The Cranston mayor has raised more than the incumbent, Sen. Lincoln D. Chaffee, in the past quarter for what's expected to be a hard-fought Republican primary.

12:29 PM EDT on Wednesday, April 12, 2006

BY JOHN E. MULLIGAN
Journal Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey has outpaced Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee in campaign fundraising so far this year, and trimmed the incumbent's lead in a crucial index: ready cash for their GOP primary fight.

Chafee still has a significant edge in cash on hand for the September primary -- about $1.5 million, against Laffey's $901,000, according to reports from the candidates.

Chafee has also indicated that he is willing to tap into his family fortune -- worth more than $61 million -- to win reelection.

Nevertheless, Laffey has now logged his third consecutive quarter with more than $300,000 in receipts, raising a total of about $1.02 million during that period, compared with Chafee's $1.07 million. This past quarter, Laffey reported a total of nearly $328,000 in contributions; Chafee raised about $300,000 in that period.

Laffey's sustained performance raises the prospect that he will have the fundraising stamina to stay abreast of Chafee for the duration of the primary campaign.

"By far, this is the most formidable primary challenge to a Rhode Island U.S. senator that has ever been launched" since the state's partisan primaries were created in 1948, said Patrick T. Conley, a Rhode Island political historian and author.

Laffey may never generate the cash to match Chafee dollar-for-dollar in primary campaign spending. Chafee enjoys potent advantages, too, in strong behind-the-scenes backing from President Bush and heavy spending by the Senate Republican campaign organization. The GOP office aired TV ads criticizing Laffey shortly after he entered the race.

But Rhode Island is a comparatively inexpensive arena for big-time campaigns and Laffey appears to be building a strong enough financial foundation to get his message out to primary voters.

Besides steady fundraising and modest spending, Laffey has found another way to counter the incumbent's advantage. The Club for Growth, a conservative group that advocates tax cutting and free trade, endorsed Laffey last year and made a show of financial strength early this year, airing a series of TV, radio and direct-mail messages to praise the mayor and criticize the senator.

With such outside groups involved and Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse and Matt Brown locked in their own costly primary fight, the 2006 Senate race is shaping up as potentially the most expensive in Rhode Island history. Republican control of the Senate is at issue and Chafee is viewed as one of the most vulnerable GOP senators, so this will also be one of the nation's most closely watched campaigns.

All four men agreed to release key specifics of their first-quarter fundraising before the upcoming deadline for their official reports to the Federal Elections Commission. Businessman Carl Sheeler, a Democrat, chose not to issue details of his report before filing it later this month.

Chafee, who had a fundraising head start of more than four years, still leads the pack with about $1.9 million in total cash on hand, but former Attorney General Whitehouse has drawn close, with $1.8 million. Laffey, who did not enter the race until September, has about $1.09 million. Secretary of State Brown has about $355,000.

Whitehouse led all candidates, with about $530,000 in total contributions between Jan. 1 and April 1.

At the same time, Chafee spent an estimated $185,000, compared with Laffey's expenditures of under $72,000.

Neither man reported any debt besides the personal loans each made to his campaign last year, $330,000 in Chafee's case and $360,000 in Laffey's.

Laffey, a self-made businessman worth several million dollars, has not indicated whether he would put more of his own money into the Senate race.

Laffey, Chafee and Whitehouse, who is also independently wealthy, have all borrowed sums that border the limit on what candidates can put into their campaigns before triggering the so-called "millionaire's clause" in federal election law. The clause permits poorer candidates to tap their contributors for extra donations beyond the regular legal limit for individuals.

jmulligan@belo-dc.com / (202) 661-8423