Lincoln Chafee drops out of 2016 race

Charlie Coffey/Iowa State Daily

Former U.S. Sen. and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee speaks at the Iowa Democratic Party’s “Hall of Fame” dinner on July 17, 2015 in Cedar Rapids.

Alex Hanson

2016 Democratic presidential candidate Lincoln Chafee announced Friday he is ending his long-shot bid for the presidency. 

Chafee, a former Republican senator who then served as governor of Rhode Island as an independent, has struggled to gain any momentum during his campaign, and only raised about $400,000 total throughout the year.

As you know, I have been campaigning on a platform of Prosperity Through Peace,” Chafee said Friday. “But after much thought, I have decided to end my campaign for president today. I would like to take this opportunity one last time to advocate for a chance be given to peace.”

Chafee only campaigned minimally, spending most of his time in New Hampshire. He made several appearances in Iowa, including at July’s “Hall of Fame Dinner” in Cedar Rapids.

While he was originally scheduled to speak Saturday night at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, a spokesperson for the Iowa Democratic Party said Friday that Chafee’s campaign said he would not be appearing.

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley remain in the race for the Democratic nomination.