1986 Vermont gubernatorial election

The 1986 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Democrat Madeleine Kunin ran successfully for re-election to a second term as Governor of Vermont, defeating Republican candidate Peter Plympton Smith and independent candidate Bernie Sanders. Since no candidate won a majority of the popular vote, Kunin was elected by the Vermont General Assembly per the state constitution.[1]

1986 Vermont gubernatorial election

← 1984 November 4, 1986 (1986-11-04) 1988 →
 
Nominee Madeleine Kunin Peter Smith Bernie Sanders
Party Democratic Republican Independent
Electoral vote 139 39 2
Popular vote 92,485 75,239 28,418
Percentage 47.0% 38.2% 14.4%

Kunin:      30-40%      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%
Smith:      30-40%      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%

Governor before election

Madeleine Kunin
Democratic

Elected Governor

Madeleine Kunin
Democratic

This was the first time since 1912 that none of the candidates received a majority of the vote.[2] Along with Democrats' takeover of the state House for the first time in history, Democrats won a trifecta in the state for the first time ever.

Democratic primary

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Results

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Democratic primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Madeleine M. Kunin (inc.) 19,401 95.1
Democratic Write-ins 993 4.9
Total votes 20,394 100

Republican primary

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Results

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Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Peter Plympton Smith 24,837 96.8
Republican Write-ins 813 3.2
Total votes 25,650 100

Liberty Union primary

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Results

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Liberty Union primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberty Union Richard F. Gottlieb 135 86.0
Liberty Union Bernie Sanders (write-in) 16 10.2
Liberty Union Write-ins (other) 6 3.8
Total votes 157 100

General election

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Candidates

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Results

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1986 Vermont gubernatorial election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Madeleine M. Kunin (inc.) 92,485 47.0 −3.0
Republican Peter Plympton Smith 75,239 38.2 −10.3
Independent Bernie Sanders 28,418 14.4 +14.4
Liberty Union Richard F. Gottlieb 491 0.2 −0.1
Write-in Write-ins 83 0.1 n/a
Total votes 196,716 100

After no candidate received a majority of the vote, the Vermont Legislature, consisting of 150 representatives and 30 senators, voted to decide the winner, per the state constitution.

Vermont legislature vote results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Madeleine M. Kunin (inc.) 139 77.22
Republican Peter Plympton Smith 39 21.66
Independent Bernie Sanders 2 1.11
Total votes 180 100

References

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  1. ^ a b c "General Election Results - Governor - 1789-2012" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  2. ^ Doyle 1992, p. 222.
  3. ^ a b c "Primary Election Results" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  4. ^ "Friends honor Sanders as he says goodbye". The Burlington Free Press. April 4, 1989. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Works cited

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