PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island beat a conservative challenger in Tuesday's primary, fueling Republican hopes to keep Senate control.
Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey conceded at 10:40 p.m., the Providence Journal-Bulletin reported. With 91 percent of the votes counted, the Board of Elections unofficial results gave Chafee an 8 point lead with 29,814 votes to 25,704 for Laffey.
The senator still faces a stiff challenge from former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse in a state where Democrats have an edge.
The campaign has been a complicated one.
While Chafee is one of the most liberal Republicans in Congress and the only senator from his party to vote against intervention in Iraq, the national party has been pushing hard for him in the primary. Laffey, probably ideologically closer to the Bush administration, was perceived as a certain loser by party leaders, although he has the backing of ideological groups like the Club for Growth.
The Chicago Tribune reported the Republican majority in the Senate and President Bush's agenda may be at stake in the Rhode Island primary. Democrats need a shift of just six seats to take control.
Chafee, the former mayor of Warwick, succeeded his father, John Chafee, in the Senate. He was appointed after his father's death in 1999 and elected to the seat in 2000.
