From today's big Times piece on the GOP Senate primary between incumbent Lincoln Chafee and conservative challenger Steve Laffey:

In an extraordinary pre-emptive announcement, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has said it will concede Rhode Island to the Democrats should Stephen Laffey, the mayor of Cranston, defeat Mr. Chafee in the primary. Citing poll data, Republican leaders said they saw no way someone as conservative as Mr. Laffey could win in a state as Democratic as this; as it is, they are increasingly worried about Mr. Chafee’s hopes in a general election.

The piece also notes that TV ads are on the air attacking Laffey as soft on security because as mayor of Cranston, he "agreed to accept `Mexican ID cards' as proof of citizenship." So what you have here is the national GOP defending the anti-war Chafee by faulting his pro-war opponent as soft on national security. Via Kevin Drum.