It’s easy to write off former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s quiet effort to beat out Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. But, he tells Secrets, that would be as big a mistake as those who dismissed Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Chafee, a former mayor and former senator, ranks last in the race, but sees hope in Carter’s surprise wins that year in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, both the first in the nation.
Lincoln Chafee is running for the Democratic presidential nomination. AP Photo
Asked who he is modeling his campaign after, he mentioned former Arizona Rep. Morris Udall, also a 1976 candidate, then said, “Jimmy Carter, maybe, plodded away and talked about the issues he thought were important to him.”
And he’s encouraged by the unusual nature of the Democratic race, which has seen Clinton’s approval numbers drop since the day she announced her candidacy.
“This is fairly unique in that [former] Secretary [of State] Clinton got such a huge head start getting all the political apparatus behind her, even the money,” he said. But, he added, now that the classified email scandal is dogging her, there is a chance he can rise.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
