Chafee drops bid for Democratic presidential nomination

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Struggling Democratic presidential candidate Lincoln Chafee dropped out of the race for his party's nomination Friday.

Chafee, a former Rhode Island governor and senator, is expected to address his decision at the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum.

"As you know I have been campaigning on a platform of Prosperity Through Peace. But after much thought I have decided to end my campaign for president today. I would like to take this opportunity one last time to advocate for a chance be given to peace," he is expected to say from prepared remarks released by his campaign.

Chafee, considered a long shot for the Democratic nomination, announced his candidacy in June. He has since raised about $30,000 for his campaign and his poll numbers are nearly zero. At the Democratic debate on CNN, he stumbled over questions about his candidacy.

Ten people were major donors to Chafee's campaign, compared to more than 650,000 to Bernie Sanders' campaign. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is leading the polls for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 election.

When Chafee announced his candidacy in June, he said he planned to focus his campaign on helping the middle class by increasing the minimum wage and supporting social programs that include Head Start. He wanted to target front-runner Clinton on her vote to authorize the Iraq War when they both served in the Senate, an issue that became problematic for Clinton in her 2008 bid. Chafee was the only Republican senator to oppose the use of military force in Iraq in 2002.

I look forward to speaking at DNC Women's Forum tomorrow morning. I'll address my future in the campaign there. #chafee2016

— Lincoln Chafee (@LincolnChafee) October 23, 2015