Illustration: Mark Marturello/The Des Moines Register

PARTY: Democrat

BORN: March 26, 1953 in Providence, Rhode Island

Lincoln Chafee

What he’s got: Local, state, and federal governing experience as a former Rhode Island mayor, governor, and U.S. senator; party loyalties that have run the gamut from Republican to independent to Democrat; despite those shifting affiliations, a consistently liberal record on domestic and foreign policy; a patrician pedigree and demeanor, an idiosyncratic biography (after schooling at Andover and Brown, he moved to Montana to learn horseshoeing and spent years working at racetracks as a farrier), and a dry, wry Yankee wit.

What he lacks: National name recognition or stature; establishment or grassroots support among members of a Democratic Party that he joined just two years ago; organizational strength in any early state; convincing answers to questions about his performance in his one term as governor, which was so weak that he declined to seek re-election; much of a message beyond knocking Hillary Clinton, especially over her vote to authorize the Iraq War (he was the only Senate Republican to vote the other way); a path to the nomination that doesn’t involve him pulling a shock-the-world upset by beating Clinton in New Hampshire.

Read Mark Halperin and John Heilemann's Scouting Report

Photo Gallery

Governor Lincoln Chafee signs Rhode Island's marriage eqaulity bill into law at the Providence State House on May 2, 2013. Photograph by: Bizuayehu Tesfaye/AP Images for Humans Rights Campaign

Chafee speaks with fellow public servants after finishing the three-mile Capital Challenge in Washington D.C.'s Anacostia Park on May 7, 2003. Photograph by: Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images

Chafee poses in his Brown University wrestling uniform. He was on the varsity team all four years. Photograph by: Courtesy of Brown University

Chafee smiles while giving a concession speech after losing the 2006 Rhode Island gubernatorial race on November 7, 2006. Photograph by: Darren McCollester/Getty Images

Chafee and former President George Bush greet supporters at one of Chafee's 1999 senatorial campaign events, in Providence Rhode Island, on July 16, 1999. Photograph by: AP Photo/Matt York

Chafee and his father, former U.S. Senator John Chafee, at a fundraiser on July 16, 1999. Photograph by: AP Photo/Matt York

Top Priorities

Restoring American credibility: Work with foreign powers to restore trust lost as a result of intervention such as the Iraq war.
The economy: Strengthen the middle class through social programs.
The environment: Support development of clean energy.
Privacy: Stop organizations from secretly collecting phone records.

Chafee’s Resumé

1971-1975

Attended Brown University.
1975

Attended Montana State University’s horse-farrier school.
1983-1990

Worked for the manufacturing companies Electric Boat and Cranston Print Works.
1991-1992

Clean energy advocate in support of electrifying the Northeast rail system.
1992-1999

Mayor of Warwick.
1999-2007

U.S. Senator from Rhode Island.
2007-2009

Visiting fellow at Brown University.
2011-2015

Governor of Rhode Island.

Highs

2008: His book, Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President, was released.
2005: Part of the Gang of Fourteen that proposed and passed a compromise and alternative to the “nuclear option.”

Watch This

Lincoln Chafee on Pot in the ’70s, Blacksmiths, and Running

Lincoln Chafee speaks with Bloomberg Politics about smoking pot and his former career as a blacksmith.

Lows

2014: His approval ratings were so low that he decided not to run for re-election as governor of Rhode Island.

He Once Said...

“I don’t think anybody should be president of the United States that made that mistake.”

- Chafee on Hillary Clinton’s vote to go into Iraq

“There’s no doubt I’m the underdog.”

- Chafee in April 2015

“If we as leaders make good decisions, we can fix what’s ailing us."

- Chafee in June 2015

“Will the NRA ever come to the table to discuss common-sense gun laws? That is what we need."