7 Unusual Facts About Lincoln Chafee

Lincoln Chafee, who has a political resume listing former mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island, former senator, and former governor, announced today that he will be seeking the Democratic presidential bid. Twitter is exploding with commentary, memes, and jokes about the Democrat. It is safe to say that the Internet is loving him right now. In large part, this love is coming from the fact that there is basically a treasure trove of weird facts about Chafee out there for us to learn.

It's entirely possible that, if you aren't from New England, you hadn't heard of him before today (I know I was unfamiliar with his name before the last week or so). But as it turns out, Chafee is quite the eccentric character that I am enjoying getting to know better.

From social media snafus, a preference for liters over gallons, and loads of equestrian knowledge, there's plenty to learn about this new presidential candidate, and I can only imagine what else will come out about him in the coming months. He has your standard progressive voting record, and seems relatively liberal on most counts, but his personal life and certain political moves absolutely make him stand out from the crowd.

He Wants To Bring The Metric System To The U.S.

Chafee announced that part of his campaign would be bringing the metric system to the U.S. Not exactly what I had in mind in terms of important issues, but OK... he's keeping it real with his passions in life.

He Really Likes Horses

Chafee is a trained horse farrier, and worked at a horse race track for nearly a decade in Montana.

He's Had Some Password Problems

Apparently Chafee had a little trouble getting into his Facebook account last week, causing his wife to use her own Facebook account to issue a missing password plea to his staff. Well, these things happen to the best of us.

He's Forges His Own Path

This doubles as a fun fact about Rhode Island: Chafee is the first person from the state to ever seek the presidential nomination. The little state that could!

He Doesn't Mind Sticking It To The Man

In the case that "the man" is former President George W. Bush, that is. According to NPR, Chafee wrote in George H.W. Bush when he voted in 2004.

He's Not Necessarily A Hometown Hero

Chafee's hometown paper is not a big fan of his. They have published one biting editorial piece, and a couple of wire releases about his political future. That has to hurt.

Oh Yeah, He Used To Be A Republican

I told you they were weird facts! Chafee, who is now hoping to be a Democratic nominee for president, is a former Republican. He switched parties a mere two years ago.