(Host) Robert Kinsey of Craftsbury served in the Vermont House for 30 years. A lifelong Republican, Kinsey lost his seat in the last election because of opposition to his vote in favor of civil unions.
Kinsey will run for his old seat once again. But this time, he’s running as a Democrat, not as a Republican:
(Kinsey) "Been a Republican all my life. Yep, that was a hard decision. But our county Republican leadership has gone too far to the right, so I had to respond."
(Host) Kinsey says his Republican roots reach back more than a century. He considers himself a moderate and is no longer comfortable in the party. Kinsey doesn’t think his vote for civil unions will hurt him that much in the 2002 elections. And he stands by that vote:
(Kinsey) "Number one is, they are Vermonters. The Supreme Court was right. The constitution says that all laws are meant to protect all the people."
(Host) In the last election, Kinsey lost in a primary. He says now, as a Democrat, he hopes to appeal to both Democrats and moderate Republicans.