Chafee wins in pivotal R.I. race

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Sen. Lincoln Chafee, with the backing of the national Republican Party, last night secured a solid victory over conservative Republican challenger Stephen Laffey in the most closely watched race on a night when nine states and the District held primaries.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, the liberal Mr. Chafee had 34,042 votes, or 54 percent, to 29,431 votes (46 percent) for Mr. Laffey, the Cranston mayor who was backed by the free-market advocacy group Club for Growth.

"To the voters of Rhode Island, thank you," Mr. Chafee told a screaming crowd of supporters at the Biltmore Hotel in Providence. He said the victory was a validation of independent-minded Rhode Island and an endorsement of leaders who have the "guts" to take difficult votes and work across the aisle.

Mr. Chafee's Democratic challenger, Sheldon Whitehouse, got 82 percent of the vote against two other candidates in the Democratic primary.

Elsewhere, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton easily beat anti-war challenger Jonathan Tasini in that state's Democratic primary, clearing the way for a November matchup against Republican underdog John Spencer, the former mayor of Yonkers.

In Vermont, independent Rep. Bernard Sanders won the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat of retiring Sen. James M. Jeffords, while businessman Richard Tarrant took an early lead in the Republican Senate primary.

In Arizona, four Republicans, including Don Goldwater, nephew of the late Barry Goldwater, competed for the nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano. In Minnesota, Democratic state Rep. Keith Ellison was leading in his race for an open House seat that would make him the first Muslim in Congress.

The battle between Mr. Chafee and Mr. Laffey was in the spotlight yesterday because national Republicans said it was key to their party's hope of maintaining its Senate majority. They insisted that Mr. Chafee, who has bucked his party on issues such as tax cuts and abortion, has the only shot in this left-leaning state to beat a Democratic challenge and win the general election in November.

National Republicans ran ads, sent volunteers and gave resources to help Mr. Chafee win.

But Republicans in Rhode Island were split. Mr. Chafee faced a notable challenge from Mr. Laffey, who is pro-life, pledged to cut taxes and won the support of the Club For Growth. The national group spent $500,000 in Rhode Island and ran ads bashing Mr. Chafee as a tax-and-spend liberal.

The bitter primary here highlighted an ideological fight within the Republican Party, which played out along the same lines in an Arizona primary to fill the House seat left open by retiring Rep. Jim Kolbe. Local Republicans were angered when the national party intervened to support state Rep. Steve Huffman, a moderate who in a recent poll was trailing a former state lawmaker, Randy Graf, who is focused on halting illegal immigration.

The Republican infighting has been compared to the test Democrats faced in Connecticut last month, when they ousted Joe Lieberman in favor of a more liberal Democrat who they felt was more in line with their party's values.

Likewise, some Rhode Island Republicans are tired of Mr. Chafee's left-leaning tendencies.

"Chafee, to me, is a Democrat in a Republican jacket," said 37-year-old Michael Camardo of Cranston, who supported Mr. Laffey. Mr. Camardo said Mr. Chafee probably has a better chance of winning in November, but added, "I have to vote my conscience."

But Mr. Chafee, known for his maverick stands against President Bush and his party, retains support in this Democratic state where most voters register as independent -- known locally as "unaffiliated."

"I like his independence," Barbara Brogan, 74, of Cranston, said of Mr. Chafee yesterday, after she voted for him at the Daniel D. Waterman Elementary School.

Club for Growth President Pat Toomey said that regardless of the outcome, the close primary contest showed that "voters still care about pocketbook issues like lower taxes, lower spending and less government waste." The strength of Mr. Laffey's challenge "shows that the power of our ideas will be an influential factor in this election cycle."

Mr. Chafee still faces a tough challenge in November, with polls showing a close race between him and Mr. Whitehouse.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.