(Host) The adage that "all politics is local" is especially true in state House and Senate races.
As VPR’s Susan Keese reports, legislative candidates will spend the run-up to Election Day close to home, doing what they’ve been doing: knocking on voters’ doors.
(Cafe) Hebert: hey Perley how are you? Good! Good!
(Keese) On a Friday morning 10 days before the election, Mike Hebert stops to grab a muffin at a luncheonette in Vernon, his hometown. He wears a Marine Corps cap and a button that says VT for Vermont Yankee.
Hebert, a Republican, is campaigning for the House seat held for 12 years by Republican Patty O’Donnell, who isn’t seeking re-election.
He’s headed to Guilford, the district’s other, more rural town, where it can take an hour to find four or five houses. But Hebert says it’s worth the effort.
(Hebert) "In an area like Guilford or Vernon, we don’t have a large media outlet. You really need to allow people to say ‘Hey Mike, what do you think about this?’ And some people are going to agree with you and some people are not. That’s what it’s all about."
(Keese) Both Hebert and his Democratic opponent Rich Davis say that here, the race is all about Vermont Yankee.
The common wisdom is that Vernon residents want the nuclear plant to stay open and Guilford voters want it closed. Vernon has traditionally held the advantage in terms of population.
Democrat Davis, who wants Vermont Yankee to shut down, says that demographic gap is narrowing. He’s counting on voter turnout from Guilford to put him over the top.
(Davis) "The race is usually determined by 100 votes or less, and I can’t believe it isn’t going to be the same case now."
(Keese) The Vernon-Guilford district is one of a number of open House seats the GOP is hoping to hold on to or even capture from the Democrats. Republicans hold 48 seats now while Democrats hold 94. Independents and Progressives hold the rest.
Dorset Republican Representative Patti Komline, who’s running unopposed, has been helping GOP House candidates around the state.
(Komline) "And I’m hopeful we’re going to pick up seats. I’m hopeful we’ll have 51, 52 seats."
(Keese) Komline says Republican Senate candidates are also running strong in Franklin, Chittenden and Rutland counties. Democrats currently control the Senate 23-to-seven.
But no one’s expecting an upset of the current Democratic majority.
Komline says a number of people who’ve run as Progressives in the past are running now as Democrats -Rich Davis of Guilford, Cindy Weed in Enosburg, And Anthony Pollina, who’s running for a Senate seat in Washington County.
(Komline) "It helps us when there’s a Democrat and a Progressive in the race. So I see that as a little bit more of a challenge."
(Keese) And while Tea Party candidates have split Republicans in some states, Komline says that doesn’t seem to be happening in Vermont.
Komline says the Tea Party in Vermont seems focused on fiscal issues. And that puts them right in line with the GOP.
For VPR News, I’m Susan Keese.