America
Fourth Democrat announces White House run
Washington, June 4
Lincoln Chafee, a
former senator and ex-governor of Rhode Island has officially announced
his candidacy for the US' presidential nomination in 2016, thus becoming
the fourth contender.
Chafee, who has spent most of his
political career in the Republican Party until switching parties two
years ago, selected George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, as
the site where he wanted to launch his campaign, joining Hilary Clinton,
former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in
vying for the Democratic nomination, EFE reported.
The new
candidate promised to get the country out of onerous wars so that the
money being spent there can be allocated to other matters, such as
public health, fighting climate change, infrastructure and job policies.
He
was a senator for Rhode Island (1999-2007) and the state's governor
(2011-2015) and joined the Democratic Party in 2013, after having played
an important advisory role in President Barack Obama's election
campaign.
During his years in the US Senate, Chafee often voted
with the Democrats and was the only Republican senator who voted against
the Iraq war.
He said in his declaration speech before
international relations students at George Mason University on Wednesday
that he learned in the first few months of the George.W. Bush
administration not to trust the then-president or then-Defence Secretary
Dick Cheney.