said his parents taught him the value of hard work.⁠[1]

He graduated from East Greenwich High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in music and education from Connecticut College, a master’s degree in music from Rhode Island College and an MBA from Johnson & Wales University.⁠[2]

Guckian was a special assistant to Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri, a development officer at the Rhode Island Foundation, a vice president at Bank Newport and an officer at The Washington Trust Company. He chaired the Warwick Sewer Authority and served on the boards of the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce and World Trade Day at Bryant University.⁠[2][1]

Shortly before announcing his run for governor in late 2025, he left his post as executive director of the Rhode Island Dental Association.⁠[1]

Guckian first ran for office in 2022. He won the September 13 Republican primary for lieutenant governor with 67.7 percent against Paul Pence; in the November 8 general election he received 43.1 percent and lost to incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos (51.2 percent), with independent Ross McCurdy at 5.5 percent.⁠[2][1]

On December 1, 2025, Guckian announced his campaign for governor at Brewed Awakenings in Warwick, where he was introduced by Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins. He described himself as a moderate Republican, promised to make Rhode Island more affordable and economically competitive, and said “hard work matters.”⁠[1]

He said he would lower electricity rates by encouraging competition and modernizing the grid, and backed what he called “practical clean energy”; on housing he proposed streamlining permits and letting people qualify for a first-time homebuyers program through “sweat equity”; on health care he proposed expanding training pipelines and offering incentives to attract and retain providers. He also said he disagreed with the federal halt of the Revolution Wind offshore wind project, which was 80 percent complete.⁠[1]

As the Rhode Island Republican Party’s endorsed candidate, Guckian narrowly won the September 9 Republican primary for governor over Elaine Pelino, 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent. On election night fewer than 300 votes separated them and the Associated Press did not project a winner.⁠[2][3]

On September 15 the Rhode Island Board of Elections re-read the electronic data from the election-night memory devices; the totals matched the original count and Guckian was confirmed as the Republican nominee by 259 votes. He said the result confirmed the original count and that he was looking ahead to the general election.⁠[4]

In the November 3 gubernatorial election Democrat Helena FoulkesHelena FoulkesHelena Foulkes (Helena Buonanno Foulkes) is an American Democratic politician and retail executive who served as president of CVS Pharmacy and as chief executive of Hudson’s Bay Company. She was elected governor of Rhode Island in November 2026.Open the full entry won; the Associated Press projected her as the winner. Unofficial results showed Guckian with about 13 percent, behind Foulkes (about 57 percent) and independent Ken Block (about 28 percent).⁠[5][6]