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The departures of Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) will result in competitive US Senate elections in 2006 in two states where Republicans are not historically strong, though the special circumstances that apply to those seats make them within reach of the GOP. The former will have special meaning for Republicans since its occupant unilaterally handed control of the US Senate to the opposing party from 2001 to 2003. Because the Republicans enjoyed a historic victory in the 2002 midterms, the actions of the Benedict Arnold from the home of Ethan Allen had limited implications, aside from giving the...

But, his stalwart sidekick, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, quickly stepped up to fill the speculation about who in the GOP will take on U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders

BURLINGTON — Gov. Jim Douglas ended more than a week of increasing political speculation Saturday, announcing he would not run for U.S. Senate in 2006. But, his stalwart sidekick, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, quickly stepped up to fill the speculation about who in the GOP will take on U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, who has said he intends to run for the Senate. “I am thinking about it,” Dubie told reporters in a crowded hallway outside Douglas' announcement. Dubie said he would consider a run for U.S. Senate or U.S. House, but not without consulting his family first. “For me, it’s...

Jeffords to Retire A very reliable source tells me that Jim Jeffords will make an announcement at 1pm today that he is retiring from the U.S. Senate.

WASHINGTON -- In case you hadn't noticed it, Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords announced last Wednesday that he won't seek re-election. After 17 years in the Senate, he's packing up and going home. Don't feel bad if you did miss it. Few in the media thought it was a big deal. The Washington Post reported it on page A-7 and the New York Times on page A-15. The Wall Street Journal devoted exactly one sentence to it. The Journal must have needed the space for "Hotel Industry Begins to Wake Up to Bedbug Problem." It was a stark change from four...

A race between Congressman Bernie Sanders and Governor Jim Douglas would touch off a political domino effect in Vermont.

'Jumpin' Jim Jeffords to jump out of office Senator from Vermont caused upheaval when he left GOP, gave control to Dems Posted: April 20, 2005 1:48 p.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.comU.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords, the Vermont independent whose defection from the Republican Party in 2001 created massive political upheaval in the Senate, will leave office when his term expires next year. "After much thought and consultation with my family and staff, I have decided to close this chapter of my service to Vermont, and not seek re-election in 2006," Jeffords said today. Despite recent statements the 70-year-old would be...

WASHINGTON, April 20 - Senator James M. Jeffords of Vermont, the Republican-turned-independent whose party switch in 2001 delivered control of the Senate to Democrats for 19 months, announced on Wednesday that he would not seek re-election next year, citing concerns about his health and that of his wife. "It is time to begin a new chapter, both for me personally and for the people of Vermont," Mr. Jeffords, 70, told reporters at a news conference at hotel outside Burlington, Vt. He did not answer questions. The announcement set off an immediate scramble to succeed him, with Representative Bernard Sanders, the...

Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vt.), whose abrupt defection from the Republican Party in May 2001 handed control of the Senate to the Democrats for the next 19 months, announced yesterday that he would not seek a fourth term in 2006 due to his and his wife's health problems.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords, an independent who triggered one of the most dramatic upheavals in Senate history when he quit the GOP four years ago, intends to retire at the end of his term next year, The Associated Press learned Wednesday.Jeffords will make the announcement Wednesday afternoon in Burlington, multiple sources in Vermont and Washington told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity.No calls to Jeffords' press secretary or staff were returned Wednesday morning.Jeffords, 70, has been adamant in saying he will seek re-election, but there have been increasing concerns voiced about his health...

MONTPELIER, Vt. Howard Dean isn't interested. A spokeswoman says Dean won't be running for the Senate seat that is opening up from Vermont -- now that independent Jim Jeffords won't be running for re-election next year. Jeffords is the one who briefly gave control of the Senate to Democrats when he left the G-O-P and became an independent four years ago. Sources told the A-P this morning that Jeffords was preparing to make the announcement that he's retiring at the end of his term. Dean had long been rumored as a possible candidate. But the former governor and presidential candidate...

Three Guys Who Could Easily Get The Turncoat's Seat Back

Does anyone out there remember Piels beer? Bob McAllister’s Wonderama or Quisp cereal? How about Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” nature show and K-Tel records? Surely, a few of you remember some, if not all, of these once-popular and everyday elements that were once considered by most as indisputable props of Americana. But do you remember the senator from Vermont, Jim Jeffords? Though there are a few who will never forget Jeffords moment atop the media mountain, the vast majority of Americans would scratch their heads, furrow their brows, and say “who”?

Does anyone out there remember Piels beer?  Bob McAllister’s Wonderama or Quisp cereal?  How about Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” nature show and K-Tel records?  Surely, a few of you remember some, if not all, of these once-popular and everyday elements that were once considered by most as indisputable props of Americana. But do you remember the senator from Vermont, Jim Jeffords?

U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords, the Vermont Independent, may face a clear field right now in a 2006 re-election bid, but his March 22 performance on Vermont Public Radio's Switchboard program raised a few eyebrows. For starters, Jeffords, who opposes the war in Iraq, predicted the Bush administration would start a war in Iran to help elect a third member of the Bush clan to the White House. “I think it was all done to get oil,” Jeffords said of invading Iraq. “And the loss of life that we had, and the cost of it, was to me just a re-election...

March 28 -- Three Democrats and the only independent in the Senate have asked for the EPA´s independent Inspector General´s Office to investigate allegations that the EPA withheld information during the mercury rulemaking process that disagreed with some administration assumptions. However, the Environmental Protection Agency said the information was omitted in part because it appears flawed. Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., James Jeffords, I-Vt., John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., requested the investigation in a March 24 letter to Stephen L. Johnson, the acting EPA administrator. The senators also asked Johnson to stay the implementation of the mercury rule until...

There's no doubt about it: The 2006 U.S. Senate campaign has begun and it's already getting ugly, Sen. Jim Jeffords said Friday. The Vermont independent also said he expects to be the Republican Party's "No. 1 target." He said he expects to be treated like former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who was pounded by the GOP during the last election cycle and, as a result, lost his re-election bid. "The nasty part of (the election) has already started, too, which I hate to see," Jeffords told the Reformer during a visit to downtown Brattleboro. The three-term senator is entering...

MONTPELIER, Vt. The woman who managed U-S Senator Patrick Leahy's re-election campaign last year has been hired to organize the re-election campaign of independent U-S Senator Jim Jeffords. Carolyn Dwyer has been hired as a consultant to the Jeffords campaign with the task of getting things prepared for next year's bid. Dwyer served as Leahy's campaign manager last year and helped run his 1998 campaign. She also worked on Howard Dean's presidential bid as well as the Clinton-Gore campaign in 1996. The hiring of Dwyer comes on the heels of recent endorsements of Jeffords by Leahy and Democratic National Committee...

AFTER SENATOR JIM JEFFORDS deserted the Republican Party in 2001, Chuck Hagel was furious. Not at his Senate colleague but at Republicans for not accommodating Jeffords' liberalism. Hagel had plead with Jeffords to remain a Republican, promising to help him advance his liberal "dreams" for the GOP. "Jim, do you really believe you can further your dreams and aspirations by doing this?" Time quoted Hagel as saying to Jeffords. "We can fix this. Give us a chance." Unpersuaded, Jeffords switched parties, and Hagel proceeded to blast the GOP to reporters in terms they like to hear. "We need to take...

Reader Allen O'Donnell from Wayne, Nebraska has comiled an analyzed the list of Senators voting against the confirmation of Dr. Condoleeza Rice as Secretary of State. It is well worth reading: Senators who voted against confirmation of Dr. Rice for Secretary of State Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. John Kerry, D-Mass. Carl Levin, D-Mich. James Jeffords, I-Vt. Jack Reed, D-R.I Mark Dayton, D-Minn. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii Evan Bayh, D-Ind. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa Richard Durbin, D-Ill For me, the only surprise is Evan Bayh of Indiana. I figured he had his eye on the...