2012 United States Senate election in Vermont
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The 2012 United States Senate election in Vermont was held on November 6, 2012. Incumbent independent Senator Bernie Sanders won reelection to a second term in a landslide, defeating Republican nominee John MacGovern with 71% of the vote and winning every county, municipality, and precinct. Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist, was first elected with 65% of the vote in 2006 and was the first non-Republican to win this seat since 1850.
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November 6, 2012
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| Turnout | 63.47% (voting eligible)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
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Sanders: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
Candidates
- Bernie Sanders, incumbent U.S. Senator[2]
Sanders also received the nomination of the Vermont Progressive Party, but declined both the Democratic and Progressive nominations after the primary.[3]
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
- John MacGovern, former Massachusetts State Representative[4]
- H. Brooke Paige, former CEO of Remmington News Service[5]
Declined
- Kevin Dorn, former Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development[6]
- Jim Douglas, former governor
- Thom Lauzon, Mayor of Barre[7]
- Tom Salmon, state auditor[8]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John MacGovern | 6,343 | 75.4 | |
| Republican | H. Brooke Paige | 2,073 | 24.6 | |
| Total votes | 8,416 | 100.0 | ||
General election
Candidates
- Peter Diamondstone (Liberty Union), perennial candidate
- Cris Ericson (U.S. Marijuana), perennial candidate (also running for Governor)[10]
- Laurel LaFramboise (VoteKISS)[11]
- John MacGovern (Republican), former Massachusetts State Representative
- Peter Moss (Peace and Prosperity)[11]
- Bernie Sanders (I), incumbent U.S. Senator[12]
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[13] | Solid I | November 1, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[14] | Safe I | November 5, 2012 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[15] | Safe I | November 2, 2012 |
| Real Clear Politics[16] | Safe I | November 5, 2012 |
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 25, 2012 - C-SPAN
Polling
Hypothetical polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Randy Brock (R) |
Bernie Sanders (I) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[17] | July 28–31, 2011 | 1,233 | ±2.8% | 28% | 65% | — | 7% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Jim Douglas (R) |
Bernie Sanders (I) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[17] | July 28–31, 2011 | 1,233 | ±2.8% | 38% | 56% | — | 6% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Brian Dubie (R) |
Bernie Sanders (I) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[17] | July 28–31, 2011 | 1,233 | ±2.8% | 34% | 60% | — | 6% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Thom Lauzon (R) |
Bernie Sanders (I) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[17] | July 28–31, 2011 | 1,233 | ±2.8% | 24% | 63% | — | 13% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Tom Salmon (R) |
Bernie Sanders (I) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[17] | July 28–31, 2011 | 1,233 | ±2.8% | 28% | 62% | — | 10% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Phil Scott (R) |
Bernie Sanders (I) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[17] | July 28–31, 2011 | 1,233 | ±2.8% | 30% | 61% | — | 9% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Mark Snelling (R) |
Bernie Sanders (I) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[17] | July 28–31, 2011 | 1,233 | ±2.8% | 25% | 62% | — | 13% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Bernie Sanders (incumbent) | 207,848 | 71.00% | +5.59% | |
| Republican | John MacGovern | 72,898 | 24.90% | −7.46% | |
| Marijuana | Cris Ericson | 5,924 | 2.02% | N/A | |
| Liberty Union | Peter Diamondstone | 2,511 | 0.86% | +0.55% | |
| Peace and Prosperity | Peter Moss | 2,452 | 0.84% | +0.26% | |
| VoteKISS | Laurel LaFramboise | 877 | 0.30% | N/A | |
| Write-in | 252 | 0.08% | -0.02% | ||
| Total votes | 292,762 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Independent hold | |||||
By county
| County | Bernie Sanders Independent |
John MacGovern Republican |
Various candidates Other parties | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | |
| Addison | 12,845 | 72.4% | 4,324 | 24.37% | 572 | 3.23% |
| Bennington | 11,525 | 67.28% | 4,437 | 25.9% | 1,168 | 6.82% |
| Caledonia | 8,763 | 65.08% | 4,158 | 30.88% | 545 | 4.04% |
| Chittenden | 55,615 | 73.69% | 17,369 | 23.01% | 2,491 | 3.3% |
| Essex | 1,746 | 63.82% | 848 | 30.99% | 142 | 5.19% |
| Franklin | 13,607 | 68.97% | 5,336 | 27.05% | 787 | 3.98% |
| Grand Isle | 2,769 | 68.68% | 1,119 | 27.75% | 144 | 3.57% |
| Lamoille | 8,701 | 73.67% | 2,672 | 22.62% | 438 | 3.71% |
| Orange | 9,750 | 70.38% | 3,533 | 25.5% | 570 | 4.12% |
| Orleans | 8,033 | 69.53% | 3,106 | 26.88% | 414 | 3.59% |
| Rutland | 18,286 | 65.13% | 8,577 | 30.55% | 1,214 | 4.32% |
| Washington | 21,502 | 74.23% | 6,448 | 22.26% | 1,017 | 3.51% |
| Windham | 16,050 | 74.7% | 4,143 | 19.28% | 1,294 | 6.02% |
| Windsor | 19,861 | 70.41% | 7,128 | 25.27% | 1,220 | 4.33% |
| Totals | 209,053 | 71.04% | 73,198 | 24.87% | 12,016 | 4.09% |