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 ...

Peter Plympton Smith Peter Plympton Smith (born October 31, 1945) is an American educator and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the U.S. state of Vermont, the 76th lieutenant governor of Vermont, and an education ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Peter Plympton Smith Peter Plympton Smith (born October 31, 1945) is an American educator and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the U.S. state of Vermont, the 76th lieutenant governor of Vermont, and an education ...

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 i ...

James A. Guest James Alfred (Jim) GuestDolores Sandoval. Sanders, the

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 ...

of Burlington, Vermont ran as an independent candidate. This is the most recent election in which a Republican was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives 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 on ...

.

Background

From 1854 to 1958, the

Vermont Republican Party The Vermont Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Vermont and has been active since its foundation in the 1860s. The party is the second largest in the state behind the Vermont Democratic Party, but ahead of the Vermont ...

won every statewide election in Vermont.

William H. Meyer William Henry Meyer (December 29, 1914 – December 16, 1983) was an American politician and Member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont. Biography Born in Philadelphia, he attended the public schools of the city and gra ...

became the first member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

to win a statewide election in Vermont since 1853, when he won election to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

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 on ...

in the 1958 election. Jim Jeffords, a member of the Republican Party, was elected from Vermont's at-large district in the 1974 election and served for fourteen years. In the 1986 election he faced no Democratic opponent and won with 89.12% of the popular vote against three other candidates.

Campaign

Candidates

Major parties

=Republican

= Senator

Robert Stafford Robert Theodore Stafford (August 8, 1913 – December 23, 2006) was an American politician from Vermont. In his lengthy political career, he served as the 71st governor of Vermont, a United States representative, and a U.S. Senator. A Republi ...

, who had been appointed to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 1971, announced on April 10, 1987, that he would not seek reelection in the 1988 election. Representative Jeffords announced that he would seek the Republican nomination to succeed Stafford in the United States Senate instead of seeking reelection to the United States House of Representatives. Dennis Delaney, a member of the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

, considered running in a congressional, gubernatorial, or lieutenant gubernatorial election. Smith had run in the 1986 gubernatorial election with the Republican nomination, but placed second to Democratic Governor Madeleine Kunin in the popular vote and in the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

vote as no candidate had received more than 50% of the popular vote. David Dillon served as Smith's campaign manager. Smith defeated Gates in the primary with 77.60% of the popular vote.

=Democratic

= On April 8, 1987, Paul N. Poirier, the Majority Leader of the Vermont House of Representatives, announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for congressional election. Poirier defeated Welch, Guest, and Sandoval in the primary with 41.27% of the popular vote.

Minor parties and other candidates

=Independent

= Bernie Sanders won election as Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in the 1981 mayoral election as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and won reelection in the

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, and 1987 elections. Sanders had run for governor in the 1986 election and had received 14.45% of the popular vote in the election and support from one member of the state legislature. During the 1987 campaign Sanders stated that he would not seek reelection in 1989, stating that "eight years is enough and I think it is time for new leadership, which does exist within the coalition, to come up". Sanders announced on March 10, 1988, that he would run in the election as an independent candidate. Terry Bouricius served as Sanders' campaign treasurer. During the campaign he received the support of the Rainbow Coalition.

=Other

= Jim Hedbor announced that he would run in the election with the Libertarian nomination on February 25, 1988, at a press conference in

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Washington County. The site of Vermont's state government, it is the least populous state capital in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population ...

. Hedbor won the Libertarian primary without opposition.

Peter Diamondstone Peter Isaac Diamondstone (December 19, 1934 – August 30, 2017) was an American lawyer and socialist politician from the state of Vermont, best known as a perennial candidate and co-founder of the Liberty Union Party. He ran for various Ver ...

, who had unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives five times, announced on June 3, 1988, that he would run in the election with the nomination of 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 ...

. Diamondstone faced no opposition in the party's primary. Diamondstone also sought the position of

Vermont Attorney General The Vermont Attorney General is a statewide elected executive official in the U.S. state of Vermont who is elected every two years. It was created by an act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1790, repealed in 1797, and revived in 1904. The office ...

during the 1988 election. During the campaign he accused his opponents of excluding the candidates of smaller parties from debates and forums. Morris Earle, who had unsuccessfully ran in five elections including for Vermont's at-large congressional district in 1986, announced that he would run and appeared on the Small Is Beautiful ballot line.

General election

Three debates was held during the campaign which were attended by all of the candidates. Two candidates forums were held with one on foreign policy and the other on elderly issues. Smith accused Poirier of conducting a negative campaign while Poirier questioned Smith's statements that he had founded and served as president of the

Community College of Vermont The Community College of Vermont (CCV) is a community college in Vermont. It is Vermont's second largest college, serving 7,000 students each semester and is part of the Vermont State Colleges System. The college has 12 locations throughout Vermo ...

. A straw poll of the six candidates was conducted during one of the debates in which they were asked who they would support if they were not on the ballot. Smith and Earle stated that they would support Poirier, Sanders stated that he would support Earle, Poirier stated that he would support Sanders, and Diamondstone refused to vote. Smith won in the general election with 41.20% of the popular vote against Sanders' 37.49% and Poirier's 18.88%. Smith won the popular vote in eight counties while Sanders won the popular vote in five counties. Smith's victory was the last time that a member of the Republican Party was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Vermont.

Polling

Endorsements

Results

Results by county

Results by municipality

References

{{Bernie Sanders

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

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 ...

1988 Vermont elections Bernie Sanders