Goode expected to join Republican caucus
January 26, 2000
Web posted at: 8:27 p.m. EST (0127 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert is expected to announce Thursday that Rep. Virgil Goode, Ind.-Virginia, will switch from the House Democratic caucus to the Republican caucus -- although Goode is running for re-election as an independent.
Goode's, whose district includes tobacco-growing regions in central Virginia, has consistently voted against President Clinton and with other House Republicans since he was first elected as a Democrat in 1996.
"I've always voted independently of any party position, and I plan to continue doing that," Goode said Monday, after announcing plans to run in 2000 as an independent.
Joining the Republican caucus is expected to benefit both Goode and the GOP. Republican and Democratic caucuses make committee assignments and usually expect certain loyalties in return.
The Republicans hold a narrow 222-212 majority in the House, with only one independent, Rep. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, who belongs to the Democratic caucus.
"He will be a Republican Bernie Sanders," a GOP source told CNN late Wednesday.
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