| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Sanders: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Sweetser: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Elections in Vermont |
---|
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.
YouTube Encyclopedic
-
1/2Views:7 663 200539 468
-
Does your vote count? The Electoral College explained - Christina Greer
-
The American Presidential Election of 1984
Transcription
Most people have heard of the Electoral College during presidential election years. But what exactly is the Electoral College? Simply said, it is a group of people appointed by each state who formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States. To understand how this process began and how it continues today, we can look at the Constitution of the United States: article two, section one, clause two of the constitution. It specifies how many electors each state is entitled to have. Since 1964, there have been 538 electors in each presidential election. How do they decide on the number 538? Well, the number of electors is equal to the total voting membership of the United States Congress. 435 representatives, plus 100 senators, and 3 electors from the District of Columbia. Essentially, the Democratic candidate and Republican candidate are each trying to add up the electors in every state so that they surpass 270 electoral votes, or just over half the 538 votes, and win the presidency. So how do states even get electoral votes? Each state receives a particular number of electors based on population size. The census is conducted every 10 years, so every time the census happens, states might gain or lose a few electoral votes. Let's say you're a voter in California, a state with 55 electoral votes. If your candidate wins in California, they get all 55 of the state's electoral votes. If your candidate loses, they get none. This is why many presidential candidates want to win states like Texas, Florida, and New York. If you currently add up the electoral votes of those three states, you would have 96 electoral votes. Even if a candidate won North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Vermont, New Hampshire. Connecticut and West Virginia, they would only gain 31 electoral votes total from those eight states. Here is where it can get a little tricky. On a rare occasion, like in the year 2000, someone can win the popular vote but fail to gain 270 electoral votes. This means that the winner may have won and collected their electoral votes by small margins, winning just enough states with just enough electoral votes, but the losing candidate may have captured large voter margins in the remaining states. If this is the case, the very large margins secured by the losing candidate in the other states would add up to over 50% of the ballots cast nationally. Therefore, the losing candidate may have gained more than 50% of the ballots cast by voters, but failed to gain 270 of the electoral votes. Some critics of the electoral college argue the system gives an unfair advantage to states with large numbers of electoral votes. Think of it this way. It is possible for a candidate to not get a single person's vote -- not one vote -- in 39 states, or the District of Columbia, yet be elected president by winning the popular vote in just 11 of these 12 states: California, New York, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia or Virginia. This is why both parties pay attention to these states. However, others argue that the electoral college protects small states such as Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire, and even geographically large states with small populations like Alaska, Wyoming and the Dakotas. That's because a candidate can't completely ignore small states, because in a close election, every electoral vote counts. There are certain states that have a long history of voting for a particular party. These are known as "safe states." For the past four election cycles -- in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 -- Democrats could count on states like Oregon, Maryland, Michigan and Massachusetts, whereas the Republicans could count on states like Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas and Idaho. States that are teetering between between parties are called "swing states." In the past four election cycles, Ohio and Florida have been swing states, twice providing electoral votes for a Democratic candidate, and twice providing electoral votes for a Republican candidate. Think about it. Do you live in a safe state? If so, is it a Democratic or Republican safe state? Do you live in a swing state? Are your neighboring states swing or safe? Is the population in your state increasing or decreasing? And do not forget, when you are watching the electoral returns on election night every four years and the big map of the United States is on the screen, know that the magic number is 270 and start adding.
Republican primary
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Susan Sweetser | 18,829 | 95.27 | |
Republican | Write-ins | 935 | 4.73 | |
Total votes | 19,764 | 100.00 |
Democratic primary
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
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Liberty Union | Peter Diamondstone | 237 | 88.76 | |
Liberty Union | Write-ins | 30 | 11.24 | |
Total votes | 267 | 100.00 |
General election
Candidates
- Peter Diamondstone (Liberty Union), perennial candidate and socialist activist[2]
- Norio Kushi (Natural Law), organic foods consultant[3][2]
- Jack Long (Democratic), lawyer[2]
- Robert Melamede (Grassroots), associate research professor at the University of Vermont[2]
- Thomas J. Morse (Libertarian), businessman[2]
- Bernie Sanders (Independent), incumbent U.S. Representative[2]
- Susan Sweetser (Republican), state senator[2]
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.[4] The Republican nominee, state senator Susan Sweetser, was viewed as a rising star within the party[4] and campaigned as a "social moderate and fiscal conservative", though she was viewed as a strictly conservative Republican.[5][6] Sweetser's gender was viewed as a potential advantage by University of Vermont political analyst Garrison Nelson, who felt that it would prevent Sanders from utilising his traditional aggressive campaign style.[7] There was also a prominent Democratic candidate in the form of Jack Long, former commissioner of the Vermont Environmental Conservation Department, who campaigned as a moderate alternative to the other major candidates.[8] Long's campaign faced staunch opposition from national Democratic strategists, with Rob Engel, political director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, accusing him of being a spoiler candidate attempting to throw the election to Sweetser.[9]
Sweetser's campaign faced a major scandal after it was revealed that she had hired private investigator Cathy Riggs, the wife of California Congressman Frank Riggs, to perform opposition research on Sanders, with Riggs proceeding to investigate Sanders' first marriage by calling his ex-wife.[10] This tactic was denounced by both Sanders and Long as a violation of privacy and political etiquette. Sweetser quickly apologised and claimed that she was not aware of Riggs' activities, but the event severely damaged her campaign nonetheless, as it was largely viewed as unacceptable "dirty campaigning" by the electorate.[11][4]
Polling
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Bernie Sanders |
Susan Sweetser |
Jack Long |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Becker Institute | October 1996 | 52% | 33% | 5% | 10% |
Endorsements
- State officials
- Newspapers and publications
- Executive officials
- Federal officials
- Barney Frank, U.S. Representative from MA-04[14]
- State officials
- Sally Conrad, former state senator[15]
- Peter Shumlin, state senator[16]
- Individuals
- Fred Tuttle, farmer (Co-endorsement with Sweetser)[17]
- Jane Sanders, congressional staffer and wife of Bernie Sanders[18]
- Gloria Steinem, activist[19]
- Organizations
- Executive officials
- Haley Barbour, Chair of the Republican National Committee and former White House Director of Political Affairs[21]
- Federal officials
- Dick Armey, U.S. Representative from TX-26 and House Majority Leader[6]
- Susan Molinari, U.S. Representative from NY-13[22]
- Individuals
- Steve Forbes, publishing executive and former candidate for President[23]
- Fred Tuttle, farmer (Co-endorsement with Sanders)[17]
Results
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
- ^ a b c "1996 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Congress". Brattleboro Reformer. November 1, 1996. p. 21. Retrieved August 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wallace, Anne (April 19, 1996). "Commuter rail on fast track". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c Freyne, Peter (November 4, 1998). "GOP Throws In the Towel". Seven Days VT. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
- ^ Nelson, Andrew (August 23, 1996). "Sweetser takes aim at Congress". Bennington Banner. Miller Group. p. 1. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ a b Freyne, Peter (May 22, 1996). "Politics, Politics, Politics". Seven Days VT. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
- ^ Freyne, Peter (November 15, 1995). "Ho-Ho Come Home". Seven Days VT. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
- ^ a b Lisberg, Adam (October 14, 1996). "Long struggles to catch up". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ Gugliotta, Guy (July 9, 1996). "Candidate has his party to contend with". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ^ Sneyd, Ross (September 12, 1996). "Is there dirt on Sanders? Sweetser hires private eye to investigate". The Brattleboro Reformer. Miller Group. Associated Press. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ Lisberg, Adam (September 13, 1996). "Sweetser: Investigation prompts apology". The Burlington Free Press. Gannett. p. 5. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ Sneyd, Ross (October 28, 1996). "Congressional candidates in high gear; Long gets endorsement". Brattleboro Reformer. Associated Press. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ Bradsher, Keith; et al. (November 6, 1996). "Northeast". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ Schmaler, Tracy (August 10, 1996). "Frank crosses party lines, endorses Sanders". Brattleboro Reformer. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ Karp, Matt (January 24, 2016). "Bernie in the Age of Clinton". Jacobin. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
- ^ Derby, Diane (July 28, 1996). "Long: The Lonely Candidate". Rutland Daily Herald. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ a b Singer, Mark (November 18, 1996). "The Vital Center, Part II". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ Gugliotta, Guy (July 9, 1996). "Candidate has his party to contend with". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Hoffman, Jack (July 16, 1996). "Sanders wins endorsement of the national Sierra Club". Rutland Herald. Vermont Press Bureau. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ Liley, Betsy (July 18, 1996). "GOP chief sets sights on Sanders". The Burlington Free Press. Gannett. p. 11. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ Allen, Anne Wallace (October 23, 1996). "New York congresswoman stumps for Sweetser". Bennington Banner. Associated Press. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ Scherer, Ron (July 8, 1996). "Flat-Tax King Is Back On Chicken-Pie Circuit". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
- ^ "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.