Republicans a rare find in blue Vermont
UNDERHILL CENTER, Vt. -- Something looks out of place in front of the Wells Corner Market here in left-leaning Underhill Center, a hamlet in a liberal county in a dark-blue state.
There are yard signs cheering Republican John McCain's candidacy for president.
A traveler driving the 3 miles from the nearest state highway into town along River Road will pass many more placards for the Arizona senator's Democratic rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
For store proprietors Cedric and Laura Wells, that's no matter. Their support for McCain has nothing to do with his chances here.
"You've got to voice your opinion no matter what," says Cedric, 53. "It's not depressing." Laura, 50, says, "We live in a liberal town, but we love our neighbors. They're good people. We discuss politics and religion — all the stuff you're not supposed to."
Vermont Republicans and McCain campaign organizers are glad contested New Hampshire is right next-door. McCain volunteers are driving over the Connecticut River and into the Granite State to work toward winning there, says McCain's New England regional campaign manager, Jim Barnett, a former chairman of the Vermont Republican Party.
"It's tough doing business there," Barnett says of supporters in the Green Mountain State, "but they're also positioned well to help us in a key swing state across the river. There are a limited number of states around this country that are going to swing this election. When it comes time to allocate scarce resources, we have a critical battleground across the river in New Hampshire."
Likely voters in Vermont favor Obama 56%-38% over McCain, according to a Sept. 18-22 poll by the American Research Group. The margin of error is +/—4 percentage points. Once a conservative stronghold, Vermont last gave its three electoral votes to a Republican presidential candidate in 1988, choosing George H.W. Bush over Michael Dukakis 51% to 48%. George W. Bush got 41% of the Vermont vote in 2000 and 39% four years later.
The nearest McCain campaign office is in Lebanon, N.H., along Interstate 89 just east of White River Junction, Vt. There are no paid staffers at work in Vermont; just volunteers, Barnett says.
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