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.

The volunteer coordinator, Carl Ettlinger, says he e-mails supporters daily with updated campaign news and talking points they can use to promote McCain to their neighbors and friends.

"We realize it's an uphill battle. What we're doing is really an act of pride and of great respect for our candidate," Ettlinger says. He organizes trips to knock on doors and staff phone banks one state over. "You've got to put your resources where you have a chance to win, and that seems to be New Hampshire."

American Research Group polling of likely voters in New Hampshire on Sept. 13-15 found McCain ahead of Obama 48%-45%, within the +/—4-point margin of error.

McCain supporters Buddy and Jackie Barnett of Barre, Vt., the regional campaign manager's parents, say they hope their candidate's reputation for maverick independence will attract like-minded Vermonters. They are organizing a rally for Oct. 12 in Barre and talking up their candidate to everyone they can.

"I know people are saying Obama is going to win Vermont, but I'm not totally convinced it's a lost cause," says Jackie, 63. "I'm telling people to go to New Hampshire because we have a real good chance to win there, but I'm not telling them not to vote for McCain here at home."

Buddy, 64, a sixth-generation Vermonter, says supporters should try to stay optimistic. "You have to believe, or otherwise you'd do nothing," he says. "You can't concede."

The Obama campaign, comfortably ahead, is not taking Vermont for granted. Paid staffers are working out of two campaign offices, one in Burlington and the other in White River Junction. There are phone banks, neighborhood canvassing trips, even a recent "Camp Obama" that trained volunteers to be field organizers in battleground states, says Gannet Tseggai, a Northeast regional Obama spokeswoman.

"We are certainly committed to Vermont," she says. "We have a great group of supporters and enthusiastic volunteers. We value every single vote. We're going to fight for every single vote between now and Election Day."

Back at the Wells Corner Market one recent afternoon, a congressional debate flickers on a TV while Cedric and Laura Wells wait on customers, most of whom they greet by name. The McCain signs out front haven't affected business, except for one young woman they'd never seen before who came in and yelled a few weeks ago, Laura says.

A couple of regulars good-naturedly try to bring the Wellses into the Obama fold, but they say they're holding firm and hoping for a McCain presidency, not a Vermont victory. Laura says, "I don't ever feel like I'm blowing against the wind, because I have a firm faith in God and believe it's all part of his plan."

Silverman reports for The Burlington Free Press