General Treasurer Frank Caprio, widely expected to be a Democratic candidate for governor in 2010, has amassed an imposing campaign war chest and done a skillful job in maximizing his public profile from a typically low-profile office. Yet Caprio could face a challenge in winning over the more liberal Democrats who heavily participate in primaries. A case in point is how the conservative blog Anchor Rising has named him its fifth top conservative in Rhode Island. (The rating is based on perceived influence, "with a small adjustment for degree of conservatism," as Anchor's Justin Katz explains via e-mail):

To include Democrats or not to include Democrats? Well, if we're being honest (and if we acknowledge the state in which we operate), we have to admit that the political center line does cross through Democrat territory. The reality is that Mr. Caprio has been a news-generating machine, lately; he holds a reasonably powerful, high-profile office in the state; and he's been opening up channels across media as well as across the political spectrum. As for his conservatism, it's true that he looks likely to take the "personally opposed, politically ambivalent" cop-out on social issues, but for a Democrat, that's a marker of moderation. Economically, we're comfortable giving the treasurer the benefit of the doubt that he's well to the right of his fellow Ds.