--- title: Democratic Debate: How Lincoln Chafee Justified A Vote description: Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee blamed being new on the job and dealing with his dad's death for a vote he now regrets. canonical: https://time.com/4072630/heres-how-lincoln-chafee-justified-a-vote-he-regrets/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-14T02:35:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:15.972Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here's How Lincoln Chafee Justified A Vote He Regrets og:description: He said his dad had just died. og:url: https://time.com/4072630/heres-how-lincoln-chafee-justified-a-vote-he-regrets/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd497ac1c134aec39/698868300b72e39a966e64f5/a831b09e53aa4e4b83eb0032811f7fd6-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1701 og:image:height: 957 og:image:alt: DEM 2016 Debate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's How Lincoln Chafee Justified A Vote He Regrets twitter:description: He said his dad had just died. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd497ac1c134aec39/698868300b72e39a966e64f5/a831b09e53aa4e4b83eb0032811f7fd6-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's How Lincoln Chafee Justified A Vote He Regrets > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Oct 14, 2015 2:35 AM UTC  Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee speaks during the CNN Democratic presidential debate, on Oct. 13, 2015, in Las Vegas. Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee speaks during the CNN Democratic presidential debate, on Oct. 13, 2015, in Las Vegas. John Locher—AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Oct 14, 2015 2:35 AM UTC Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee blamed being new on the job and dealing with his dad’s death for a vote he now regrets as a United States Senator. During the Democratic debate in Las Vegas Tuesday, the long-shot candidate said that he regrets his decision to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act, a 1933 law that separated commercial and investment banking. “I just arrived at the United States Senate,” Chafee said. “It was the first vote and it was 90 to 5.” Chafee added that he had been appointed to the Senate to replace his late father, John Chafee, in 1999, and had been serving as mayor of Warwick, R.I., before going to the Senate. ### See the 2016 Candidates' Campaign Launches  Sen. Ted Cruz kicked off his campaign for 2016 Republican presidential nomination at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. on March 23. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul launched his bid for the Republican nomination at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville on April 7\. Supporters held signs with the slogan "Defeat the Washington Machine / Unleash the American Dream." Amy Harris—Corbis  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced her campaign in a YouTube video posted April 12 that has been seen nearly 4.5 million times. One boy featured in the video boasted about playing a fish in a school play. Hillary For America  Florida Sen. Marco Rubio announced his campaign for the Republican nomination during a rally at the Freedom Tower in Miami on April 13\. He took a drink of water during the speech, a callback to his State of the Union response in 2013. Wilfredo Lee—AP  Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his bid for the Democratic nomination across the street from the U.S. Capitol on April 30, 2015\. The backdrop was unusual, since most candidates rail against Washington. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson announced his bid for the Republican nomination at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts May 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. The launch featured a gospel choir covering Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Bill Pugliano—Getty Images  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced her campaign for the Republican nomination in a conference call on May 4, then went on "Good Morning America" to talk to George Stephanopoulos. Lou Rocco—Getty Images  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his campaign at a community college in his hometown of Hope, Ark., on May 5\. Singer Tony Orlando (right) performed. Left: Danny Johnston; Right: Matt Sullivan—Getty Images  Republican presidential candidate and former New York Governor George Pataki (C) greets supporters after formally announcing his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Exeter, N.H. on May 28, 2015. Dominick Reuter—Reuters  Former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee announces his candidacy for the democratic presidential nomination at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announces his 2016 presidential candidacy in Central, S.C. on June 1, 2015. Erik S. Lesser—EPA  Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is joined by his wife Katie O'Malley (R) as he announces his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a speech at Federal Hill Park in Baltimore on May 30, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters  Former Texas governor Rick Perry announces his candidacy for Republican presidential nominee at an event held at Addison Airport in Addison, Texas on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Louis DeLuca—Dallas Morning News/Corbis  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush waves on stage as he announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during an event at Miami-Dade College - Kendall Campus in Miami on June 15 , 2015. Joe Raedle—Getty Images  Donald Trump holds up his financial statement showing his net worth as he formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during an event at Trump Tower in New York City on June 16, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Kenner, La. on June 24, 2015. Jonathan Bachman—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally at Livingston High School in Livingston, N.J. on June 30, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker greets supporters after announcing that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in Waukesha, Wis. on July 13, 2015 . Scott Olson—Getty Images  Ohio Governor John Kasich arrives on stage to formally announce his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally in Columbus, Ohio on July 21, 2015. Aaron P. Bernstein—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4072630/heres-how-lincoln-chafee-justified-a-vote-he-regrets/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4072630/heres-how-lincoln-chafee-justified-a-vote-he-regrets/"},"headline":"Here's How Lincoln Chafee Justified A Vote He Regrets","datePublished":"2015-10-14T02:35:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:15.972Z","description":"Former Rhode Island Gov. 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