Moderate GOP Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island faces a serious challenge today as the last big flurry of primary elections provides another test of the depth of anti-incumbent sentiment and the erosion of the political middle ground.
In all, nine states and Washington, D.C., hold primary elections.
Maryland Democrats choose a Senate candidate to take on Republican Michael Steele, the lieutenant governor. An open House seat in Arizona has drawn a contentious crowd of GOP candidates, as well as several hopefuls on the Democratic side.
Minnesota Democrats will pick a candidate for a House seat left open by retiring 14-term Democratic Rep. Martin Sabo.
Many races won’t be close but will set up important November contests that include Senate seats in Arizona and Minnesota and the races for governor in Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
Other states holding primaries are Delaware, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont, while the District of Columbia will select mayoral candidates.
Chafee’s bid for a second term is the latest race with a moderate targeted by his own party’s hard-line critics.
Connecticut’s Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman was beaten by anti-war candidate Ned Lamont, though the incumbent is still running as an independent, and Michigan Rep. Joe Schwarz, a moderate Republican targeted by the anti-tax Club for Growth, also was defeated.
Two other incumbents lost primaries in the past two months, though both had grown unpopular for their personal behavior – Alaska GOP Gov. Frank Murkowski and Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia.
Chafee has also been targeted by the Club for Growth, a Washington-based group that has tried, not always successfully, to force candidates to vote against taxes. The group is backing Steve Laffey, a former investment banker and mayor of Cranston, R.I.
Chafee himself acknowledged that the race could hinge on turnout in heavily Democratic Rhode Island, saying a low turnout could mean his defeat. His campaign has encouraged Democrats to drop their party registration so they could vote for him.
The battle comes amid a national fight for Congress, with Democrats hoping dismay with the Bush administration and the GOP- led Congress could boost their efforts to win majorities in the House and Senate. Democrats need to win six Senate seats – and Rhode Island’s is one of the more vulnerable, with polls showing Laffey could lose to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse.
