Gov. Lincoln Chafee, a radical abortion advocate, will not seek re-election next year as Rhode Island’s governor.
“The announcement, at a hastily called 2 p.m. news conference, opens the door for a number of prominent politicians who have been eying the governor’s office,” says one report.
Two popular and well-funded Democrats — state General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and Providence Mayor Angel Taveras — have said they are considering a run. So too has Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, a Republican.
First elected in 2010, the governor had not given any public indication that he would not seek another four-year term.
He has been steadily fundraising and, in May, the former Republican-turned independent became a Democrat.
But for many political observers, the move to the Democratic Party did not appear to help Chafee’s re-election prospects, as he would face a tough primary field if Raimondo, Taveras or both decide to run.
Both Democrats have consistently polled higher than Chafee and raised far more in campaign donations than Chafee, a former U.S. senator, whose late father, John H. Chafee, was a governor and senator from Rhode Island.
Earlier this year, Chafee extended his pro-abortion record further by vetoing a bill the state legislature approved allowing motorists to purchase Choose Life license plates for their vehicles.
The measure is similar to bills in other states that allow sales of the plates to fund adoptions or support pregnancy centers that provide women with abortion alternatives. But Chafee wants no part of allowing drivers to purchase such plates.
Abortion backers urged Chafee to veto the bill, saying “the state should not inject itself into the emotional and contentious debate surrounding abortion.”
Barth E. Bracy, Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Right to Life Committee, responded to the veto in an email to LifeNews.
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“The Choose Life License Plate was approved by an overwhelmingly Democratic Rhode Island General Assembly to support the positive choices of infant adoption and the Rhode Island Safe Haven program,” he explained.
Bracy said: “The Choose Life Plate is already available in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Governor Chafee’s veto reveals an extremism on abortion that is consistent with his position on the national board of NARAL but is grossly out-of-step with other New England Democrats. A man who speaks of tolerance while stifling the free speech of those who disagree with him can only be regarded as a hypocrite.”
