1986 Vermont gubernatorial election

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1986 Vermont gubernatorial election
Flag of Vermont.svg
  1984 November 4, 1986 (1986-11-04) 1988  
  Madeleine Kunin (D-VT).jpg Peter Plympton Smith.jpg Portrait of Bernie Sanders in c. 1986 (1).jpg
Nominee Madeleine Kunin Peter Smith Bernie Sanders
Party Democratic Republican Independent
Electoral vote139392
Popular vote92,48575,23928,418
Percentage47.0%38.2%14.4%

1986 Vermont gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
1986 Vermont gubernatorial election results map by municipality.svg
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

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]

Contents

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

Results

Democratic primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Madeleine M. Kunin (inc.) 19,401 95.1
Democratic Write-ins9934.9
Total votes20,394 100

Republican primary

Results

Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Peter Plympton Smith 24,837 96.8
Republican Write-ins8133.2
Total votes25,650 100

Liberty Union primary

Results

Liberty Union primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Liberty Union Richard F. Gottlieb 135 86.0
Liberty Union Bernie Sanders (write-in)1610.2
Liberty Union Write-ins (other)63.8
Total votes157 100

General election

Candidates

Results

1986 Vermont gubernatorial election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Madeleine M. Kunin (inc.) 92,485 47.0 −3.0
Republican Peter Plympton Smith75,23938.2−10.3
Independent Bernie Sanders28,41814.4+14.4
Liberty Union Richard F. Gottlieb4910.2−0.1
Write-in Write-ins830.1n/a
Total votes196,716 100

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]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Madeleine M. Kunin (inc.) 139 77.22
Republican Peter Plympton Smith3921.66
Independent Bernie Sanders21.11
Total votes180 100

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "General Election Results - Governor - 1789-2012" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  2. Doyle 1992, p. 222.
  3. 1 2 3 "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