William Jacobson, associate clinical professor at Cornell Law School and the blogger of Legal Insurrection, has found his man for the 2012 Senate race in Rhode Island:

Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democratic Senator from my home State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is up for re-election in 2012. Whitehouse snuck into office in 2006 after a bitter Republican primary between incumbent Lincoln Chaffee and conservative challenger Steve Laffey . . . Even if Laffey were around, however, the strongest candidate against Whitehouse would be Republican Governor Donald Carcieri, who is leaving office in January after two terms due to term limits. Carcieri has fought a heroic battle over the past 8 years against a veto-proof Democratic legislature heavy not only with union contributions, but union members. Carcieri’s fiscal discipline has saved the state approximately $1 billion. He has fought hard for pension reform with some (but not enough) success. Carcieri also signed the immigration executive order about which I have posted before.Carcieri is popular across party lines. He is a fiscal conservative. He has a very likable way about him. He can beat Whitehouse.

The state party is on the same page:

Rhode Island Republican Party Chairman Giovanni Cicione said he will challenge Senator Sheldon Whitehouse in 2012, but only if no other high-profile GOP contenders decide to run. He named Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, term-limited Governor Donald Carcieri ‘65 and 2010 gubernatorial candidate John Robitaille as strong potential challengers to the first-term senator.
“Somebody’s got to step up and step up soon,” Cicione said of his party’s need to field a candidate to unseat Whitehouse. When asked about a potential bid, Avedisian said that while it is “flattering” to be mentioned by the chairman of his party, he has not given a Senate candidacy much thought. Carcieri and Robitaille could not be reached for comment.
“There are a lot of good choices, and I am somewhere down that list,” Cicione said.