Former Dem Gov Lincoln Chafee Steps Up Attacks On Raimondo Amid Primary Challenge Speculation

With growing speculation that he may enter Rhode Island’s 2018 Democrat gubernatorial primary, former Democrat Governor Lincoln Chafee is stepping up his attacks on his successor, Gina Raimondo. In an interview with WPRO-AM radio, Chafee blasted Raimondo for filling her campaign account with what he called “dirty money,” noting that her fundraising activities anger him “as a taxpayer.”

WLNE-TV reports:

Chafee’s attacks on Raimondo’s fundraising come as she faces intense scrutiny for her out-of-state fundraising activities. In recent months, Raimondo has refused on multiple occasions to disclose details about her fundraising events when pressed by the Providence Journal to provide them, including the identities of those hosting her fundraisers. Raimondo has consistently stonewalled the Journal’s requests, even after boasting that her administration was the “most transparent” the state has ever seen, a claim that now appears to ring hollow to Rhode Islanders. Raimondo has also refused to return contributions from attorneys tied to Thornton Law Firm, which has been the investigated for possible illegal campaign donations to numerous Democrat candidates.

As Raimondo continues to face serious questions about her woeful lack of transparency from Rhode Island’s press corps, she now finds herself dealing with attacks from a potential primary challenger for her fundraising activities, causing further headaches for America’s most unpopular incumbent Democrat governor running in 2018.