Final day of campaign sees Bloomberg, Romney in RI

The candidates for Rhode Island governor made their final push in the election Monday, bringing in help from nationally known politicians as they hustled to convince voters that they're best qualified to create jobs and revive the state's foundering economy.

Lincoln Chafee was joined at his campaign headquarters by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a fellow independent who telephoned prospective voters for Chafee. Republican John Robitaille appeared at a rally alongside former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who stumped earlier in the day for GOP congressional candidate John Loughlin.

And Democrat Frank Caprio, who last week said that President Barack Obama can "really shove it" for not endorsing him, welcomed former President Bill Clinton to Providence on Sunday and spent Monday campaigning with fellow Democrats.

"Today's Nov. 1, and people are wondering how they're going to pay the rent. It's people like that that are saying to me, 'We're for you, Frank. We want to see you at the State House,"' Caprio said in an interview at the East Providence Senior Center.

Chafee, Caprio and Robitaille are in a close race to succeed Republican Gov. Don Carcieri, who cannot run again because of term limits. Moderate Party candidate Ken Block is also in the race. The visits from big-name politicians in the last two days was aimed at giving the candidates momentum going into the election.

"He'd be a great governor. I wish we had him in New York," Bloomberg told one voter about Chafee. "I - really, all kidding aside - wish we had this guy. Hopefully, our new governor, who'll be elected tomorrow, is as good as this guy."

Romney, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, told a crowd of supporters in Cranston that Republicans would win big on Tuesday and that Robitaille would be part of a "classic and extraordinary victory."

"I think the color blue is turning red right here in Rhode Island," Robitaille said, later adding, "Some say the Republican Party is the part of no. Well, you know, they're right: 'No to more taxes."'

Much of the campaign has been dominated by competing proposals to create jobs - the unemployment rate for September was 11.5 percent, far worse than the national average - and boost a state economy routinely dogged by huge budget deficits.

Chafee has proposed a 1 percent sales tax on currently exempt items like groceries and prescription medications, Robitaille has called for tax cuts and spending reductions, and Caprio says he'll make it easier for small businesses to get capital so they can add jobs.

Caprio's campaign message has been overshadowed in the last week by his "shove it" remark. He has not directly apologized for it, but said on Saturday that he wished he had chosen different words. Some voters have said they were dismayed by his remarks, but Caprio says others have been encouraging.

A poll of 523 voters, released last week by a Democratic pollster for NBC 10 and conducted partly on the weekend before the remark but mostly on last Monday and Tuesday, showed Chafee with 35 percent, Robitaille with 28 percent and Caprio with 25 percent. Block had 2 percent and 10 percent were undecided.

Laura Ramos, 87, of East Providence, said she considered Caprio's remark a simple "slip of the tongue" and figures he didn't mean exactly what he said.

She said she was more concerned about the economy, jobs that go overseas and maintaining funding for the group homes where her two disabled sons live. But mostly, she said, she was skeptical about the candidates' promises.

"I wish they would tell me the truth," said Ramos, a Democrat. "Don't make no promises - just say you're going to try your best, and that's it."

Also Monday, the state Democratic Party took responsibility for new lawn signs that mock Chafee's "Trust Chafee" slogan by crossing out the word "trust" and replacing it with "taxes" - a reference to his sales tax proposal.

And Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, a Republican, denounced a political mailer that appeared to show him supporting Chafee even though he has endorsed Robitaille. The mailing was distributed by the Lincoln Group, which has an East Greenwich mailing address. A phone listing for the group could not be found.