Jim Jeffords

James Merrill "Jim" Jeffords (May 11, 1934 – August 18, 2014) was an American politician. He was a United States Senator from Vermont. He was senator from January 3, 1989 through January 3, 2007. Before being senator, Jeffords was a member of the United States House of Representatives for Vermont.
He was elected as a Republican. In 2001 he left the party to become a Independent. That gave control of the Senate to the Democratic Party.
Jeffords died on August 18, 2014 from Alzheimer's disease at Knollwood, a military retirement facility in Washington, D.C.. He had lived there for eight years. He was 80 years old.