2000 United States Senate election in Vermont
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The 2000 United States Senate election in Vermont took place on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords won re-election to a third term in office. In May 2001, Jeffords left the Republican Party and announced that he would become an independent who would caucus with the Democratic Party. His party exit broke the 50–50 lock in the Senate and effectively gave the Democrats the majority. Thus, that switch marked the first time since 1855 that Vermont had no Republicans in its entire congressional delegation.
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November 7, 2000
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Jeffords: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Despite the 40-point victory, this is the last federal election in Vermont won by a Republican, and the last time as of 2024 that either party won this seat.[a]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- Ed Flanagan, Vermont Auditor of Accounts
- Jan Backus, former Vermont State Senator and 1994 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate
Declined
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ed Flanagan | 17,440 | 49.24 | |
| Democratic | Jan Backus | 16,444 | 46.43 | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 1,533 | 4.33 | |
| Total votes | 35,417 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Jim Jeffords, incumbent U.S. Senator
- Rick Hubbard
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Jeffords (Incumbent) | 60,234 | 77.79 | |
| Republican | Rick Hubbard | 15,991 | 20.65 | |
| Republican | Write-ins | 1,204 | 1.55 | |
| Total votes | 77,429 | 100.00 | ||
Independents and minor parties
Independents
Declared
- Rick Hubbard
Declined
- Bernie Sanders, U.S. Representative from VT-AL; former mayor of Burlington[4]
General election
Flanagan was widely seen as having little chance of beating the highly popular Jeffords, who was thought of as a liberal Republican.[5][6] Flanagan campaigned on "shaking up Washington" and portrayed himself as a reformer.[6] Both candidates supported same-sex civil unions and remained silent on the issue of same-sex marriage, but Flanagan, who was openly gay, noted receiving backlash from voters opposed to same-sex marriage.[5] The LGBT community in Vermont was divided between which candidate to support, as Jeffords had been strongly supportive of LGBT rights and had received a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign.[6]
Endorsements
Organizations
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Jeffords (Incumbent) | 189,133 | 65.56% | +15.24% | |
| Democratic | Ed Flanagan | 73,352 | 25.43% | −15.14% | |
| Constitution | Charles W. Russell | 10,079 | 3.49% | ||
| Independent | Rick Hubbard | 5,366 | 1.86% | ||
| Grassroots | Billy Greer | 4,889 | 1.69% | ||
| Libertarian | Hugh Douglas | 3,843 | 1.33% | ||
| Liberty Union | Jerry Levy | 1,477 | 0.51% | ||
| Write-ins | 361 | 0.13% | |||
| Majority | 115,781 | 40.13% | +30.38% | ||
| Turnout | 288,500 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Results by county
| County | Jim Jeffords Republican |
Ed Flanagan Democratic |
Various candidates | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Addison | 11,696 | 68.1% | 4,185 | 24.4% | 1,289 | 7.5% | 7,511 | 43.7% | 17,170 |
| Bennington | 11,413 | 66.4% | 4,447 | 25.9% | 1,325 | 7.7% | 6,966 | 40.5% | 17,185 |
| Caledonia | 8,545 | 64.1% | 3,164 | 23.7% | 1,622 | 12.2% | 5,381 | 40.4% | 13,331 |
| Chittenden | 45,839 | 65.1% | 19,380 | 27.5% | 5,201 | 7.4% | 26,459 | 37.6% | 70,420 |
| Essex | 1,793 | 64.4% | 646 | 23.2% | 345 | 12.3% | 1,147 | 41.2% | 2,784 |
| Franklin | 12,805 | 67.5% | 4,796 | 25.3% | 1,370 | 7.3% | 8,009 | 42.2% | 18,971 |
| Grand Isle | 2,373 | 65.8% | 936 | 25.9% | 300 | 8.3% | 1,437 | 39.9% | 3,609 |
| Lamoille | 7,174 | 64.7% | 2,698 | 24.3% | 1,221 | 11.0% | 4,476 | 40.4% | 11,093 |
| Orange | 8,777 | 60.9% | 3,249 | 22.5% | 2,388 | 16.6% | 5,528 | 38.4% | 14,414 |
| Orleans | 7,879 | 66.1% | 2,695 | 22.6% | 1,354 | 11.4% | 5,184 | 43.5% | 11,928 |
| Rutland | 20,421 | 70.9% | 5,837 | 20.3% | 2,560 | 8.9% | 14,584 | 50.6% | 28,818 |
| Washington | 19,479 | 66.5% | 7,538 | 25.7% | 2,262 | 7.7% | 11,941 | 40.8% | 29,279 |
| Windham | 11,786 | 56.3% | 6,803 | 32.5% | 2,354 | 11.2% | 4,983 | 23.8% | 20,943 |
| Windsor | 19,153 | 67.1% | 6,978 | 24.4% | 2,424 | 8.5% | 12,175 | 42.7% | 28,555 |
| Totals | 189,133 | 65.6% | 73,352 | 25.4% | 26,015 | 9.0% | 115,781 | 40.2% | 288,500 |
See also
Notes
- Bernie Sanders, who replaced Jeffords, is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, like Jeffords did during his final term.