This just in from businessman Rory Smith, mentioned of late as a possible GOP candidate for governor:

Providence - Today Rory Smith filed a "Notice of Organization" with the Rhode Island Board of Elections, forming a candidate committee in order to begin the process of organizing a campaign for Governor.

"We need to put Rhode Islanders back to work.

Lincoln Chafee may have some company. Massachusetts State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill plans to leave the Democratic Party, according to The Boston Globe, in what is widely seen as a precursor to an independent run for governor in the Bay State.

That could mean two credible, independent candidates for governor in New England next year, with Chafee - a former Republican U.

Governor Carcieri's office has just released a statement hitting back at Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts for her unusual, high-profile critique of the administration's $370,000 settlement with The Lucas Group, a consulting firm that helped the state apply for a waiver from federal Medicaid rules.

The Carcieri administration had maintained for months that the Lucas Group, which has ties to the governor's recently confirmed chief of health and human services, was doing voluntary work for the state.

Attorney General Patrick Lynch continues his tough talk in the run up to next year's gubernatorial contest. This statement today is typical of the AG's brawling style. And it could be viewed as an effort to grab center stage on an issue his gubernatorial rival, Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts, has attempted to highlight in her nascent campaign:

Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts has issued an unusually strong statement condemning the Carcieri administration for its settlement with The Lucas Group, a consultant that helped the state obtain a waiver from federal requirements on how it spends millions in Medicaid dollars.

Administration officials, under pressure from ProJo State House reporter Kathy Gregg, maintained for months that Lucas was providing voluntary help, but released a statement Friday on a $370,000 settlement with the firm, which has ties to Carcieiri's recently confirmed chief of health and human services.

Not to be outdone by Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts, who was on the front page of the ProJo a few days back vowing to fight against proposed hikes in health insurance rates, Attorney General and fellow gubernatorial hopeful Patrick C. Lynch is taking up his own populist push: vowing to wage a legal battle against National Grid's proposed 11.

Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts, gearing up for a gubernatorial run, gets above-the-fold treatment in today's ProJo after joining small business owners to protest proposed hikes in health insurance rates.

Couldn't have asked for anything more.

It's tough enough for any lieutenant governor to grab headlines.

With William J. Lynch, Democratic party chairman, announcing his interest in the Attorney General's post soon to be vacated by his brother, Patrick C. Lynch, who is gearing up for a gubernatorial run, a question: are two Lynches one too many for Rhode Island voters?

No, it says here.

This state has a seemingly bottomless appetite for political dynasties.

Former Atlantic magazine senior editor Ross Douthat, now a New York Times columnist, has an interesting piece today condemning Arlen Specter and "high-profile Yankee moderates like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Lincoln Chafee" who filled the media last week - in the wake of Specter's high-profile defection to the Democratic Party - with invective against a GOP that has marginalized centrists.

The leading gubernatorial candidates have submitted their first-quarter fundraising filings and as expected, General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio leads the Democratic field, with $1.2 million on hand to Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's $500,000 and Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts' $300,000.

But if we already knew the big numbers, the details provide a glimpse into the candidates' pockets of support and early spending habits.

Lincoln Chafee's seemingly accidental announcement of his gubernatorial candidacy on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show last night has been the stuff of talk radio and blogosphere chatter. Was it a slip? A gaffe?

Certainly might have been. And worth parsing, for sure. Ian Donnis has a good take over at WRNI's blog.

But there was little doubt Chafee was in the race.

The ghost of Senator Lincoln Chafee, it seems, has put a scare into erstwhile Republican Senator Arlen Specter.

Specter, of Pennsylvania, announced today that he is switching to the Democratic Party. The move allows the moderate to avoid a bruising primary battle with conservative Pat Toomey, former head of the anti-tax group Club for Growth.

Lincoln Chafee's run for governor got another bit of national attention over the weekend with an Associated Press piece that touches on some of the pitfalls of an independent run for governor.

Lowell Weicker Jr., who left the GOP after clashing with party conservatives and became an independent governor of Connecticut offered this:

As I'll note in my cover story this week, Rhode Island's 2010 gubernatorial race will probably be the state's first test of a post-Obama, technology driven politics. Sure, candidates for local and statewide office have posted web sites and made use of a little Facebook now and again. But no Rhode Island pol has truly harnessed the web as an organizing tool.

Kathy Gregg has the 4Q numbers:

In the three-month stretch between September 30 and December 31, Caprio's warchest increased from $866,519 to $1,017,333. After expenses, he had $1,001,061 left, which placed him far ahead of any of the other potential 2010 gubernatorial candidates.

By way of comparison, Providence Mayor David Cicilline had $684,570 left after raising $119,885 and spending $43,809.