There were those who never thought he had a chance of being mayor. There were still more that thought he would stumble when he first ran for the U.S. Senate seat his father once held, and even more refused to believe he could win as an independent for governor.

But Lincoln Chafee is full of surprises, and on Wednesday he will announce as a Democratic candidate for president during a foreign policy speech at George Mason University in Arlington, Va.

Debbie Rich, who started working for Chafee as mayor and is handling his public relations, said yesterday that Chafee is encouraged by the exploratory effort announced in April. She did not provide details concerning the level of financial support Chafee has received, but said he has “received lots of support” from people seeking to volunteer and donate.

Rich said Chafee selected George Mason for his announcement because the event sponsored by the university’s School of Policy, Government and International Affairs and the Financial Times is focused on foreign policy, which Chafee intends to make a key issue in his campaign. According to the university website, Chafee “is most likely to become a Democratic candidate for president.” Chafee will be delivering his speech at 5:30 p.m.

Rich, who was on her way to join Chafee in New Hampshire yesterday, said she expects widespread coverage of the announcement. She said CNN has already lined Chafee up for an interview.

Chafee, 62, has made independent thinking a trademark. A graduate of Brown University, he also attended Montana State University in Bozeman and for seven years worked the harness racing tracks as a farrier.

His first race for public office was as a delegate to the 1985 Rhode Island Constitutional Convention. The following year he was elected as the Ward 9 Councilman, and then in 1992, in a three-way contest, he was elected the city’s first Republican mayor to hold office in 32 years.

In 1999 when his father, Senator John Chafee, died, Chafee was named to complete his father’s term. He was elected to a six-year term in 2000, but failed to win re-election when challenged by Sheldon Whitehouse. As senator, Chafee was the only Republican to vote against the Iraq War in 2003.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton voted for the war, and while that was 12 years ago, Chafee said during his exploratory phase that voters shouldn’t forget that.

In 2007 Chafee dropped his Republican affiliation and became an independent. In 2010, and contrary to pundits who said an independent couldn’t win as governor, Chafee won the state’s top seat in a three-way contest. During his tenure he announced he would become a Democrat but chose not to seek re-election in 2014. He dropped out of public sight until he suddenly announced his exploratory effort.

Chafee would be the third Democratic candidate announcing for president. In addition to Clinton, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has announced his candidacy.

For the time being, Debbie said Chafee would make his office at Airport Plaza his presidential headquarters.