Jim Geraghty
National Review Online
9/9/2010
The Democrat running for governor of Rhode Island apparently wasn’t that enamored with the idea of running as a Democrat:
General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio, the Democratic candidate for governor, met with Republican National Committee officials in February, an RNC spokesman confirmed this week.
RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele was scheduled to attend the meeting with Caprio at RNC headquarters in Washington, D.C., spokesman Parish Braden said, but he couldn’t immediately confirm whether Steele attended or provide an exact date.
One of his potential Republican rivals, John Robitaille, is now laughing.
Robitaille said, “Unfortunately, this type of behavior has become routine for Frank Caprio. Knowing that 2010 would be a difficult year for Democrats, he shopped his candidacy to state and national Republicans in hopes that they would embrace him with open arms. But his overtures were greeted with a firm rebuke from party leaders. Opportunism has been the mainstay of Frank Caprio’s career, and we shouldn’t expect anything less in the biggest race of his life.”
Finally, the Democrats have their own Charlie Crist.
It’s worth noting that many liberal voters in Rhode Island may prefer the independent bid of Lincoln Chafee, a former nominally Republican senator.
Update: Politico finally caught up, R.I. GOP–Frank Caprio tried to sell his candidacy
