Sununu votes with Democrats on Iraq vote

US Senator John E. Sununu, a New Hampshire Republican facing a serious challenge for re-election next year, voted alongside Democrats today on a bill that would require troops get as much time at home as they spend overseas before being redeployed.

The Democrat sponsored Webb Amendment was strongly opposed by the White House and Republican leadership. In fact, while Sununu voted for it, his New Hampshire Republican colleague in the Senate, Judd Gregg, voted against it.

On Friday, a formidable opponent, former Governor Jeanne Shaheen, decided she wanted a rematch against Sununu in his re-election bid next year. Sununu defeated Shaheen by four points in 2002, but the state has been leaning Democratic ever since.

Overall, the bill failed by one vote to get the 60 votes required to avoid a filibuster.