Democrat Lincoln Chafee Tells CNN He's Running For President

Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee told CNN Thursday that he'll be seeking the Democratic nomination for the White House, making his intentions official just one week after announcing he had formed an exploratory committee.

"Yes, that's why I'm running, because I feel strong about where we're going as a country," the Republican-turned-independent-turned Democrat told CNN's John Berman on the network's "New Day" show Thursday.

Chafee made his comments after Berman asked him why he has continued to be critical of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, including criticizing her for her vote while she was a New York senator for the war in Iraq.

"That was a moment where the premise for going to Iraq was so false, that there were weapons of mass destruction, she didn't do her homework. We live with the ramifications," Chafee told CNN's "State of the Union" program on Sunday. "You may say that's 12 years ago — that's a big motivator for me running. If you show a lack of judgment, lack of doing homework then what can we expect in the future?"

He also criticized Clinton's term as secretary of state on Sunday's program, saying her service was "kind of a muscular, top-down, unilateral, too close to neo-cons, too Bush-like" that ended with "precious few" accomplishments.

But he does want to court supporters of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a liberal favorite who has said she isn't going to run for president.

"There's no doubt that Sen. Warren's absolutely right about what's happening to the middle class," Chafee said. "She's just been a prophet about this for a number of years."

Chafee has said that Clinton's vote for the Iraq War should disqualify her from receiving the Democratic nomination.

"One of the motivators for me to run is, I just don't think the United States president should have voted for that huge mistake," Chafee told the National Journal. "And I definitely don't think the Democratic Party nominee should have made that huge mistake."

Chafee, while serving as a Republican senator, was one of 23 senators who voted against the Iraq War and the only member of his party to do so.

On Thursday, Chafee admitted that there's "no doubt I'm the underdog." He has not held public office since his term ended last year, and has not been included in most polling involving the Democratic Party.

Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse defeated Chafee for the Senate seat in 2006, and then Chafee became Rhode Island's governor as an independent in 2010. He later switched again to become a Democrat, choosing not to seek re-election in 2014.

He told CNN Sunday he switched parties because the "Republican Party changed and I never changed. As I became an independent my values never changed whether it's on fiscal responsibility, environment or using government tools to help the less fortunate."

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