Brown announces bid for Chafee's Senate seat

The 35-year-old Democrat has raised $212,000 in the last week alone, according to his campaign.


01:00 AM EST on Friday, February 4, 2005


By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
Journal State House Bureau



PROVIDENCE -- Secretary of State Matthew A. Brown announced yesterday that he is seeking the seat held by U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee.

Brown is the first candidate to declare in what could possibly become a crowded field in the 2006 election.

"I've spent 10 years working in communities all across the state and I know the challenges that Rhode Islanders face every day. And I know that the politicians in Washington are not getting the job done for them," Brown said yesterday. "I was raised by parents who taught us if you see something wrong, you do what you can to fix it."

Brown's declaration did not come with all the usual fanfare. There was no news conference, no hoopla and no group of family and friends nearby to show their support. Instead, Brown faxed and e-mailed a release to reporters and then did one-on-one interviews at TV studios, over the phone from his house and at a local coffee shop.

more: http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20050204_brown4.258cdb4.html

Brown sounds like a good candidate.

He beat an nti-reform incumbent in the 2002 primary for Secretary of State and then won the general with 68% of the vote. As Secretary of State, he has implemented programs to increase voter turnout.

Are other candidates rumored to be interested or will Brown now be the likely nominee?