Rhode Island's Lincoln Chafee faces primary defeat
2006-09-08
Source: McClatchy Washington Bureau
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rss feedRhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee has sometimes considered quitting the Republican Party because he's often uncomfortable with conservative stands on such issues as taxes and war.
On Tuesday, the party might quit him.
Chafee, 53, faces a strong challenge in Tuesday's Republican primary and could lose to Stephen Laffey, 44, the two-term mayor of Cranston, R.I.
The outcome could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. Because Rhode Island is generally a liberal state, Chafee is considered a stronger candidate to hold the seat for Republicans in November, although he'd face a close contest against likely Democratic nominee Sheldon Whitehouse.
Laffey would enter a fall campaign a decided underdog, with several independent analysts saying that if he's the Republican nominee, the Democrats will have a much better chance of picking up the seat. Democrats need to gain six seats to take a majority of the 100-member Senate.
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