Once considered the party's rising star by RI Democrats, RI Secretary of State Matt Brown's quest for the U. S. Senate seat held by Lincoln Chafee came to a screechin' halt yesterday. He was first outa the block to announce his candidacy, was doin' well and then got caught doin' some questionable fund raisin', much like what Tom Delay did and Democrats screamed 'bout.. After that methinks 'twas all down hill, eh?

Here's the story from the Providence Journal:

Brown quits Senate race

With just $35,000 left to spend on the September primary, the secretary of state and Democratic hopeful for Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee's seat bows out and throws his support to Sheldon Whitehouse.

01:07 AM EDT on Thursday, April 27, 2006

BY MARK ARSENAULT and SCOTT MacKAY
Journal Staff Writers

PROVIDENCE -- In one of the most spectacular flame-outs in Rhode Island's long and florid political history, Democratic Secretary of State Matthew Brown yesterday shut down his U.S. Senate campaign and endorsed rival Sheldon Whitehouse, the former U.S. Attorney and state attorney general.

The move clears the path for Whitehouse to claim the Democratic Senate nomination and face the winner of the September Republican primary contest between incumbent Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee and Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey.

All that stands between Whitehouse and his party's nod is Carl Sheeler, a little-known candidate who has never won significant elective office.

Brown's Senate campaign crashed after having raised and spent almost $1.5 million on consultants, advertising and other campaign expenses.

The telegenic, Ivy-educated, 36-year-old secretary of state, first elected statewide in 2002, was once seen as a rising Democratic star. But yesterday he ended his Senate quest without even making it to the starting gate; the candidate filing deadline is still almost two months away, the primary about five months from now.

His campaign account for the Sept. 12 primary election held a scant $35,000 as of March 31. Brown's campaign was already reeling when it suffered a death blow after fundraising arrangements with three Democratic parties in other states raised accusations that he helped donors evade contribution limits with alleged quid-pro-quo deals.

Brown left to voters and pundits the question of how a statewide elected official spends almost $1.5 million in campaign money without making it to the June filing deadline.

He was in no mood for introspection yesterday. "I'm not a post-game analysis kind of person," he said. "Now is the day to move forward."

Brown insisted the fundraising controversy did not drive him from the race. "The determination was that we weren't going to have the resources to go the distance."

Brown and Whitehouse -- who both live in the same 02906 ZIP code on Providence's affluent East Side -- stood shoulder-to-shoulder before reporters at a hastily assembled news conference off Manton Avenue in Providence.

"When I began this campaign, it was with the goal of sending another Democrat from Rhode Island to serve in Washington," Brown said.

Then he pledged his unconditional support to Whitehouse, whom he referred to as "the next senator from Rhode Island."

Brown's term as secretary of state runs through January 2007. He said he will concentrate on his job and on helping elect Whitehouse. After January, he will look for opportunities, perhaps outside of government. "There are a lot of ways to serve and I will find my way to serve," he said.

Whitehouse stressed the importance of taking the Senate seat held by Chafee for the Democratic Party, a theme he has emphasized all year. "What [Brown] has done is extraordinarily gracious and it reflects a fact we are both deeply aware of: If there is not a Democratic check on George Bush in the last two years of the Bush administration, the country is in grave trouble."

After their brief speeches, Whitehouse, who fell just short in the 2002 Democratic primary for governor, clapped Brown on the shoulder, looked him in the eye and said quietly, "I know this isn't easy."

Sheeler disparaged both Brown and Whitehouse. "I am deeply disappointed that Matt Brown, who has positioned himself as a reformer, is now backing the ultimate political insider, Sheldon Whitehouse."

Brown's withdrawal is a boon for the Democratic Party, which can now focus all of its efforts on helping Whitehouse, who is expected to coast to his party's endorsement when the 150 delegates of the Democratic State Committee meet at the state convention on May 8 in West Warwick.

"It makes a huge difference," said William Lynch, state Democratic chairman. Because Brown and Whitehouse had both been elected statewide and had followings among Democrats, top party officials remained neutral in the race.

Now, while Laffey and Chafee tear each other apart in what has become an increasingly negative contest, Lynch said, Whitehouse will have the luxury of husbanding campaign money and building an organization for the November general election.

Brown's departure also fits with the Democratic Party's national strategy of avoiding divisive primaries in states where GOP Senate seats are up for grabs, said Jennifer Duffy, who follows Senate contests for the Cook Political report, a Washington, D.C-based nonpartisan newsletter.

"The DSCC [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee] looks at this as a win" said Duffy, "because you try to avoid primaries."

Said New York Sen. Charles Schumer, DSCC chairman, "Matt Brown is a class act. His decision today takes us one step closer in our quest to pick up seats in the Senate this year."

Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Jack Reed -- who will now undoubtedly endorse Whitehouse -- praised Brown's decision. "Matt Brown put his ideals and hopes for America before his own ambitions."

But Brown's departure also will likely fuel the Chafee campaign's effort to draw independent voters -- labeled unaffiliated in Rhode Island political argot -- into the GOP primary, said Darrell West, Brown University pollster and political scientist.

"I would expect Chafee to really step up his campaign to get independents into the Republican primary," said West.

Because GOP primaries are traditionally low-turnout contests -- the record turnout is about 43,000 -- "it doesn't take very many independents, maybe 10,000 to 15,000 to really make a difference," said West.

"This certainly increases the intrigue and the national interest in this election," said West.

Whitehouse conceded yesterday that without Brown in the Democratic primary, the Republican contest will draw most of the media attention until Sept. 12.

"We're going to do a real, grass-roots, direct-to-the-voters campaign," said Whitehouse, who has been courting voters at community dinners and by stumping door-to-door.

"Whether on not the media is paying attention to us day by day, we're going to keep doing what we're doing, and you build the wall brick by brick. Who knows? A lot of the attention the Republicans are going to get, the quality of that attention will depend on what they're saying about each other. It's not always a good thing. Our job is not to try to predict what they're going to do . . . it's to execute our game plan."

With reports from John Mulligan and Scott Mayerowitz.

marsenau@projo.com / (401) 277-7231

smackay@projo.com / (401) 277-7321

SURVEY: React to Matt Brown's decision to leave the U.S. Senate race, and its impact, at:

http://projo.com/mbrownsurvey