Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee will mount a longshot bid for the presidency as a Libertarian Party candidate, taking another stab at the White House after his failed bid for the 2016 Democrat nomination.
On Sunday, Chafee submitted paperwork to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to create the Lincoln Chafee for President campaign committee, CNN first reported.
“Protect Our Freedoms. Tell The Truth. No More Wars. No More Reckless Spending,” read slogans on a website included in Chafee’s filings.
Chafee, who was a Republican for most of his life, formally switched to the Democrat Party in 2013. He ran for the Democrat nomination three years later against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), former Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), and Hillary Clinton, who became the party’s nominee but was defeated by Donald Trump.
Chafee was nominated to replace his late father’s Senate seat in 1999 and was elected the following year as a Republican. In 2006, the senator was defeated by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). He then served as the Ocean State’s governor between 2011-2015 as an independent.