Dole Campaign Press Release - Senator Jeffords Backs Dole For President

The Dole for President campaign announced Vermont Senator James Jeffords has endorsed Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole's frontrunning Presidential bid. Jeffords becomes the 25th Republican Senator to back Senator Dole for President. Jeffords was first elected to the United States Senate in 1988 with 70% of the vote and was reelected in 1994.

"As this nation nears the beginning of a new century, the American people are looking for a leader with the vision, courage, and experience to lead us into the future," said Jeffords. "Bob Dole has dedicated his life to the fight for our country's economic and social prosperity. Together, Senator Dole and I voted to bar unfunded mandates that smother our state governments with federal demands. We voted for congressional compliance to force all members of Congress to live by the same laws that govern the people who sent us to Washington. And we voted together for the Balanced Budget Act of 1995 that has promised a balanced budget for our children and grandchildren for the first time in a generation. With his proven record of Republican leadership, I'm honored to support Bob Dole for President in 1996."

Dole welcomed Jeffords support: "I'm proud to have the backing of a respected Republican leader like Senator James Jeffords. Jim and I share the belief that fiscal sanity and moral responsibility are essential to our nation's well-being as we enter the 21st Century. My mandate as President will be to rein in the federal government to set free the entrepreneurial spirit of America; to reconnect government to the common sense, conservative values of the America people; and to restore America to its proper place as a world leader. With Jim's help, we'll continue the Republican revolution that began in 1994 and take back the White House next year."

Before his election to the U.S. Senate in 1988, Jeffords served in the U.S. House of Representatives fro 1974 to 1988. He now serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Labor & Human Resources Committee, and Veteran's Affairs Committee. Jeffords, a former U.S. Navy and Naval Reserves officer, will be up for reelection in 2000.

The latest CNN/USA Today poll of registered voters released this week shows Dole beating Bill Clinton in a head-to-head match-up 49% to 43%. In the same poll, Dole led the field for the GOP nomination with 49%--38 percentage points ahead of his nearest rival.