Around New England

Lincoln Chafee — Former Republican Senator From Rhode Island, Former Democratic Governor of Rhode Island, Formerly of Rhode Island – Running for President As Libertarian

January 7, 2020

Lincoln Chafee is running for president of the United States as a Libertarian.

Chafee, 66, who served as a Republican U.S. senator from Rhode Island, then became an independent, then became the Democratic governor of Rhode Island, has found his fourth political home.

According to WPRI, on Sunday, January 5, Chafee filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to create a campaign committee in Wyoming, the state where he currently lives.

Chafee’s campaign web site, LincolnForLiberty.com, says he is “anti-war”, “anti-deficit” and “pro-truth.”

Chafee was a Republican during his time as a U.S. senator (1999 to 2007). Chafee served as the mayor of Warwick at the time during the 1990s. He got appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat after his father John’s death. Chafee won election to the U.S. Senate in 2000, but lost in 2006 to Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat, as Republicans lost the Senate majority.

In 2010, he got elected state’s governor as an independent, but became a Democrat in 2013. Chafee did not run for re-election in 2014.

This marks Chafee’s second run for president. He unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2016.

Chafee, who endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008, according to CNN, is a new addition to the Libertarian Party. He joined it in 2019.

A resident of Canada for seven years, Chafee differs from most libertarians on health care. He is in favor of a single-payer system, according to the Associated Press.