Lincoln Chafee Enters the Fray

Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican-turned-independent who became a Democrat while he was governor of Rhode Island, is expected  to formally launch his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday.

Chafee has scheduled an afternoon speech at the George Mason University School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs in Arlington, Va.  A staffer with knowledge of the governor's plans has said he will announce his run during the event.

Chafee, 62, left the governor's mansion in January and announced in April he had formed an exploratory committee. He has said he would focus a presidential campaign on growing the middle class by raising the minimum wage and supporting social programs such as Head Start. He has also indicated he will target primary frontrunner Hillary Clinton on her vote to authorize the Iraq War when they both served in the Senate. The vote, which hurt Clinton in her 2008 bid, raises questions about her judgment, Chafee has said.

“I don't think anybody should be president of the United States that made that mistake,” Chafee told the Washington Post in April. “It's a huge mistake, and we live with broad, broad ramifications today—of instability not only in the Middle East but far beyond and the loss of American credibility. There were no weapons of mass destruction.”