Rhode Island Senator Battles For Seat

Republican Lincoln Chafee In Tough Primary Race Against Small-Town Mayor

(CBS) 
But Chafee, too, must walk a delicate line. He must appeal to his base, a moderate group of Republicans and Independents who have supported him since 1999, as well as persuade Democrats to vote for him in the Ocean State.

He is on his way, having managed to convince about 14,500 Democrats to either renounce any party affiliation or register as Republicans so they could vote for him in the primary, the Providence Journal first reported. Almost 13,600 answered his call and another 987 changed their registration to Republican.

But Stuart Rothenberg points out in a Roll Call column that the "fundamentals of the race, including Chafee's liberalism and the normal ideological dynamic in a GOP primary, suggest that Laffey is no worse than even money to beat the senator."

Perhaps that's why Chafee is quick to not completely disassociate as a Republican as he seeks to win the primary; his staff readily points out that Chafee is a Republican, albeit in the New England tradition.

"The Republican party has a lot of different avenues. Fiscal responsibility is a traditional Republican value, and Republicans believe in the environment. Sen. Chafee carries on those strong Republican values," said Ian Lang, Chafee's campaign manager.

And despite their recent differences, Chafee has actually voted with the Republican party most of the time, CBS News political consultant Dotty Lynch says. Congressional Quarterly's vote studies show Chafee supported President Bush on an annual average of 77 percent of votes on which Bush took a position during his first five years in the White House.

"Sen. Chafee will win as a Republican in September, he will win as a Republican in November and he (will) return to the Senate in January as a Republican," Lang adds. "He has spent his entire Republican career building the Republican party."

But even if Chafee wins, he's in for a tough general election against Whitehouse in a state where Bush's approval rating is among the bottom five in the nation. Some recent polls show a very tight race in the general election. A poll released July 14 by the independent pollster Rasmussen Reports finds Whitehouse with a five-point lead over Chafee, 46 percent to 41.

Whitehouse also recently surpassed the Chafee campaign in fundraising, as he's garnered more national attention in recent months. He says someone from his office speaks to a representative at the DSCC nearly every day. Whitehouse has been hosting fundraisers across the country, and perhaps it's paying off. Two out of every three dollars raised so far have come from out of state, and at a recent fundraiser in New York, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle headlined at an event at Martin Scorsese's home.

"Democrats have a real sense we're going to take the Senate back. Why settle for second best and send a moderate Republican senator to support his party whose interests are adverse to your own," Whitehouse says, referring to Chafee.

But Whitehouse says he's prepared to run against either Chafee or Laffey. "Both of them would just be going back down to Washington and vote for the Republican leadership most of the time. It doesn't matter much who it comes down to."

Whitehouse believes that while the race hasn't generated as much attention outside of the state as other Senate races, Rhode Islanders are following it closely and are well-informed about each party's platform.

"Rhode Islanders are politically sophisticated. It's said that politics is their favorite indoor sport," he said.

[carlsheeler4]

Melissa, Great piece except one very critical miss. The Whitehouse campaign has been putting out suggestions they have no primary opponent, but he is within 10 points (38-42/28-32) of his primary opponent Dr. Carl Sheeler, who was an unknown in February. He's a populist, financial expert, business owner and a Marine Vet having served during Desert Storm who's supported by netroots, veterans and anti-war groups and was the first federal candidate to join Congressman John Conyers call to investigate Bush for possible impeachable crimes.