Ex-Rhode Island senator, governor Lincoln Chafee files to run for president as Libertarian

Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican senator and Democratic governor of Rhode Island, filed to run for president as a Libertarian in a longshot bid for the White House.

Records filed with the Federal Election Commission on Sunday show Chafee registered the "Lincoln Chafee for President" campaign committee, based in Wyoming. The form also includes the website LincolnForLiberty.com, which urges visitors to donate to the campaign.

"Thirty Tears, Zero Scandals," the website boasts. "Lincoln Leads With Truth."

Chafee was elected to the Senate as a Republican and represented Rhode Island for one term, losing to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in 2006. He then served as the governor of Rhode Island first as an independent before joining the Democratic Party in 2013.

Chafee did not seek reelection and instead joined the field for the Democratic presidential nomination in June 2015. He dropped out of the race several months later after failing to gain traction in the polls.