Since Connecticut Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman lost his primary in early August, the media and political strategists have been watching the Republican primary in Rhode Island to see whether GOP Sen. Lincoln Chafee would suffer the same fate at the hands of Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey.
The media, in particular, were looking for signs of an anti-incumbent year or that a movement was building in both parties to purge its moderate members.
At the end of the day the story was not of a Chafee defeat but of a Chafee romp. He defeated Laffey, 54 percent to 46 percent, winning 25 of 39 cities and towns. He took 62 percent in Warwick where he was once Mayor, yet held Laffey to just 53 percent in Cranston. As important, turn out smashed the previous record for a Republican primary; 62,099 votes were cast compared to 45,023 in 1994. Republican strategists have long maintained that if they could hit 60,000 votes, Chafee could win. They probably didn't think that meant winning with 54 percent.
Chafee's victory can't be ascribed to a
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