Despite his less than stellar fundraising performance in the last quarter, former U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee says his “exploratory campaign” for governor is alive and well after a major cost-cutting move, and he has poll results that show him with a credible shot of winning a three-way race.

To help quell rumors he is not long for the race, Chafee went so far as to make public the results of a telephone survey of 403 likely voters conducted for his campaign by Alpha Research Associates in late October that showed where he would place in a three-way race with newly emerged Republican candidate Rory Smith and either one of the leading Democratic contenders “if the election were held today.”

Among the findings of the Oct. 26-29 poll:

In a general election race between Chafee, Smith and Gen. Treasurer Frank Caprio, Chafee would draw 36 percent, Caprio 34 percent and Smith 8 percent, with a majority of those who chose no side saying they did not yet know.

In a race between Chafee, Smith and Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch, Chafee led the attorney general 37 percent to 24 percent, with Smith drawing 15 percent, and the balance undecided. The poll carries a 4.9 percent margin for error.

Chafee said he was “surprised, to be honest,” at his apparent edge over the highly visible Lynch, but believes the numbers mean “it is going to be a competitive race, no doubt about it.” He also made this observation: when the Democratic nominee is Caprio — instead of Lynch — the “social conservatives abandon Smith and go to Caprio.”

He said he was also struck by the number — 84 percent — who said they were willing to give “a serious look” at all candidates, even independents. People interviewed had the option of saying they would vote for whoever emerged as the Republican or Democratic nominee.

The response? Caprio spokeswoman Margie O’Brien said: “The Chafee sponsored poll showing a former senator in a statistical dead heat with Frank Caprio speaks for itself.” Lynch spokesman Mike Mikus said: “We are one year away from Election Day and, as with most elections at this point, a large number of voters are undecided and many will ultimately change their mind over the course in time. Once the voters focus on the race, they will see that Patrick Lynch is the candidate who has fought tirelessly on their behalf for the last seven years and is best equipped to fix the economy and bring real change to Rhode Island.”

The poll, of course, did not look at where Chafee or any other likely candidates would stand in an even more crowded race, featuring an as yet unknown Moderate Party candidate and other possible candidates, including former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey, who was Chafee’s ’06 Republican nemesis in the U.S. Senate race.

But it found that no other issue comes close to “jobs/economy” in the minds of voters, with an overwhelming number convinced the state has veered seriously off track. He also test-marketed his new campaign theme: “a new way forward.”

From the poll and his campaign travels so far, Chafee said he has come to the conclusion: “They don’t want to hear what I have done. …They want to hear what I am going to do, I think that is going to be the campaign and people know these decisions are not going to be easy. They do not want glossy pie in the sky.”

But he still trails Caprio and Lynch by wide margins in dollars in his campaign account, having added $120,210 in the three months that ended on Sept. 30. That included a new $50,000 personal loan. Lynch raised $112,653 during the same period. Caprio raised $200,127, but only netted $135,377 after returning $64,750 amid Journal inquiries about campaign dollars he received from people aligned with out-of-state firms that had sought, and in some cases won, work from his office. At the end of the quarter, Chafee had $200,122 left, Lynch, $562,167 and Caprio, $1.504 million.

To save money, Chafee said, his campaign coordinator — former bank executive James DeRentis — agreed to shift over to unpaid fundraising for him, leaving him with one paid campaign staffer, administrative aide Cara McAllister. Between July 1 and Sept. 30, the campaign paid DeRentis $23,000.

“Like any business, you’ve got to raise the money,” Chafee said. “We’ve got to do better at fundraising.”

Mass. candidate fundraiser

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is hoping Rhode Islanders will contribute to her quest for a seat in the United States Senate.

The Coakley senatorial campaign has scheduled a fundraiser for Friday at the University Club on Benefit Street in Providence. An invitation for the 5 p.m. event notes ticket prices of $500, $1,000, or $2,400 (the personal donation limit for the primary election cycle).

Coakley may be considered the front-runner in the fight to replace longtime Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, but she faces Democratic opposition in the Dec. 8 primary.

U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy’s office reports that Kennedy won’t attend the event.

We asked whether he favors Coakley over the other Democrats in the race to fill his father’s seat.

“The congressman is not taking a position on the race in Massachusetts,” said spokeswoman Kerrie Bennett.

The hosts, as listed on the invitation, are Lynch, and former Patrick Kennedy staffer and head of the Mayforth Group lobbying firm Rick McAuliffe. Other hosts include Chris Vitale, another onetime staffer in Patrick Kennedy’s congressional office, and Gerry Harrington. Both are lobbyists for the lobbying firm Capitol City Group.

Buying campaign support

A $500 payment to local Democratic activist Matt Jerzyk was among the more curious campaign expenditures reported in the recent batch of candidate filings.

On July 7, Jerzyk sold the Elizabeth Roberts campaign an “e-mail list for fundraising mailings.” Congressman James R. Langevin reported a similar $740 expenditure last month.

A lawyer and former editor of the liberal Web site RIFuture.org, Jerzyk told Political Scene that he’s been collecting e-mail addresses of “people who I think are the most civically minded Rhode Islanders” since graduating from Brown University in 1999.

That list has grown substantially over the last decade, he said.

“I ultimately decided that this list might be valuable to people who want to engage Rhode Islanders in political dialogue,” Jerzyk explained. “The Obama campaign showed that e-mail has become one of the vital tools for reaching voters.”

He declined to specify the number of names on the list, describing it only as being more than 1,000 and less than 10,000.

Roberts employs Internet

Four months after withdrawing her name from the list of 2010 gubernatorial hopefuls, it appears that Roberts is following through on plans to seek a second term as Rhode Island’s lieutenant governor.

She has launched a revamped campaign Web site that uses new technology such as Twitter and Facebook that offers “180 ways to share information” about the candidate, according to a statement issued by the campaign.

“The site offers a bright, easy-to-navigate format, more photos, ways to share information with your friends and with me, and more opportunities to follow my campaign for reelection as lieutenant governor,” she wrote on the Web site’s blog.

We found it interesting, however, that the front page of the site doesn’t mention in any prominent way the office for which Roberts is running. “Elizabeth Roberts for Rhode Island” reads the logo at the top, just above the catch phrase, “Restoring Hope To Rhode Island in Economy, Health Care and Good Government.”

“It was just a design issue,” said Seth Klaiman, former campaign director who has been downgraded to fundraising campaign consultant. “She is definitely only running for lieutenant governor.”

kgregg@projo.com