Bob South's Grassroots Campaign Overcomes GOP Surge to Retain Vermont House Seat
One candidate who survived the nationwide Republican tide in November was Bob South, a UE member at Fairbanks Scales and president of Local 234. South first ran for a seat in the Vermont House of Representatives in 2006, falling short of victory, but won the election in 2008. This year the Republican Party spent heavily in its effort to oust this working-class Democrat, but South was reelected.
“I think that face-to-face contact with my constituents was really what helped me pull out a victory,” says South. “These are the same basic organizing tactics we use in UE.”