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Lincoln Chafee

Democratic Party

Prior offices:

Mayor of Warwick

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U.S. Senate Rhode Island

Successor:Sheldon Whitehouse (D)

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Warwick City Council

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Governor of Rhode Island

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last convention

May 23, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Brown University, 1975

Personal

Religion

Christian: Episcopalian

Contact

Campaign website

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Lincoln Chafee was theGovernor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. First elected governor on theindependent ticket in 2010, he became the only sitting governor in the country who was neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Chafee was sworn in on January 4, 2011.

On May 30, 2013, during his first and only gubernatorial term, Chafeechanged his party affiliation again, this time becoming a Democrat. Chafee cited two main reasons for registering with theDemocratic Party in 2013: first, he doubted that he could run a competitive re-election campaign in 2014 without the financial backing and other resources provided by major party organizations; second, Chafee was a major supporter of Democratic PresidentBarack Obama, whom Chafee knew from their days as U.S. Senate colleagues. After switching from independent to Democrat, Chafee was expected to seek re-election as governor in2014. Instead, he announced in September 2013 that he would not run for a second term.^[1][2]

Chafee filed to run for the2020 Libertarian nomination forpresident of the United States on January 5, 2020.^[3] He ended his presidential campaign on April 5, 2020.^[4] Chafee had previously run forpresident as a Democrat in 2016, but withdrew from the race on October 23, 2015, before the Democratic primary.^[5][6]

Chafee previously served as aRepublican U.S. Senator from 1999 to 2007. Chafee succeeded his father in the Senate following his death in 1999. Chafee was appointed to fill the vacancy and he won a full, six-year term in 2000. In 2006, Chafee lost his seat to DemocratSheldon Whitehouse. Chafee left the Republican Party and became an independent the following year.^[7]

Prior to his Senate term, Chafee was a delegate to Rhode Island's Constitutional Convention and a member of the City Council of Warwick, Rhode Island. From there, he was elected as the mayor of Warwick.^[8]

Biography

Chafee was born inRhode Island. He graduated from Brown University and later studied at the Montana State University horseshoeing school in Bozeman. He then spent seven years working as a farrier at racetracks in the U.S. and Canada.^[8]

Chafee entered politics in 1985 when he was a delegate to Rhode Island's Constitutional Convention. The next year, he won election to Warwick's City Council. In 1992, he became the city's mayor, a post he held until his Senate appointment in 1999.^[8]

Following his departure from the U.S. Senate in 2007, Chafee accepted a post as a distinguished visiting fellow at Brown University's Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies, where he worked with undergraduates studying American foreign policy. He remained in that position until beginning his campaign for governor in January 2010.^[8]

Education

• Montana State University
• B.A., Brown University
• Phillips Academy^[8]

Political career

Rhode Island Governor (2011-2015)

Chafee was electedGovernor of Rhode Island as an independent in November 2010 and took office on January 4, 2011, becoming the only sitting governor in the country who was neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Chafee held that distinction until May 30, 2013, when he registered as a member of theDemocratic Party. A variety of factors contributed to Chafee's decision to switch from independent to Democrat, including his consistent support for President Obama and his trepidation about campaigning for re-election in 2014 without the backing of a major party.^[9][10] Chafee's party switch marked the first time since 1995 that Rhode Island had a Democrat in the governor's office. At the time, Chafee's switch made for a total of 20 governors in the United States that were Democrats. 30 were Republicans.^[11]

Job creation ranking

A June 2013 analysis byThe Business Journals ranked 45 governors based on the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chafee was ranked number 42. The five governors omitted from the analysis all assumed office in 2013.^[12][13]

Pension reform

In 2011,State TreasurerGina Raimondo (D) ordered new estimates of the state's pension liability. Finding that the liability had increased from $4.9 billion to $7.3 billion, Raimondo pushed the issue to the top of the agenda.^[14] Raimondo and Chafee introduced a pension reform plan which received bipartisan support in both chambers of the state legislature and was passed in November 2011.^[15]

U.S. Senator (1999-2007)

Chafee previously served as aRepublican U.S. Senator from 1999 to 2007. Chafee was appointed to fill the vacancy created by his father's death in 1999. Chafee won a full, six-year term in 2000. In 2006, Chafee lost his seat to DemocratSheldon Whitehouse.^[7]

Elections

2016

Presidency

See also:Lincoln Chafee presidential campaign, 2016 andPresidential election, 2016

Chafee was aDemocratic presidential candidate in 2016. He withdrew from the Democratic primary on October 23, 2015. A national poll published on July 15, 2015, by Monmouth University did not register any support for Chafee.^[16] His national support had been hovering at below one percent at the time of his withdrawal, according toReal Clear Politics.^[17] As for fundraising, Chafee raised only $11,000 in the third quarter of 2015, according to theAssociated Press.^[18]

2014

See also:Rhode Island gubernatorial election, 2014

Chaffee was eligible for re-election in 2014, and the now Democratic incumbent was considered likely to seek a second term in the governor's office. However, Chafee announced on September 4, 2013, that he would spend the remainder of his term focusing on governing rather than campaigning for re-election. "I want to devote all my time, all my energy, to the task at hand," he stated.^[2][11]

2010

See also:Rhode Island gubernatorial election, 2010 andGubernatorial elections, 2010

Chafee facedFrank T. Caprio (D),John F. Robitaille (R),Ken Block (Moderate),Ronald Algieri (I),Todd Giroux (I), andJoseph M. Lusi (I) in the general election onNovember 2, 2010.^[19]

Governor of Rhode Island, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank T. Caprio	23%	78,896
	Republican	John F. Robitaille	33.6%	114,911
	Independent	Lincoln Chafee	36.1%	123,571
	Moderate	Ken Block	6.5%	22,146
	Independent	Ronald Algieri	0.2%	793
	Independent	Todd Giroux	0.3%	882
	Independent	Joseph M. Lusi	0.3%	1,091
Total Votes				342,290

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Lincoln Chafee, click [show] to expand the section.

2006 On November 7, 2006, Sheldon Whitehouse won election to theUnited States Senate. He defeated Lincoln Chafee (R) in the general election.[20] U.S. Senate, Rhode Island General Election, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Sheldon Whitehouse 53.5% 206,043      Republican Lincoln Chafeeincumbent 46.5% 178,950 Total Votes 384,993 2000 On November 7, 2000, Lincoln Chafee won re-election to theUnited States Senate. He defeated Robert A. Weygand (D) Kenneth P. Proulx (I) and Christopher Young (Reform) in the general election.[21] U.S. Senate, Rhode Island General Election, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Lincoln Chafeeincumbent 56.9% 222,588      Democratic Robert A. Weygand 41.1% 161,023      Independent Kenneth P. Proulx 0.9% 3,635      Reform Christopher Young 1% 4,107 Total Votes 391,353

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

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See also

• Governor of Rhode Island
• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island
• Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth H. Roberts
• Lincoln Chafee presidential campaign, 2016
• Presidential election, 2016

External links

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Footnotes

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