Jeanne Shaheen is the latest U.S. senator to have a change of heart and offer public support for a temporary travel ban amid growing fears of the global spread of Ebola,
The Washington Post reports.
The New Hampshire senator last week said she was uncertain if a travel ban made sense, but changed her position this week, her spokesman said Tuesday.
"Senator Shaheen has contacted New Hampshire officials about local preparedness. She strongly supports any and all effective measures to keep Americans safe including travel bans if they would work," her spokesman Harrell Kirstein said in a statement, according to the Post.
The Democrat incumbent's latest position may be in response to midterm opponent Scott Brown's strong stand on the issue. Brown, a Republican who is locked in a tight contest with Shaheen, has been critical of the president's response to the health crisis and has supported a travel ban.
Brown had sent Shaheen a letter urging her to reconsider,
the Post noted.
Immediately, Republicans jumped on Shaheen for what they described as her "flip-flop",
the New Hampshire Journal reported.
“Jeanne Shaheen must have just taken a poll and realized that she was out of step with the vast majority of Americans who favor a travel ban," said New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Jennifer Horn, the Journal noted.
Brown, who had called for such a ban on Oct. 9, also lauded his opponent's change of heart. “I’m glad that Jeanne Shaheen has changed her mind and now agrees with me on the issue of a travel ban. It was wrong for her to oppose it in the first place," he said, according to the Journal.
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Real Clear Politics polling average taken from Sept. 29 to Oct. 19 found Shaheen with a 2.6 point lead over Brown in a contest they said remained a toss-up.