October 13, 2006
By Matthew Spieler
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Yet despite the backing she has received from party strategists in her race with Democratic state Senate President Peter Welch, Rainville has stayed in serious competition not by embracing the national Republicans’ mainly conservative agenda, but by distancing herself from Bush and the rest of the GOP leadership.
Rainville has fashioned a politically moderate platform, pointing to her support for environmental protection and abortion rights. This appears a sensible strategy in a contest in which she is seeking to succeed one of the most liberal members of Congress, Independent Bernard Sanders, who is a strong favorite to win the state’s open Senate seat after dominating his recent House contests.
It also is the only feasible strategy these days for a Republican who wants to win major statewide office in Vermont.
But a recent NRCC ad in support of Rainville, which sought to underscore her centrist credentials, raised the hackles of one of the state’s current political icons: retiring three-term Independent Sen. James M. Jeffords, whom Sanders is running to succeed.
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On Oct. 9, Jeffords sent a letter to New York Republican Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds,who chairs the NRCC, requesting that the committee “cease running the advertisement immediately.”
Rainville is “a talented leader,” said Jeffords. But Jeffords, who has aligned with Senate Democrats since his party switch in June 2001, reiterated his endorsement of Democrat Welch, who he said “is a better choice for Vermont.”
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