Lincoln Chafee said on Friday that he will end his long-shot run for president.
In a speech at the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington, Mr. Chafee said that although he felt that he had a winning message, it was time to move on from the 2016 race. He becomes the second Democrat this week, following former Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, to drop out.
“As you know I have been campaigning on a platform of prosperity through peace,” Mr. Chafee said. “But after much thought I have decided to end my campaign for president today.”
Mr. Chafee’s campaign struggled to gain traction, as the 62-year-old former governor and senator from Rhode Island had trouble raising money and barely registered in most polls. When he announced plans to run over the summer, his platform was overshadowed by a quirky call for a switch to the metric system.
At last week’s Democratic presidential debate, Mr. Chafee was unable to command the stage and had difficulty making the case for his candidacy. An antiwar candidate who is interested in foreign affairs, he tried to criticize Hillary Rodham Clinton for her vote as a senator to authorize the war in Iraq.
Having raised only about $30,000, Mr. Chafee began to face questions about how long long he could continue to run and if he was tarnishing his legacy as a statesman.
“You’re going to wind up looking silly if you keep going on like this,” Wolf Blitzer, the CNN anchor, said to him during an interview after the debate.
Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, thanked Mr. Chafee for his “remarkable public service” at the event on Friday and called him a “class act.”
After his announcement, Mr. Chafee dedicated the rest of his speech to the importance of giving peace a chance and promoting women’s rights and said he would continue to support the party.
“We all know that the Republican agenda sets back women’s rights and I pledge all my energy toward a big 2016 victory for Democrats across the country,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/fir...coln-chafee-withdraws-from-presidential-race/
In a speech at the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington, Mr. Chafee said that although he felt that he had a winning message, it was time to move on from the 2016 race. He becomes the second Democrat this week, following former Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, to drop out.
“As you know I have been campaigning on a platform of prosperity through peace,” Mr. Chafee said. “But after much thought I have decided to end my campaign for president today.”
Mr. Chafee’s campaign struggled to gain traction, as the 62-year-old former governor and senator from Rhode Island had trouble raising money and barely registered in most polls. When he announced plans to run over the summer, his platform was overshadowed by a quirky call for a switch to the metric system.
At last week’s Democratic presidential debate, Mr. Chafee was unable to command the stage and had difficulty making the case for his candidacy. An antiwar candidate who is interested in foreign affairs, he tried to criticize Hillary Rodham Clinton for her vote as a senator to authorize the war in Iraq.
Having raised only about $30,000, Mr. Chafee began to face questions about how long long he could continue to run and if he was tarnishing his legacy as a statesman.
“You’re going to wind up looking silly if you keep going on like this,” Wolf Blitzer, the CNN anchor, said to him during an interview after the debate.
Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, thanked Mr. Chafee for his “remarkable public service” at the event on Friday and called him a “class act.”
After his announcement, Mr. Chafee dedicated the rest of his speech to the importance of giving peace a chance and promoting women’s rights and said he would continue to support the party.
“We all know that the Republican agenda sets back women’s rights and I pledge all my energy toward a big 2016 victory for Democrats across the country,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/fir...coln-chafee-withdraws-from-presidential-race/
