Rhode Island state Treasurer Frank Caprio is running unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for governor, but according to Republican John Robitaille there was a time he considered running on the GOP slate.
Caprio met last February with officials at the Republican National Committee — a meeting the group says Caprio initiated. Robitaille, the likely GOP nominee, says Caprio believes he’s the impediment standing in his path to victory in a unique three-way general election race and is trying to push him out of the contest. RNC spokesman Parish Braden confirmed the February meeting took place wouldn’t say precisely who attended. He told the Providence Journal, which first reported the encounter, that “Caprio is a political opportunist and was selling his candidacy to the highest bidder.”
Robitaille, a former communications aide for retiring GOP Gov. Don Carcieri, is expected to win the Republican nod over former state Rep. Victor Moffitt, while Caprio’s path cleared after state Attorney General Patrick Lynch ended his Democratic bid in July. But both must contend with former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a Republican-turned-independent, who has muscled labor support and money for a third-party bid and has taken an early lead in polling.
“I had known for quite some time that Frank was basically party-shopping last winter,” Robitaille told POLITICO. “I think he was pretty much just abandoning his party principles.”
But Robitaille claims Caprio’s political posturing didn’t end there. He says over the past month and a half, at least six “political operatives” have been reaching out, encouraging Robitaille to drop his bid, operating under the logic that Caprio, who is to the right of Chafee on many issues, would draw more conservative voters if Robitaille was not an option.
Caprio approached Robitaille for a face-to-face meeting, which occurred a few weeks ago. While Caprio never explicitly asked Robitaille to drop out of the race, the Republican said, the message was nevertheless clear.
“He did not overtly offer me a job or anything. It was a very nuanced conversation that, for someone in the communications business — I knew what he was saying to me,” said Robitaille. “I’m in this to win. There’s not a scenario on God’s good earth that would get me out of the race.”
Caprio’s campaign was quick to deflect the questions about the meetings.
“Frank Caprio is focused on small business and holding the line on taxes, and we’re not going to get into a back-and-forth on the subject and issues that have absolutely nothing to do with the challenges facing people in our state,” Caprio spokesman Nick Hemond told POLITICO.
Hermond also pointed to his comments to the Journal, where he told the state’s largest newspaper that Caprio was “elected to office as a Democrat, he is running for governor as a Democrat and, when he’s elected governor, it will be as a Democrat,” but remains “someone who will talk to anybody regardless of party.”
The Democratic Governors Association, which is eyeing a pick-up of the seat that’s been held by a Republican in the liberal-leaning state for the past eight years, also voiced its commitment to Caprio.
“No one should be surprised that Caprio is getting support from all corners of the state. Voters of all political stripes are rejecting Lincoln Chafee’s plans to raise taxes on everything from groceries and prescription meds to equipment for amputee veterans. We’re proud he’s our nominee,” said DGA spokeswoman Emily Bittner.
Still, Chaffee’s campaign was quick to seize on reports of Caprio’s GOP flirtation.
“It calls into direct question the matter of Caprio’s character,” said Chafee spokesman Mike Trainor. “Enough people on record that they’ve had these kind of approaches from Caprio. We just question the character of a politician who would be shopping his candidacy.”
Trainor said the new revelations didn’t alter their strategy, and that they were pulling strong support from Democrats.
“We said all along our internal polling shows we’re doing surprisingly well with democrats and nothing in this development is going to alter that. We always welcome more support.”
A mid-August Rasmussen Reports poll gave Caprio a slight edge in the three-way race, taking 38 percent to Chafee’s 30 percent, with Robitaille at 20 percent. But the Republican argued that his new television ads would help his numbers tick upward.
“My pathway to victory is to stay focused on reeling in more Republicans that are supporting Lincoln Chafee and pulling in moderates,” said Robitaille.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42171.html
Robitaille, a former communications aide for retiring GOP Gov. Don Carcieri, is expected to win the Republican nod over former state Rep. Victor Moffitt, while Caprio’s path cleared after state Attorney General Patrick Lynch ended his Democratic bid in July. But both must contend with former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a Republican-turned-independent, who has muscled labor support and money for a third-party bid and has taken an early lead in polling.
“I had known for quite some time that Frank was basically party-shopping last winter,” Robitaille told POLITICO. “I think he was pretty much just abandoning his party principles.”
But Robitaille claims Caprio’s political posturing didn’t end there. He says over the past month and a half, at least six “political operatives” have been reaching out, encouraging Robitaille to drop his bid, operating under the logic that Caprio, who is to the right of Chafee on many issues, would draw more conservative voters if Robitaille was not an option.
Caprio approached Robitaille for a face-to-face meeting, which occurred a few weeks ago. While Caprio never explicitly asked Robitaille to drop out of the race, the Republican said, the message was nevertheless clear.
“He did not overtly offer me a job or anything. It was a very nuanced conversation that, for someone in the communications business — I knew what he was saying to me,” said Robitaille. “I’m in this to win. There’s not a scenario on God’s good earth that would get me out of the race.”
Caprio’s campaign was quick to deflect the questions about the meetings.
“Frank Caprio is focused on small business and holding the line on taxes, and we’re not going to get into a back-and-forth on the subject and issues that have absolutely nothing to do with the challenges facing people in our state,” Caprio spokesman Nick Hemond told POLITICO.
Hermond also pointed to his comments to the Journal, where he told the state’s largest newspaper that Caprio was “elected to office as a Democrat, he is running for governor as a Democrat and, when he’s elected governor, it will be as a Democrat,” but remains “someone who will talk to anybody regardless of party.”
The Democratic Governors Association, which is eyeing a pick-up of the seat that’s been held by a Republican in the liberal-leaning state for the past eight years, also voiced its commitment to Caprio.
“No one should be surprised that Caprio is getting support from all corners of the state. Voters of all political stripes are rejecting Lincoln Chafee’s plans to raise taxes on everything from groceries and prescription meds to equipment for amputee veterans. We’re proud he’s our nominee,” said DGA spokeswoman Emily Bittner.
Still, Chaffee’s campaign was quick to seize on reports of Caprio’s GOP flirtation.
“It calls into direct question the matter of Caprio’s character,” said Chafee spokesman Mike Trainor. “Enough people on record that they’ve had these kind of approaches from Caprio. We just question the character of a politician who would be shopping his candidacy.”
Trainor said the new revelations didn’t alter their strategy, and that they were pulling strong support from Democrats.
“We said all along our internal polling shows we’re doing surprisingly well with democrats and nothing in this development is going to alter that. We always welcome more support.”
A mid-August Rasmussen Reports poll gave Caprio a slight edge in the three-way race, taking 38 percent to Chafee’s 30 percent, with Robitaille at 20 percent. But the Republican argued that his new television ads would help his numbers tick upward.
“My pathway to victory is to stay focused on reeling in more Republicans that are supporting Lincoln Chafee and pulling in moderates,” said Robitaille.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42171.html