Chafee drops out of presidential race

LINCOLN D. CHAFEE, former governor of Rhode Island, has dropped  out of the presidential race. / BLOOMBERG NEWS/ANDREW HARRER
LINCOLN D. CHAFEE, former governor of Rhode Island, has dropped out of the presidential race. / BLOOMBERG NEWS/ANDREW HARRER

(Updated 9:42 and 11:29 a.m.)
Lincoln D. Chafee has dropped out of the presidential race, The Washington Post is reporting.
The former Rhode Island governor and U.S. senator made the announcement on Friday at an appearance in Washington at a Democratic National Committee forum on women’s leadership.
“After much thought I have decided to end my campaign for president today,” Chafee told a gathering of about 600 Democrats, according to the Post. “I would like to take this opportunity one last time to advocate for a chance be given to peace.”
In an apparent jab at President Barack Obama’s foreign policy legacy, he added, “Do we want to be remembered as a bomber of weddings and hospitals? Or do we want to be remembered as peacemakers, as pioneers of a more harmonious world?”
Chafee failed to gain much support for his campaign, which featured a push to adopt the metric system. He languished in the polls at 0 percent and was even lampooned on television by Conan O’Brien for his lowly poll ratings in a segment that debuted a song to help him get to 1 percent.
Chafee, who also represented Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate alongside New York’s Hillary Clinton, announced his decision after a series of positive developments for Clinton’s front- runner candidacy.

She performed strongly in the debate, then saw Vice President Joe Biden announce after months of deliberation that he wouldn’t challenge her. And on Thursday, conservatives said the House Select Committee on Benghazi’s marathon grilling of Clinton turned out to be a political bust.

Asked by reporters on Friday why he made his decision now, Chafee, who’s attacked Clinton on her Iraq War vote and private e-mail controversy, said, “Obviously it’s a good week for Secretary Clinton.”

Chafee’s exit follows that of former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, leaving only progressive former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, who’s running a long-shot bid on a campaign finance reform platform, to contend with Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.

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