Chafee Again Announces Candidacy For Rhode Island Governor

Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee announced for the second time that he would run for governor of Rhode Island.

 PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee announced for the second time that he would run for governor of Rhode Island.

This first announcement for candidacy came on “The Rachel Maddow Show” in April 2009.

The former Republican, however, withdrew his statement the next day, explaining that he was unprepared to announce though he had loaned money to his own campaign.

Chafee, 56, quit the Republican Party after losing his U.S. Senate race to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in the 2006 general election.

“Running as an independent will free me from the constraints that party politics impose on candidates,” Chafee told supporters, according to the Associated Press.

With no primary challengers, Chafee is running as a fiscal conservative posed to limit property taxes but raise the sales tax in a state with 13 percent unemployment.

The Democratic candidates are General Treasurer Frank Caprio and Attorney General Patrick Lynch.