Chafee considering run for governor

BARRINGTON, R.I. (AP) - Former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee says he will decide by May whether to run for governor.

Chafee said at an appearance at Barrington Congregational Church on Sunday that he is “very, very interested” in running and will make a decision based on whether he thinks he can raise enough money to run a campaign and whether he has a shot at winning.

He tells The Providence Journal he would welcome the challenges the governorship would bring.

Chafee was appointed to the Senate in 1999 to fill the term of his late father, John Chafee. He was elected in 2000 but lost in 2006 to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse.

He later left the Republican Party and accepted a teaching fellowship at Brown University. He is now an independent.