The small and heavily Democratic state of Rhode Island was at the heart of Republican efforts to maintain control of the Senate yesterday, after maverick Republican Lincoln Chafee won re-nomination for another term against a more conservative challenger.
It was the crossover votes from disaffected Democrats and independents that pushed Chafee over the top in his contest against Steven Laffey. Laffey is the mayor of one of the state's largest suburbs, Cranston. He was backed by the influential anti-tax group, Club for Growth.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee pumped over a million dollars into the Chafee campaign, despite the fact that Chafee continuously voted against the Bush administration on one key issue after another from tax cuts to the Iraq war.
Still, the White House was relieved when Chafee won. The national party knew that in solidly blue-state Rhode Island, Chafee was the only Republican who stood a chance of winning in November against a Democratic nominee.
This was not enough for some Republicans here, like 21-year-old university student John Porter, who voted for Laffey because he was angry at Chafee's opposition to the war in Iraq.
"I can't support the guy who didn't vote for our commander-in-chief, our president," Porter said. "That was really the drawing line. I understand he might do better in the general election, but when you do not support our commander-in-chief in a time of war by not voting for him in the 2004 election, that basically crossed the line for me."
Other Rhode Island voters said they admire Chafee's independence. Outside a polling station in Laffey's hometown of Cranston, 43-year-old David Rothban said he favors Chafee, who does not always vote with his fellow Republicans.
"I like the fact that he's willing to make a decision based on what's right for everyone, not just follow the party line," he said.
Despite the upbeat tone of Chafee's speech last night, he acknowledged that he still had a tough race ahead of him in the general election against Democrat and former State Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse.
"It will take everything we've got. But with this powerful team, I am confident we will win," Chafee told his cheering supporters.
It's not a sentiment the National Republican Party would have shared had Laffey one the primary.
Nancy Cook from member station WRNI reports.
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