1990 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

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%

County results Municipality results 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

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.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Peter Plympton Smith, incumbent U.S. Representative ^[1]

Eliminated in primary

• Timothy Philbin, insurance agent ^[1]

Endorsements

Timothy Philbin

Organizations

• NRA Political Victory Fund ^[2]

Results

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

Candidates

Nominee

• Dolores Sandoval, professor at the University of Vermont ^[1]

Eliminated in primary

• Peter Diamondstone, socialist activist and perennial candidate ^[1]
• Bernie Sanders, former Mayor of Burlington, Vermont (write-in) ^[1]

Declined

• Peter Welch, state senator ^[4]

Results

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

Libertarian primary results ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Write-ins	127	100.00
Total votes			127	100.00

General election

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

Bernie Sanders (I)

State officials

• Sally Conrad, state senator (Democratic) ^[8]
• Timothy R. Corcoran, state representative (Democratic) ^[9]
• Philip H. Hoff, former Governor of Vermont (Democratic) ^[10]
• John F. Murphy Sr., state representative (Democratic) ^[8]
• Michael J. Obuchowski, state representative (Democratic) ^[8]
• Peter Welch, former state senator; Democratic nominee for Governor of Vermont in 1990 (Democratic) ^[5]

Individuals

• Jeffrey P. Weaver, political strategist ^[6]

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO
• National Education Association
• United Auto Workers Vermont ^[11]
• United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America ^[12]

Organizations

• Environmental Action ^[13]
• NRA Political Victory Fund ^[6]

Newspapers and publications

• Rutland Herald ^[14]

Peter Smith (R)

Executive officials

• George H. W. Bush, President of the United States ^[6]

State officials

• Deane C. Davis, former Governor of Vermont ^[15]
• Stephan A. Morse, former Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives ^[16]
• Timothy J. O'Connor, former Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives (Democratic) ^[17]
• Paul N. Poirier, former Majority Leader of the Vermont House of Representatives; Democratic nominee for VT-AL in 1988 (Democratic) ^[8]
• Thomas P. Salmon, former Governor of Vermont (Democratic)

Organizations

• League of Conservation Voters ^{[ citation needed ]}
• NARAL Pro-Choice America
• Sierra Club
• WEZF ^[18]

Newspapers and publications

• Brattleboro Reformer ^[19]
• St. Albans Messenger ^[20]
• The Burlington Free Press
• The Caledonian-Record ^[21]

Results

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

1. "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. "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. Broder, David S. (August 22, 1990). "Challenge From the Left in Vermont". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
6. 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. "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/