Former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln
Chafee on Wednesday entered the race for the Democratic presidential
nomination, joining two others in challenging former Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Chafee, a former Republican, announced
his bid for the White House during a press conference at George Mason
University in Arlington, Virginia.
Chafee, who served alongside Clinton in
the Senate, criticized senators who voted for the 2002 resolution
authorizing military action in Iraq, saying that they had not done
their “homework” on claims that Iraq had weapons of mass
destruction. Chafee was the only Republican to vote against the
resolution.
In an interview with USA Today, Chafee,
62, expanded on his remarks: “I just don't think the Democratic
Party should have – as our nominee – someone who made that
mistake.”
“This Iraq war, obviously, angers
me,” he added. “We live with it today.”
Clinton, for her part, has called her
vote a “mistake, plain and simple.”
Like all of the Democratic candidates,
Chafee supports marriage equality. As governor, he signed a gay
marriage bill into law.