Lincoln Chafee

Lincoln Chafee Takes Winding Road Into Democratic Race

By ALAN RAPPEPORT

He has served as a mayor, a senator and a governor. He has been a Republican, an independent and a Democrat. On Wednesday, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island added presidential candidate to the list.

During a foreign policy speech at George Mason University here, Mr. Chafee announced that he was seeking the Democratic nomination, joining Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland.

“I enjoy challenges, and today we have many facing America,” Mr. Chafee said. “Today, I am formally entering the race for the Democratic nomination for president.”

Many were surprised when Mr. Chafee, 62, signaled in April that he was interested in seeking the White House. The move raised eyebrows in Rhode Island, where his record in one term as governor received mixed reviews. Facing the prospect of a primary challenge and sluggish poll numbers last year, he chose not to run for re-election.

While considering a presidential run, Mr. Chafee has shown a willingness to confront Mrs. Clinton, questioning the financial dealings of her family’s foundation and criticizing her for supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Mr. Chafee, a Republican at the time, was the only senator from his party to vote against the war.

I think Chafee wants to have the same dialogue on foreign policy that Sanders wants to have on domestic policy,” said Scott MacKay, a political analyst for Rhode Island Public Radio. “He sees the country as becoming too militaristic, and he will talk about the Iraq war vote.”

Mr. Chafee made that clear during his announcement, arguing that the Iraq war continues to haunt America’s credibility and advocating “waging peace” through multilateralism. Although he did not mention Mrs. Clinton by name, he referred to the controversies surrounding her use of a private email account while secretary of state and foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation, calling them “regrettable.”

Mr. Chafee’s long résumé belies what some have deemed a disappointing record. While he received praise for his overhaul of Rhode Island’s pension system as governor and for his education policy, he also oversaw a flagging state economy and was ensnared in several high-profile controversies, such as a debate over whether Christmas trees should be called holiday trees.

“This is the most Catholic state in the country,” said Maureen Moakley, a political science professor at the University of Rhode Island. “He took a beating over that.”

Ms. Moakley said many in Rhode Island saw Mr. Chafee as principled but quirky. While he can charm voters in small settings, she suggested, he tends to struggle when trying to communicate before the types of large audiences he will face on the national stage.

Some of that quirkiness was on display Wednesday, when Mr. Chafee unveiled that switching to the metric system was an important part of his strategy for integrating the United States with the rest of the world.

“I happened to live in Canada as they completed the process,” Mr. Chafee said. “Believe me, it’s easy. It doesn’t take long before 34 degrees is hot.”

Questioned about the idea, Mr. Chafee struggled to make the case that switching measurement systems would eventually be good for the economy.

Mr. Chafee’s presidential announcement lacked the festive atmosphere that some other candidates have sought to create. His logo was projected on a screen in front of about 100 people, many of whom said they were students and required to attend for class.

“I know very little about him, but I like what I heard,” said Becker Alshowk, 22, a journalism student at George Mason.

Trained as a horseshoe blacksmith, Mr. Chafee entered national politics in 1999, when he was appointed to the Senate as a Republican to fill the unexpired term of his father, John H. Chafee, who had died. The next year, he was elected for a full term.

In 2006, Mr. Chafee lost his seat to Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat. Four years later, Mr. Chafee ran for governor as an independent and won with 36 percent of the vote in a four-way race.

Although Mr. Chafee comes from a wealthy family, raising enough money to challenge Mrs. Clinton will be a struggle.

Sam Reid, who was Mr. Chafee’s liaison in Washington during his time as governor, has held numerous fund-raisers for him over the years but said that Mr. Chafee did not seem to have made raising money a priority.

“The fund-raising conversation hasn’t really been front and center,” Mr. Reid said. “It will be a very high mountain to climb to compete with the former secretary of state’s fund-raising.”

Mr. Chafee acknowledged as much on Wednesday, saying that he could not wage a billion-dollar campaign. But he promised to do his best to court voters at small events in Iowa and New Hampshire with his message of ending wars and using the resources spent on them to spur the economy at home.

Making matters more difficult, Mr. Chafee does not appear to have a strong base of support even in his home state.

Joseph M. McNamara, the chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, said that Mrs. Clinton had laid substantial groundwork when she won the state’s presidential primary in 2008.

“I certainly wish him the best,” Mr. McNamara said of Mr. Chafee. “He’s a very gracious individual, but most of the leadership in the Democratic Party in Rhode Island is supporting Hillary.”