Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee will be seek re-election in 2014, but this time as a Democrat, sources tell
The Washington Post.
He is expected to announce his party switch soon, perhaps before the week is out.
This would not be the first time that Chafee, who was elected governor as an independent, has switched parties. As a Republican, he served seven years in the Senate before abandoning the GOP to run for governor in 2010.
Chafee supported President Obama in 2008 and 2012.
According to the Post, Chafee may stand his best chance of winning a second term as the state's chief executive running as Democrat. His polling, the newspaper noted, has been "downright bad."
"His decision signals that he believes his best chance for survival is competing in what is expected to be a competitive Democratic primary," the newspaper reported.
The governor would be facing Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and state Treasurer Gina Raimondo in the Democratic primary.
According to a Brown University poll in February, Chafee trailed both Democrats in job- performance ratings. Taveras' job approval rating was 63.7 percent, Raimondo's was 56 percent, and Chafee's was 25.5 percent.
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