Also in Washington, independent Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords has announced he will not seek re-election next year. Jeffords defected from the Republican Party in 2001. During a news conference the 71-year-old Senator cited unspecified health concerns, as well as the health of his wife who is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Speculation has already begun that Congressman Bernie Sanders, also an independent, will seek Jeffords seat. Sanders has been Vermont’s lone Congressman since 1991. Vermont’s governor Jim Douglas is seen as a likely Republican candidate.