Whitehouse Leads Chafee

This is interesting (from Political Wire):

In Rhode Island's U.S. Senate race, a new American Research Group poll finds Sheldon Whitehouse is at 45% and Lincoln Chafee is at 40%.

Key findings: Whitehouse gains a slight edge because 72% of Democrats say they would vote for Whitehouse. Although 69% of likely voters have a favorable opinion of Chafee, compared to 51% for Whitehouse, over 80% of those saying they have a favorable opinion of Whitehouse say they would vote for Whitehouse, compared to 56% for Chafee. Democrats who like both candidates say they would vote for Whitehouse.

I like Lincoln Chafee -- he's against Bush on virtually every issue (which is unique for a Republican these days) -- but he is only one person and party politics must be the overriding concern here. The GOP understands this. That's why Rove and Company threw a lot of support Chafee's way in the recent Republican primary, despite the fact that Chafee's opponent was pro-Bush all the way.

If I was Whitehouse, I'd have nothing but praise for Chafee, and I would be critical on only point, namely, he's a Republican, and we can't afford to send any more Republicans back to Congress.