Rhode Island’s Chafee to Join Democratic Party

BOSTON â€" Gov. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, the only Independent governor in the nation, plans to switch to the Democratic Party as he faces a tough re-election fight next year.

Mr. Chafee, who served in the United States Senate as a Republican, had discussed the possibility of becoming a Democrat for months and spoke last year at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

He was unavailable for comment on Wednesday, but a spokesman, Christian Vareika, confirmed the news after it was first reported by Politico. Mr. Vareika said Mr. Chafee would announce his decision Thursday morning in his hometown, Warwick.

He said the governor had concluded that “the priorities and principles that have guided him throughout his career align with the Democratic Party’s,” particularly with regard to public education, job creation and equal rights.

With three-fourths of voters disapproving of his job performance and the state’s economy limping along, analysts say that becoming a Democrat may be Mr. Chafee’s best shot at winning re-election. His apparent hope is that as a Democrat, President Obama will step in on his behalf and help him through a difficult primary.

Mr. Chafee and Mr. Obama, who overlapped in their short Senate careers, have developed a supportive relationship. Mr. Chafee backed Mr. Obama in his battle against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary in 2008 and supported him again in 2012.

In turn, Mr. Obama stayed out of the Rhode Island governor’s race in 2010 and did not endorse the Democratic candidate “out of respect for his friend Lincoln Chafee,” an Obama spokesman said at the time.

In a statement issued Wednesday through the Democratic National Committee, Mr. Obama said, “I’m delighted to hear that Governor Chafee is joining the Democratic Party.” But he gave no hint as to whether he would endorse anyone in a Democratic primary.

By contrast, Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, indicated in a statement that the association would stay neutral in any intramural battle. “We are excited to welcome Governor Chafee to the ranks of Democratic governors and look forward to enthusiastically supporting whoever emerges as the Democratic nominee in Rhode Island,” he said.

At the moment, Mr. Chafee’s prospects for re-election seem fairly low. Various Democrats are lining up to run against him, including two potentially strong contenders: Gina Raimondo, the state treasurer, and Angel Taveras, the mayor of Providence.

“His move comes from thinking, ‘If I don’t switch parties, I’m going to lose anyway,’ ” said Wendy Schiller, a political scientist at Brown University. “And maybe as a Democrat, the president can come out for him wholeheartedly or at least help dry up the funding for the other candidates.”

But this will be tricky, she said, in part because Ms. Raimondo is a woman and Mr. Taveras a Latino, both representing important Democratic constituencies. Mr. Chafee is “a white patrician Yankee who was a Republican,” Dr. Schiller said.