Former Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee is returning to politics in a small office in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. And this time he's doing it without the GOP.
"I think there's room for something different," says Chafee , who has now opened a small campaign office in Pawtucket, RI, after rebranding himself an Independent for the 2010 election. Chafee went against Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in the 2006 Senate election during a surge of anti-republican sentiment. Chafee wasn't spared, losing the Senate seat his family had held since 1976.
Chafee says the Republican brand is struggling, and that outside the south, "social conservatism and tax cutting isn’t selling across the country." Chafee has always been an odd fit for the GOP though, what with his suport of abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and his opposition to Bush's tax cuts and the war in Iraq. Many Republicans referred to him as a RINO, or "Republican in Name Only." He even supported Barack Obama for president after leaving the Republican Party and donning the Independent cap.
In 2010, incumbent Governor Donald Carcieri faces a term limit, and can't seek re-election, and as of now, Joseph Trilio seems the likely GOP candidate. Still, many see Chafee's main competition coming from the two democratic hopefuls, State Treasurer Frank Caprio and Attorney General Patrick Lynch. This time around, its clear Chafee is going to have to pull out some major money, and says he's been personally fundraising since April.
“The difference with the Senate run is that I couldn’t raise money as a prochoice, proenvironment, antiwar Republican," says Chafee. "We put a fair amount into the ’06 run. I can’t do that again in this race. There’s a discipline in raising money that’s important to show you’re serious about a run.’’
After putting up 60,000 dollars of his own money, and raising an additional 40,000 over three months, it seems he may need to bolster a bit more patronage to do just that.
Related: Lincoln Chafee announces interest in RI Governor's seat
[Via Boston Globe]
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