Didn't he have like one of the lowest approval ratings in the country as a governor? I thought that's why he didn't seek re-election last year. And he thinks he can win? Oh well, the more, the merrier.
That approval rating was much lower than it should've been. Anyone elected in RI will face low approval numbers because of how messed up the state is. Chafee also had other things going against him. The first was his plurality win, winning roughly a third of the state. The second was he ran and governed like a liberal and Rhode Island, though we may love Democrats, hates liberals. Third is Rhode Island is so dysfunctional and corrupt that almost anyone elected at the state level will be vilified within a year.
The media also turned him into the Grinch after the whole "holiday tree" thing despite the previous two governors calling it the same thing.
