Projo Politics Blog

Former Republican state Treasurer Nancy Mayer said: "I am a moderate Northeast Republican, of which there are very few of us left, but Linc Chafee is one of them so I am following his lead."

Describing herself as an unqualified Democrat ("Oh God, yes"), Nolan said she is helping both Chafee and Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts raise money because "I think the world of both of them, so until the day I have to walk into the voting booth, I am not choosing." Roberts is a potential Democratic primary contender for the same job.

Of her leap from Whitehouse fundraiser to Chafee booster, Democrat Chace said: "It wasn't a hard leap."

"When I was supporting Sheldon, I was so unhappy with the administration in Washington that it was all about the balance of power. ... It wasn't about the fact that I thought Linc was a bad politician or that he had bad instincts or that he was doing the wrong thing ... and I said to Linc, 'You know what, I apologize. It's a small state and I really like you and if you ever run for anything again I'll support you.' "

But Chace, like Nolan, said she would also like to see Roberts, the lieutenant governor, break through the potentially crowded Democratic primary field. "At that point, I've got to have a come to Jesus moment," she said.

Similarly, Jon Duffy, the current head of the Duffy & Shanley public relations agency, said he has also helped raise money for state Treasurer Frank Caprio's potential gubernatorial bid. "It's early," he explained.

"We're all here because we love Rhode Island, and we know we can do better," said Chafee in his own turn at the mike.

Tickets went for $250 to $1,000. Waiters circulated with trays of crab wontons, shrimp wrapped in Italian ham, and mini-vegetable pizzas. By mid-evening, Chafee campaign coordinator James DeRentis pegged the crowd at about 200, and anticipated the harvest in "the high five to low six-figures."

With incumbent Republican Governor Carcieri barred by term-limits from seeking another term, Chafee is unlikely to be the only big name candidate for the job his father -- the late John H. Chafee -- held in the 1960s. Roberts, Caprio, and Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch are among the potential Democratic candidates. Republican state Rep. Joseph Trillo of Warwick has voiced an interest.

While personally wealthy, Chafee is jumping in at a point when the Democrats -- and Caprio, in particular -- already have sizeable war chests.

On Wednesday, former Republican Attorney General Arlene Violet said she has been wooed by activists within the state GOP and the fledgling Moderate Party to run for the state's top job on their tickets. "I am in the going-to-think-about-it phase," said the 65-year-old Violet, a lawyer and former Catholic nun who still runs a low-key law practice.

Though Rhode Island's political hierarchy is heavily dominated by Democrats, registered Republicans number 73,579 and registered Democrats 290,373, a plurality of registered Rhode Island voters -- 330,388 -- are unaffiliated.

Chafee has not officially announced his candidacy, but has left little doubt in both local and national interviews -- and on his Web site -- what his intentions are in the wake of his April 6 announcement that he was forming an "exploratory committee" to begin raising money for a potential 2010 gubernatorial run.

"I think he did a good job in office and I hope he gets another shot," remarked soon-to-be replaced U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente as he took his place in the crowd.