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1990 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

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The 1990 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990, 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.

1990 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont
← 1988 November 6, 1990 1992 →
 
Nominee Bernie Sanders Peter Plympton Smith
Party Independent Republican
Popular vote 117,522 82,938
Percentage 56.0% 39.5%
Sanders      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Smith      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Representative
At-large before election

Peter Plympton Smith
Republican

Elected Representative
At-large

Bernie Sanders
Independent

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Nominee

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Eliminated in primary

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  • Timothy Philbin, insurance agent[1]

Endorsements

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Timothy Philbin

Organizations

Results

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Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Peter Plympton Smith (incumbent) 27,339 60.31
Republican Timothy Philbin 17,444 38.48
Republican Write-ins 550 1.21
Total votes 45,333 100.00

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Nominee

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Eliminated in primary

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Declined

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Results

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Democratic primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dolores Sandoval 5,979 41.27
Democratic Peter Diamondstone 5,711 39.42
Democratic Bernie Sanders (write-in) 2,005 13.84
Democratic Other write-ins 791 5.46
Total votes 14,486 100.00

Libertarian primary

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Libertarian primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Write-ins 127 100.00
Total votes 127 100.00

General election

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Smith, a liberal Republican, was considered to have acquitted himself well in his first congressional term, and The Washington Post noted that under most circumstances he would have been considered safely assured of re-election.[5] However, the presence of Sanders, who was well known in Vermont and who was considered more famous than Smith, meant that he faced a tough re-election battle.[5] Sanders, a democratic socialist, had narrowly lost to Smith in 1988, which was widely attributed to the presence of a strong Democratic candidate in the form of Vermont House Majority Leader Paul N. Poirier.[5] No such event occurred during the 1990 cycle, as the Democratic nominee, Professor Dolores Sandoval, held positions to the left of Sanders on several issues, with her advocating for the legalisation of heroin.[5][6]

Despite this Smith had an advantage in the polls until March 1990, when he backed a series of bills designed to alleviate the savings and loan crisis, including a bailout bill and a bill that cut funding for social programs. Sanders used Smith's support for these plans to tie him to President George H. W. Bush, who was unpopular in Vermont,[citation needed] and to portray him as overly supportive of the rich.[7] Smith also faced backlash from voters for his support for extensive restrictions on guns, which earned him the enmity of several gun rights organizations. These organizations turned to Sanders as the only viable alternative even though his positions on guns were not radically different from Smith's.[6] Feeling that he was losing ground in the race, Smith ran an ad campaign attempting to tie Sanders to left-wing authoritarian regimes such as Cuba, and attacking him for his self-declared democratic socialist views. This decision backfired, as Smith's tactics were denounced as "red-baiting" and "McCarthyism" in the press, and many Smith backers voiced their displeasure with the campaign.[citation needed]

Endorsements

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Bernie Sanders (I)

State officials

Individuals

Labor unions

Organizations

Newspapers and publications

Peter Smith (R)

Executive officials

State officials

Organizations

Newspapers and publications

Results

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Vermont's At-large congressional district election, 1990[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Bernie Sanders[23] 117,522 56.00
Republican Peter Plympton Smith (incumbent) 82,938 39.52
Democratic Dolores Sandoval 6,315 3.01
Liberty Union Peter Diamondstone 1,965 0.94
Write-ins N/A 1,116 0.53
Total votes 209,856 100.00
Independent gain from Republican

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Bernie Sanders Debates Gun Control in 1990 Sportsmen's Forum". YouTube. SevenDaysVT. June 26, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "Campaign". Rutland Daily Herald. September 5, 1992. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "1990 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  4. ^ Liley, Betsy (February 5, 1990). "Rep. Smith courts state Democrats". The Burlington Free Press. p. 13. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e Broder, David S. (August 22, 1990). "Challenge From the Left in Vermont". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e Fahrentold, David A. (July 19, 2015). "How the National Rifle Association helped get Bernie Sanders elected". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  7. ^ "The 1990 Elections: The Message - Vermont; Socialist Ex-Mayor Elected to House". The New York Times. November 7, 1990. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d "Congressional candidate Sanders is relegated to "spoiler" status no longer". The Burlington Free Press. August 12, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "Smith lands endorsement of former critics". The Burlington Free Press. July 15, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  10. ^ "Senior citizens support Sanders". The Burlington Free Press. October 25, 1990. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Stanley, Peter (August 15, 1990). "UAW local endorses Sanders candidacy". Bennington Banner. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  12. ^ Stanley, Peter (September 14, 1990). "Sanders wins more union support". Bennington Banner. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  13. ^ "Sierra Club endorses Peter Smith". Bennington Banner. Associated Press. September 25, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Robert W.; Wild, Kendall; Van Hoesen, John W. (October 25, 1990). "Sanders Endorsed". Rutland Herald. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  15. ^ Walsh, Molly (November 7, 1990). "Former governor still riding high". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  16. ^ Portman, Adam (July 22, 1990). "Bernie Sanders: unorthodoxy in full flower". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  17. ^ Allen, Susan (March 23, 1990). "Democrats urge state party to back Smith". The Burlington Free Press. Associated Press. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  18. ^ Van Sant, Kathryn (October 27, 1990). "Sanders backed by police union; Smith backed by abortion group". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  19. ^ Editorial Board (November 1, 1990). "Smith for Congress". Brattleboro Reformer. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  20. ^ "St. Albans Messenger endorses Smith". The Burlington Free Press. Associated Press. October 20, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  21. ^ "Congressional hopefuls win endorsements". Brattleboro Reformer. Associated Press. October 26, 1990. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  22. ^ "United States Representative (One District): 1932-2014" (PDF). Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  23. ^ Tuesday, March 20, 1990, Bernard Sanders, 48, returns to the political battlefield as he tells a Montpelier news conference he will challenge U.S. Representative Peter Smith, Republican of Vermont, for the state's lone House seat. Sanders decides to eschew a possible run for governor following Governor Madeleine Kunin's decision to step down after three terms. "This campaign for Congress is about hope," he says. "It is saying to the people of Vermont, especially the working people, the elderly people, environmentalists, peace activists, people who year after year feel that they've been knocking their heads against Washington: 'Please don't give up.'" http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2015/05/26/sanders-begin-political-revolution/27991467/
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