The 1974 United States Senate election in Vermont took place on November 5, 1974. The incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

George Aiken George David Aiken (August 20, 1892November 19, 1984) was an American politician and horticulturist. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 64th governor of Vermont (1937–1941) before serving in the United States Senate for 34 years, ...

, did not run for re-election to another term in the United States Senate. The Democratic nominee, attorney and prosecutor

Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

, defeated

nominee, then- Rep.

Richard W. Mallary Richard Walker Mallary (February 21, 1929 – September 27, 2011) was an American businessman and politician. He served for three years as a U.S. Representative from Vermont and was the Republican nominee for United States Senator in 1974, losing ...

, to become Aiken's successor. This election featured future

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, U.S. Representative, and Leahy's future U.S. Senate colleague,

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

, who was the nominee for the

Liberty Union Party The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party, known as the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a political party active in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a self-proclaimed "non-violent socialist party". The LUP was founded in 1970 by former ...

. Sanders won only 4.1% of the vote and failed to win any counties but managed to obtain 5.6% of the vote in Chittenden County, where the city of

is located. This election marked the first time in the state's history that Vermont elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate, the last remaining U.S. state to do so. Leahy, who still holds this seat as of , remained as the only Democrat ever elected to the Senate in the state until

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, when he retired and was replaced by

Peter Welch Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Vermont, and the current U.S. representative for since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a major figure in ...

, who is also a Democrat. The last non-Republican elected to the Senate from Vermont at this point in time was

Lawrence Brainerd Lawrence Brainerd (March 16, 1794May 9, 1870) was an American businessman, abolitionist and United States Senator from Vermont. A longtime anti-slavery activist, after leaving the Jacksonian democracy, Jacksonians in the 1830s, Brainerd was act ...

, who was elected as a member of the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...

in 1854. Sanders would later be elected to Vermont's other U.S. Senate seat in

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; he has caucused with the Democratic Party but serves as an independent.

Republican primary

Candidates

*T. Serse Ambrosini, former Vice President of the

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fina ...

*Charles R. Ross, former member of the

Burlington City Council Burlington City Council is the city council responsible for the city of Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The council consists of the mayor plus six councillors. Current City Council (2022-2026) Council elected in the 2022 municipal election: Past ...

and Professor of Economics at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

, U.S. Representative from

Vermont's at-large congressional district Vermont has been represented in the United States House of Representatives by a single at-large congressional district since the 1930 census, when the state lost its second seat, obsoleting its 1st and 2nd congressional districts. There were o ...

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

*Nathaniel Frothingham, former teacher *

, State Attorney for Chittenden County

Results

General election

Candidates

(D), State Attorney for Chittenden County *

(R), U.S. Representative from

(LU), carpenter and social worker

Results

References

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

1974 Vermont elections Bernie Sanders {{Vermont-election-stub

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

See also

References