1998 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

1998 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont's at-large district

←  1996 November 3, 1998 2000  →

Nominee Bernie Sanders Mark Candon Party Independent Republican Alliance Democratic Popular vote 136,403 70,740 Percentage 63.4% 32.9%

County results Municipality results Sanders:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Candon:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. Representative before election Bernie Sanders Independent Elected U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders Independent

The 1998 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1998, 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, including an election to the U.S. Senate.

Incumbent Independent Bernie Sanders won re-election to a fifth term, defeating Republican former state representative Mark Candon by over 30 points.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Mark Candon, investment advisor and former state representative ^[1]
• Peter Diamondstone, perennial candidate and socialist activist ^[2]
• Jack Long, lawyer and Democratic nominee for VT-AL in 1996 ^[3]

Results

The race was unique in that both Candon and Long were former Democrats while Diamondstone was a socialist positioning himself to Bernie Sanders' left. ^[4]

Candon won the primary against Long by a comfortable 16-point margin. His victory came off the back of a very strong result in Rutland County, where he received over 90% of the vote, while also keeping Long's margin of victory in Chittenden County down to 15%. ^[5] Diamondstone's effect on the primary was disputed; Long believed that Diamondstone had drawn voters from his campaign while Candon stated that he did not believe Diamondstone had a notable effect on the results. ^[5]

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Candon	23,101	48.43
	Republican	Jack Long	15,716	32.95
	Republican	Peter Diamondstone	8,327	17.46
	Republican	Write-ins	552	1.16
Total votes			47,696	100.00

Democratic primary

Democratic primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bernie Sanders (Write-in)	1,661	47.88
	Democratic	Mark Candon (Write-in)	524	15.11
	Democratic	Other Write-ins	467	13.46
	Democratic	Jack Long (Write-in)	465	13.40
	Democratic	Peter Diamondstone (Write-in)	352	10.15
Total votes			3,469	100.00

General election

Endorsements

Bernie Sanders (I)

Newspapers and publications

• Bennington Banner ^[6]

Mark Candon (R)

State officials

• Thomas P. Salmon, former Governor of Vermont (Democratic) ^[4]

Results

Vermont's at-large congressional district election, 1998 ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders (incumbent)	136,403	63.40
	Republican	Mark Candon	70,740	32.88
	Grassroots	Matthew Mulligan	3,464	1.61
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	2,153	1.00
	Libertarian	Robert Maynard	2,097	0.98
	Write-ins	N/A	276	0.13
Total votes			215,133	100.00
	Independent hold

References

1. Gram, David (September 9, 1998). "Candon wins GOP congressional primary". Bennington Banner. Associated Press. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
2. "1998 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
3. Gugliotta, Guy (July 9, 1996). "Candidate has his party to contend with". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
4. Sneyd, Ross (July 17, 1998). "Candon runs for congress". The Brattleboro Reformer. Associated Press. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
5. Bever, Frederick (September 9, 1998). "Candon set for Sanders match". Rutland Daily Herald. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
6. Molenda, Jules; et al. (October 30, 1998). "Editorial: U.S. Representative". Bennington Banner. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
7. "United States Representative (One District): 1932-2014" (PDF). Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2015.