1996 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

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1996 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

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  Bernie Sanders 104th Congress.jpg 3x4.svg 3x4.svg
Nominee Bernie Sanders Susan Sweetser Jack Long
Party Independent Republican Democratic
Popular vote 140,678 83,021 23,830
Percentage 55.2% 32.6% 9.4%

VermontHouseofRepresentivesElection1996.svg
County results
Sanders:      40–50%      50–60%

Representative
At-large before election

Bernie Sanders
Independent

Elected Representative
At-large

Bernie Sanders
Independent

The 1996 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont was held on Tuesday, November 5, 1996, to elect the U.S. Representative from the state's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election.

Republican primary[]

Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Susan Sweetser 18,829 95.27
Republican Write-ins 935 4.73
Total votes 19,764 100.00

Democratic primary[]

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jack Long 9,291 67.95
Democratic Bernie Sanders (Write-in) 4,037 29.52
Democratic Susan Sweetser (Write-in) 203 1.48
Democratic Write-ins 143 1.05
Total votes 13,674 100.00

Liberty Union primary[]

Liberty Union primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberty Union Peter Diamondstone 237 88.76
Liberty Union Write-ins 30 11.24
Total votes 267 100.00

General election[]

Campaign[]

National Republicans were eager to unseat Sanders, and had placed him on a list of 10 incumbent Representatives they would most heavily target in the 1996 cycle.[2] The Republican nominee, State senator , was viewed as a rising star within the party and campaigned as a political moderate.[2][3] Sweetser's gender was viewed as a potential advantage by political analyst at the University of Vermont Garrison Nelson, who felt that it would prevent Sanders from utilising his traditional aggressive campaign style.[4] However, her campaign imploded after it was revealed that she had hired a private investigator to investigate Sanders' first marriage, which was largely viewed as unacceptable "dirty campaigning" by the electorate.[2]

Endorsements[]

Jack Long (D)
State officials
  • Howard Dean, Governor of Vermont[5]
Newspapers and publications
  • The Burlington Free Press[6]
Bernie Sanders (I)
Executive officials
  • George Stephanopoulos, Senior Advisor to the President[7]
Federal officials
  • Barney Frank, U.S. Representative from MA-04[8]
State officials
Individuals
  • Fred Tuttle, farmer (Co-endorsement with Sweetser)[11]
  • Jane Sanders, congressional staffer and wife of Bernie Sanders[12]
  • Gloria Steinem, activist[13]
Organizations
Susan Sweetser (R)
Federal officials
  • Dick Armey, U.S. Representative from TX-26 and House Majority Leader[3]
Individuals
  • Steve Forbes, publishing executive and former candidate for President[15]
  • Fred Tuttle, farmer (Co-endorsement with Sanders)[11]

Results[]

Vermont's At-large congressional district election, 1996[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Bernie Sanders (incumbent) 140,678 55.23
Republican Susan Sweetser 83,021 32.59
Democratic Jack Long 23,830 9.36
Libertarian Thomas J. Morse 2,693 1.06
Liberty Union Peter Diamondstone 1,965 0.77
Grassroots Robert Melamede 1,350 0.53
Natural Law Norio Kushi 812 0.32
Write-ins N/A 357 0.14
Total votes 254,706 100.00
Independent hold

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "1996 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Freyne, Peter (November 4, 1998). "GOP Throws In the Towel". Seven Days VT. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Freyne, Peter (May 22, 1996). "Politics, Politics, Politics". Seven Days VT. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  4. ^ Freyne, Peter (November 15, 1995). "Ho-Ho Come Home". Seven Days VT. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  5. ^ Lisberg, Adam (October 14, 1996). "Long struggles to catch up". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  6. ^ Sneyd, Ross (October 28, 1996). "Congressional candidates in high gear; Long gets endorsement". Brattleboro Reformer. Associated Press. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  7. ^ Bradsher, Keith; et al. (November 6, 1996). "Northeast". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  8. ^ Schmaler, Tracy (August 10, 1996). "Frank crosses party lines, endorses Sanders". Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  9. ^ Karp, Matt (January 24, 2016). "Bernie in the Age of Clinton". Jacobin. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  10. ^ Derby, Diane (July 28, 1996). "Long: The Lonely Candidate". Rutland Daily Herald. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Singer, Mark (November 18, 1996). "The Vital Center, Part II". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  12. ^ Gugliotta, Guy (July 9, 1996). "Candidate has his party to contend with". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  13. ^ Murphy, Tim (February 4, 2016). "That Time Bernie Sanders Said He Was a Bigger Feminist Than His Female Opponent". Mother Jones. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  14. ^ Hoffman, Jack (July 16, 1996). "Sanders wins endorsement of the national Sierra Club". Rutland Herald. Vermont Press Bureau. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  15. ^ Scherer, Ron (July 8, 1996). "Flat-Tax King Is Back On Chicken-Pie Circuit". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  16. ^ "United States Representative (One District): 1932-2014" (PDF). Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
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