Cook Political: Third Parties making a difference…

Third Parties are making a difference in New England according to an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Jennifer Duffy from the Cook Political Report writes on WSJ.com, “Third-party candidates rarely win elections. So what does it say about the deep blue states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island that they now have credible independents running for governor next year?”

Duffy writes that because of Democratic dominance in New England the opportunity has arisen, the opening is there for a third party or independent candidate to take the wind from the Democrat.

Duffy points out that in Massachusetts, state Treasurer Tim Cahill now has more than six times the amount of money that incumbent Democratic Governor Deval Patrick has in his bank account the end of the last quarter. Cahill was a Democrat, but resigned to run as an independent. She continues to write about former Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee who is running for Governor in Rhode Island as an independent, recent polls show him getting about one third of the vote.

Duffy argued that the rise of Chafee and Cahill mostly depends upon their personality and winning disaffected voters.

SOURCE:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704782304574541903184382532.html

Independent leading in race for Governor…

Independent leading in race for Governor in Rhode Island according to a new Alpha Research Assoc. poll.

The poll had independent former Senator Lincoln Chafee leading in races versus Republican Rory Smith, and Democrats General Treasurer Frank Caprio and Attorney General Patrick Lynch.

The poll shows the former Republican Chafee getting 36 or 37 percent of the vote depending up on the match-up. In a race versus and Attorney General Lynch and Smith Chafee leads 37-24-15. The match-up is much closer with the Democrat being General Treasurer Caprio, but Chafee is still in the lead 36-34-8.

In the polls undecideds are still in the 20’s.

SOURCE:

http://lcvonlinenews.blogspot.com/2009/11/governor-rhode-island-2010.html

Big name, small bank account for Rhode Island independent Gubernatorial candidate…

Big name, small bank account for Rhode Island independent Gubernatorial Lincoln Chafee. While Chafee has not officially announced his run, he is likely running unless something strange happens.

Steve Peoples on ProJo.com writes that former Republican Senator turned independent Lincoln Chafee has only “$180,000 in his account, which includes a personal loan of $60,000.” That is compared with two democratic candidates that have significantly more money.

Pollster Victor Profughi told Peoples it is too early to name a frontrunner, “Lincoln Chafee has muddied the waters considerably. But at this point, his fundraising has been excruciatingly slow. He hasn’t taken off the way I thought and other people thought he might.”

But Chafee may not be the only major independent candidate. The article says, “Moderate Party Chairwoman Christine Hunsinger confirmed last week that her organization was courting a ‘prominent former public official’” for her party.

SOURCE:

http://www.projo.com/news/content/GOVERNORS_RACE_10-14-09_UHG11C9_v27.3985e7f.html

Chaefee hires communications firm…

Lincoln Chafee hires communications firm for his Rhode Island gubernatorial “exploratory campaign”. Steve Peoples on Projo.com reports, “(Chafee hired an) international communications firm with experience on several high-profile campaigns.”

Chafee, a former Republican, hired the firm Devine Mulvey. The report quotes a Chafee news release saying Mulvey, "produced media for 17 winning U.S. Senate races and in dozens of winning races, for Democratic and independent candidates, for the U.S. House and state and local election officials."

Chafee, a former Senator, is expected to run for Governor as an independent.

SOURCE:

http://politicsblog.projo.com/2009/10/chafee-hires-co.html

Democrats and Republicans fear this independent…

Democrats and Republicans fear this independent, the independent is Lincoln Chafee. Chafee is running for Rhode Island Governor as an independent candidate.

In a article posed RealClearPolitics.com, both Republian and Democratic leaders mention concerns that Chafee could give their candidates a run for their money. The article quotes executive director of the Democratic Governors Association Nathan Daschle as saying, “(Chafee is who Democrats) see as the general election competition."

Chafee was a Republican Senator from Rhode Island, but lost his re-election bid in 2006.

SOURCE:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2009/09/parties_see_chafee_as_potentia.html