getty democratic rep. peter welch has a republican challenger in november: himself. by heather caygle 10/07/16 05:12 am edt vermont rep. peter welch is about as liberal a member of congress as you'll find. so what's he doing running for reelection as a republican? fear not, democrats. it turns out welch, the green mountain state<u+2019>s lone representative, will be on the ballot this fall as both a democrat and a republican. a write-in campaign for the gop nomination was launched on his behalf without his knowledge, and after coming out on top, welch accepted. story continued below <u+201c>obviously, there<u+2019>s no secret about where my policies are, where my voting record is,<u+201d> welch said in an interview. without a hint of sarcasm, however, he added: <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve accepted the republican nomination [and] i<u+2019>m pleased to have it.<u+201d> on most issues, welch is a bernie sanders-backing, card-carrying progressive. but republicans adore the 69-year-old congressman, and he's actually kinda proud of his cross-party credentials. welch counts some of the most conservative members of the gop conference <u+2014> people like republican study committee chairman bill flores (r-texas) and house freedom caucus member mick mulvaney (r-s.c.) <u+2014> as among his closest pals in congress. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s impossible to not like,<u+201d> rep. trey gowdy (r-s.c.) said in an interview. the two first bonded after serving on the oversight committee together and later introduced a bill together. 2016 by kevin robillard and gabriel debenedetti it's the kind of story several of welch<u+2019>s republicans friends have. <u+201c>i remember peter would walk over after he asked his questions and i asked mine and he would either offer a compliment or more likely what i considered to be incredibly constructive criticism,<u+201d> gowdy said. <u+201c>i have never heard him question another member<u+2019>s motives. <u+2026> he<u+2019>s got the one quality that you cherish the most in politics, which is trust.<u+201d> welch is quick to return the favor: <u+201c>he<u+2019>s just been murder on a lot of our witnesses. he<u+2019>s just really good,<u+201d> he said of gowdy. <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve always found him to be fair and have a wicked sense of humor.<u+201d> welch said he first learned about the republican primary win while on a congressional trip to europe in late august led by house majority leader kevin mccarthy (r-calif.). welch was the only democrat on the trip. <u+201c>i said, <u+2018>kevin, there<u+2019>s good news and bad news. you<u+2019>ve got a new member of the republican conference,<u+2019><u+201d> welch recounted. mccarthy<u+2019>s ears <u+201c>perked up<u+201d> at first, welch said, before he quickly dashed the gop leader<u+2019>s hopes. <u+201c>the bad news is i<u+2019>m going to be representing the sanders wing of the republican party.<u+201d> 2016 by annie karni his bipartisan roots go back to his time in the vermont state house, welch said. as a minority member in the state senate, he said republicans in the majority made an effort to include him. <u+201c>i never forgot how well they treated me and gave me an opportunity to be a contributor,<u+201d> he said. later, as state senate president, he appointed republicans to lead some committees. <u+201c>when i tell some of my colleagues in washington, they literally think i need a mental status examination,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>[but] when you had republicans chairing, they had a real stake in the outcome, they were honest contributors and then once we got something done, it stayed done. that model of how we worked together in vermont is i think how i consistently act in washington.<u+201d> william senning, vermont director of elections, said a multiple-party listing for a single candidate isn<u+2019>t unheard of in the state <u+2014> it also happened to welch in 2008 <u+2014> and one person was once listed as the candidate for five different parties. but that doesn<u+2019>t stop some republicans from hoping welch would reconsider his party affiliation. gowdy said, half-jokingly, that republicans <u+201c>probably would<u+201d> let welch caucus with them if he really wanted to. the vermont democrat is trustworthy enough, gowdy said, that he <u+201c>wouldn<u+2019>t repeat what he heard.<u+201d> by michael grunwald by bill scher by thomas wright by joshua zeitz
sanders-loving vermont lawmaker snags gop nomination - politico
heather caygle kevin robillard gabriel debenedetti annie karni michael grunwald