October 23, 2015

Lincoln Chafee Drops Out of Presidential Race

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

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Lincoln Chafee announced on Friday that he is ending his bid for the White House.

“As you know, I have been campaigning on a platform of prosperity through peace,” the former Rhode Island governor and US senator said during a Democratic National Committee event in Washington. “But after much thought, I have decided to end my campaign for president today.”

From the very start, Chafee’s campaign failed to gain traction, both in the polls and in fundraising. Earlier this week, NPR reported that only 10 donors had contributed to his long-shot campaign.

In his speech on Friday, Chafee urged Democrats to fight for peace.

“I would like to take this opportunity one last time to advocate for a chance be given to peace,” he said.

Just three days prior to Chafee’s announcement, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb also said he would no longer be seeking the Democratic nomination, though it remains unclear whether he will mount an independent bid. Martin O’Malley, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders are the only remaining Democratic contenders in the race.

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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