I'm at the Mayflower Hotel with the Club for Growth team tonight awaiting the results of the much-watched race between Sen. Lincoln Chafee and Steve Laffey in Rhode Island. Early results are not encouraging, but the crew here is hearing better news on the ground. Stay tuned.

UPDATE -- 9:57 p.m.: According to WPRI, it looks as if Chafee will win this one. Everyone here is obviously disappointed, but they are pleased Laffey was able to draw 47% of the vote (to Chafee's 53%).

UPDATE -- 10:18 p.m.: Club for Growth President Pat Toomey is working the phones, getting the latest on the race. He's about to do a 10:30 conference call with reporters. Meanwhile, the rest of us -- including fellow blogger Matt Lewis -- are talking about what went wrong and what went right.

UPDATE -- 10:26 p.m.: With Laffey's defeat all but certain -- even though no one has officially called it yet -- we're talking about the good and the bad of the campaign. Laffey, it appears, was ultimately the victim of a vicious smear campaign launched by the Chafee camp and Republican operatives. Laffey couldn't overcome the attacks, and having failed to make the sale why Chafee needed to be dumped, he wilted down the stretch. It's certainly disappointing, but there's still something to be said for the 46% of the vote he won.