As with most presidential primary debates, the focus will inevitably be on the front runners. That means that in tonight's Democratic debate on CNN, the majority of questions will probably go to Hillary Clinton(D-NY) and Senator Bernie Sanders(D-VT). But there will also be three other Democratic hopefuls sharing the stage and most Americans have never heard of any of them. Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley will finally get his chance to introduce himself to the American people, as will former Virginia Senator Jim Webb.
Then, there's former Rhode Island Governor and U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee.
Chafee's candidacy is a bit of a running joke in political circles. No one who is following the campaign closely really knows what he stands for and the vast majority of Americans aren't even aware that the guy exists
According to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, Chafee is the favorite of 0.2% of Democrats, nationally. His low name recognition is certainly responsible for some of this, but Chafee has been around politics for a long time. Here's a bit of Chafee history for all of you political junkies out there.
The Chafees are political royalty in Rhode Island.
Chafee's father was the governor of Rhode Island and a Republican United States Senator for nearly 30 years until his death in 1999. One has to use the term "Republican" loosely. John Chafee once proposed a national ban on all handguns in the United States that would have required U.S. handgun owners to turn in all of their pistols and revolvers for $25. (SPOILER: It didn't pass.)
Following his father's death, Lincoln Chafee was appointed to the seat by the sitting governor. He then won the seat for a full six-year term in 2000.
Chafee was not a natural politician. According to a 2001 piece in the New Republic, Chafee "....was uncomfortable on the stump and prone to oddball statements and painfully long pauses. There were people who said, after watching him, `My God, I cannot believe this is a U.S.. senator.'"
Chafee was viewed as a political lightweight for much of his first term. He was jokingly referred to as "Missing Linc" in his home state, a jab at his perceived lack of intellectual curiosity.
During the 2004 presidential election Chafee refused to endorse fellow Republican President George W. Bush. Instead, he wrote in the name of the president's father, George H.W. Bush, on his ballot.
In 2006, he was defeated for re-election in that year's Democratic sweep.
After a 4 year hiatus from politics, Chafee ran for governor of Rhode Island, dropping his GOP party affiliation in order to run as an Independent. He won, garnering a plurality in a crowded field. But during his term, his state was frequently in turmoil. His poll numbers languished in the 20s for most of his tenure. Faced with a fatal drug overdose crisis in Rhode Island his advice to his drug-addicted constituents was: "Don't trust your dealer right now."
In an interesting twist of fate, in 2011, his now-Democratic opponent Martin O'Malley--then the chairman of the Democratic governors association--asked Chafee to switch his party affiliation, yet again, and officially become a Democrat. Chafee declined at first, but officially joined the Party in 2013. Given his lifelong liberal stances on key issues, this is probably where he belongs. Chafee is pro-choice, voted against the Bush Tax Cuts and the Iraq war. He supports same-sex marriage and increased gun control measures. He has also shown a penchant for political correctness, once renaming the Christmas tree at the Rhode Island State House the "Holiday Tree," so as not to offend Rhode Islanders who espouse other religious beliefs.
His best-known policy position in his current run for The White House is his support for switching the United States to the metric system. It will be interesting to see if he will be questioned about this position in this evening's debates.
"Chafee once said that "Trust is built with consistency." That may be a tough sell for a candidate who has run for office under the banner of three different political parties. But, he has certainly been consistently liberal throughout his career.
This election cycle has been anything but predictable so far, so it's possible that Chafee will rise to the occasion this evening and dazzle the Democratic base. But, for a politician once described by a writer at the left-wing blog, Salon as "....so bereft of polish and charisma that, depending on your viewpoint, he’s either an endearing political Mr. Rogers, or an incompetent buffoon," it would appear that Chafee is going to have to seriously defy expectations in order to gain some much-needed momentum.