PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Saying it should be a time of reflection and mourning for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, candidates in at least two states will skip the campaign trail Monday – even though their state primaries are the following day.

In Rhode Island, where the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate is expected to be extremely close, Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey, Sen. Lincoln Chafee’s challenger, says he won’t be out Monday to shake hands or wave to motorists, two things he usually does several times a week.

“It’s Sept. 11, and it’s a sad day of mourning, and he just doesn’t think it’s appropriate,” Laffey spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik said.

Chafee’s spokesman, Ian Lang, said the senator would still campaign.

TV ads for both candidates are still scheduled to run, although the leading Democratic candidate, former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse, will not run ads that day, his spokeswoman said.

In New York, the state most affected by the attacks, several candidates said they would not campaign.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is suspending all campaign activities and her TV ads as of Sunday night, according to Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Hanley.

Clinton is leading her Democratic primary challenger, anti-Iraq war activist Jonathan Tasini, by a wide margin. Tasini’s campaign did not immediately return an e-mail message seeking details on his plans for Monday.

Both candidates for the Republican Senate nomination, former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer and Reagan-era Pentagon official Kathleen Troia “KT” McFarland, also planned to suspend campaign appearances on Monday because of the anniversary of 9-11.

“It’s a day for reflection, not street campaigning,” McFarland aide William O’Reilly said.

The candidates in the Democratic primary for New York’s governor, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Tom Suozzi, also said they would not campaign.

“We consider it a time for prayer, not politics,” Suozzi spokesman David Chauvin said.

Spitzer will also suspend his TV ads.

Primary elections are also scheduled Tuesday in Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Vermont, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

—

Associated Press Political writer Marc Humbert and Associated Press writer Michael Gormley contributed to this report from Albany, N.Y.

AP-ES-09-08-06 1634EDT