Martha Rainville

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Martha Rainville (née Trim, born April 09, 1958 (age 48), in New London, Connecticut) is a former Vermont National Guard Adjutant General, and retired Air Force Major General. In 2006 she ran as the Republican candidate for Vermont's at-large congressional district. She was defeated by Democratic candidate Peter Welch.

After graduating from Chamberlain-Hunt Academy (1975), Rainville received a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Mississippi (1979). Following graduation, she entered the military, and earned an officer's commission. On February 20, 1997, she was elected Vermont’s Adjutant General by a vote of the Vermont General Assembly, making her the nation’s first female adjutant general. The position of adjutant general carried with it the rank of Major General.

In 2005, Rainville began consulting with members of the Republican and Democratic parties regarding a possible run for the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate. She was courted by members of both parties. It was later rumored that Rainville was prepared to throw her hat into the House race as a Democrat on the condition that no other Democrats ran. Senate President Peter Welch, a Democrat, had already declared that he was a candidate. Rainville announced her candidacy in the early spring of 2006 as a Republican, stressing government reform, ethics, homeland security, and a strong national defense.

Rainville’s campaign, though a positive one, made some early gaffes and struggled to get off the ground. A plagiarizing scandal (originally documented in the blog Reason and Brimstone) involving one of her staffers resulted in a drop in the polls. She signed a Clean Campaign Pledge in which she vowed to not attack her opponent Welch, and condemned negative TV ads by third parties in the race.

A strong national anti-Republican wave, based partially on dwindling support for the Iraq occupation, combined with a desire to restore an oversight role to the Congress, made winning the seat an uphill battle. On Election Day, Welch was elected with a 9 percent lead. It was Rainville’s first run for office.

There was discussion in the state, to the effect, that if Rainville had caucused with the Democrats (even as an independent) she would have handily won the race. Senator Jim Jeffords summed this up “I must advise that while I think Martha Rainville is a talented leader, I feel very strongly that the country will be better served with Democrats gaining control of the House of Representatives in the 110th Congress. Therefore, for this election, I believe Peter Welch is a better choice for Vermont.”

Martha Rainville is the daughter of Nick B. Trim, of Port Gibson, Mississippi, and the late Lucille Slayton Trim. Rainville resides in Williston, Vermont. She is divorced from Norman Rainville, with whom she has three children, Jennifer, Nicholas, and Alex.

[edit] External links

• Martha T. Rainville bio at DefenseLINK, the official web site for the Department of Defense.
• Vermont National Guard to Promote First Woman to Adjutant General, March 1 (1997-02-27)

Preceded by Donald E. Edwards

Vermont Adjutant General 1997–2006

Succeeded by Michael D. Dubie

Persondata
NAME	Rainville, Martha Trim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Rainville, Martha, Gen.
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Former Vermont Adjutant General/Politician
DATE OF BIRTH	1958-04-09
PLACE OF BIRTH	New London, Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH