The most liberal Republican in Congress, Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee, has flirted repeatedly with the idea of changing parties. He ruled out support for Bush in the campaign, he said he couldn’t think of a single area of agreement with the president, he admitted that he went to bed at night wondering how he could remain a Republican, and when asked in November if he’d consider a party switch, he said, “I’m not ruling it out.”
But, after the GOP expanded its majority on Election Day, Chafee “reassessed” his conscience and announced he’d stick with the Republicans. Now we’re seeing the consequences.
A public opinion survey commissioned by U.S. Senate Democrats shows Republican incumbent Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee to be vulnerable to a Democratic challenge in 2006, especially if the candidate is U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin, of Warwick.
The poll numbers released yesterday by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee show Langevin with 52 percent, Chafee at 32 percent and 17 percent undecided, said Cara Morris, spokeswoman for the committee.
Granted, some of the internals of this poll seem a little suspicious, but the fact remains that Chafee’s popularity is on the wane and his career is very much in jeopardy.
If he had switched parties a few months ago, his standing would be far stronger now.
At this point, Chafee is between a rock and a hard place. He’s a left-leaning Republican from a very “blue” state. He votes with Dems on many of the biggest issues, but votes with the GOP for Senate leadership and nominations. Dems in Rhode Island don’t support him because he’s a willing part of a party that’s gone off the right-wing cliff and Republicans resent him because he’s strayed so far from the party’s conservative principles.
Those stances have not endeared him to conservative Republicans and have sparked speculation that Chafee could be subject to a GOP primary campaign from a party conservative.
In theory, it’s not too late for Chafee to switch parties, boost his standing in the state, and increase his chances for keeping his job, but the clock is clearly ticking.