United States Senate election in Vermont, 2006

The Vermont Senate election of 2006 was held on November 7,
2006, and was won by independent candidate Bernie Sanders. Sanders was elected to represent Vermont in the United States Senate from January 3, 2007 to January 3, 2013. Sanders defeated Republican nominee Richard Tarrant with 68 percent of the vote.cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2006/11/07/sanders_welch_are_winners_in_vermont/ |title=Sanders, Welch are winners in Vermont |last=Ring |first=Wilson |work=The Boston Globe |publisher=Associated Press |date=2006-11-07 |accessdate=2007-01-25] CNN called the race in Sanders' favor shortly after 7 p.m. on the day of the election. [cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2006/11/cnn-projects-sanders-lugar-wins-in.html |title=CNN projects Sanders, Lugar wins in Indiana, Vermont Senate races |work=CNN |date=2006-11-07 |accessdate=2007-02-03]

The election was held to fill the seat of independent Senator Jim Jeffords, formerly a Republican, who decided to retire rather than seek a fourth term.

Tarrant won the September 12, 2006 Republican primary. Sanders, then the sole independent member of the U.S. House, won a five-way race in the Democratic primary, but said he would decline the Democratic nomination under an agreement he made with the party in January. Sanders appeared on the November ballot as an independent. [ [http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060912/NEWS/60913001 "U.S. Senate: Tarrant-Sanders duel set"] , "Burlington Free Press", September 12, 2006.]

Candidates

Democratic Party

* Bernie Sanders — won the Democratic endorsement to run as a Democrat, but declined the nomination, leaving no Democratic nominee on the ballot. This victory ensured that no Democrat would appear on the general election ballot to split the vote with Sanders, an ally of the Democrats, who has been supported by leaders in the Democratic Party.

Defeated in the Democratic primary

* Larry Drown — 2004 Democratic Congressional (House) nominee, former trustee of Northfield Village, and frequent candidate [ [http://www.drownforvermont.com/ new england skiing benson barton at drownforvermont.com ] ]
* Craig Hill (Green) — marketing consultant and 2004 nominee [ [http://hillsenatenow.org/ Hill Senate Now ] ]
* Peter D. Moss
* Louis W. Thabault

Republican Party

*Richard Tarrant — a businessman and philanthropist.

Defeated in the Republican primary

*Cris Ericson
*Greg Parke

Green Party

*Craig Hill — 2004 Senate nominee

Liberty Union Party

* Peter "Pete" Diamondstone — socialist activist and frequent candidate.

Independents and minor parties

* Bernie Sanders — Vermont's At-Large Congressman; former mayor of Burlington
* Cris Ericson — marijuana activist
* Peter D. Moss — 2004 Republican Senate candidate
* Steve Moyer — software engineer and 2000 candidate [ [http://stevemoyer.us Steve Moyer for U.S. Senate ] ]

Support for Sanders from the Democratic Party

Since Sanders is allied with the Democrats in the House of Representatives, Democratic leadership successfully dissuaded any serious challengers from their party. Sanders was endorsed by prominent Democrats such as DNC Chairman and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. On February 13, 2005 Sanders received an endorsement from Democracy for America, the political action committee that was founded by Dean after he withdrew from the 2004 Presidential race. [cite news |url=http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=4495159&nav=4QcS |title=DFA Backs Sanders and Welch |date=2006-02-13 |accessdate=2007-02-03 |publisher=WCAX]

General campaign

In mid-August 2006, the campaign heated up considerably, with Tarrant fully engaged in heavy media advertising, most of which criticized Sanders' public stances. Tarrant ran several ads accusing Sanders of representing himself differently from his voting record in the House of Representatives, citing such examples as Sanders' votes against Amber Alert and against increased penalties for child pornography. Sanders responded with an ad stating that Tarrant's claims are "dishonest" and "distort my record" and presented what he viewed as more accurate explations of his voting record.

Campaign finance data

The election was the most expensive political campaign in Vermont history. Tarrant did not seek outside funding, raising 98% of all funds through personal sources, for a total of $7,315,854. cite web |url=http://opensecrets.org/races/summary.asp?cycle=2006&id=VTS1 |title=Congressional Races - 2006 Vermont Senate |publisher=Center for Responsive Politics |work=Opensecrets.org |accessdate=2007-02-03 |date=2007-02-02] Sanders' top contributors include the plaintiff's law firm Barron & Budd, Operating Engineers Union, Laborers Union, and Communication Workers of America, for total raised of $ 5,554,466.cite web |url=http://opensecrets.org/races/contrib.asp?ID=VTS1&cycle=2006&special=N |title=Vermont Senate: 2006 Race Profile - Top Contributors |publisher=Center for Responsive Politics |work=Opensecrets.org |date=2006-12-11 |accessdate=2007-02-03] In total, Tarrant and Sanders spent $13,771,060. Tarrant spent $85 per vote, the largest cost per vote of any race in the country during 2006, while Sanders spent $34 per vote.cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16908877/ |title=What's the value of a vote |work=MSNBC |date=2007-01-31 |last=Ottenhoff |first=Patrick]

Polling

Election results

Official results from the Vermont Secretary of State [http://vermont-elections.org] :

Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Bernie Sanders
votes = 171,638
percentage = 65.4
change = "n/a"Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Richard Tarrant
votes = 84,924
percentage = 32.3
change = -33.2Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Cris Ericson
votes = 1,735
percentage = 0.6
change = "n/a"Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party (US)
candidate = Craig Hill
votes = 1,536
percentage = 0.5
change = "n/a"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Peter D. Moss
votes = 1,518
percentage = 0.5
change = "n/a"Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberty Union Party
candidate = Peter Diamondstone
votes = 801
percentage = 0.3
change = -0.2Election box candidate
party = Write-ins
candidate =
votes = 267
percentage = 0.1
change = 0Election box majority
votes = 86,741
percentage = 33.1
change = Election box turnout
votes = 262,419
percentage =
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Independent (politician)
swing =

Sanders won a majority of the votes in every county in the state, with 57% as his lowest county total.

ee also

*United States Senate elections, 2006
*Vermont United States House of Representatives election, 2006
*Vermont gubernatorial election, 2006

External links

* [http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/2006FedandStatewideCandList7.187PM.xls Vermont Secretary of State's Draft list of candidates (Excel spreadsheet).] (Final version due to be released on July 24, 2006).

References

sequence
prev= 2004
Patrick Leahy (D)
list= Vermont U.S. Senate elections
2006
Bernie Sanders (I)
next= 2010