2012 United States Senate election in Vermont

2012 United States Senate election in Vermont
Turnout	63.47% (voting eligible)
	Sanders: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
U.S. senator before election; Bernie Sanders ; Independent	Elected U.S. Senator; Bernie Sanders ; Independent

Last updated October 31, 2025

The 2012 United States Senate election in Vermont was held on November 6, 2012. Incumbent independent Senator Bernie Sanders won reelection to a second term in a landslide, defeating Republican nominee John MacGovern with 71% of the vote and winning every county, municipality, and precinct. Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist, was first elected with 65% of the vote in 2006 and was the first non-Republican to win this seat since 1850.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Bernie Sanders, incumbent U.S. Senator^[2]

Sanders also received the nomination of the Vermont Progressive Party, but declined both the Democratic and Progressive nominations after the primary.^[3]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

John MacGovern, former Massachusetts State Representative ^[4]
H. Brooke Paige, former CEO of Remmington News Service^[5]

Declined

Kevin Dorn, former Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development ^[6]
Jim Douglas, former governor
Thom Lauzon, Mayor of Barre ^[7]
Tom Salmon, state auditor^[8]

Results

Republican primary results^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John MacGovern	6,343	75.4
	Republican	H. Brooke Paige	2,073	24.6
Total votes			8,416	100.0

General election

Candidates

Peter Diamondstone (Liberty Union), perennial candidate
Cris Ericson (U.S. Marijuana), perennial candidate (also running for Governor)^[10]
Laurel LaFramboise (VoteKISS)^[11]
John MacGovern (Republican), former Massachusetts State Representative
Peter Moss (Peace and Prosperity)^[11]
Bernie Sanders (I), incumbent U.S. Senator^[12]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[13]	Solid I	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[14]	Safe I	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report ^[15]	Safe I	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics ^[16]	Safe I	November 5, 2012

Debates

Complete video of debate, October 25, 2012 - C-SPAN

Polling

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Randy Brock (R)	Bernie Sanders (I)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling ^[17]	July 28–31, 2011	1,233	±2.8%	28%	65%	—	7%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jim Douglas (R)	Bernie Sanders (I)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling ^[17]	July 28–31, 2011	1,233	±2.8%	38%	56%	—	6%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Brian Dubie (R)	Bernie Sanders (I)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling ^[17]	July 28–31, 2011	1,233	±2.8%	34%	60%	—	6%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Thom Lauzon (R)	Bernie Sanders (I)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling ^[17]	July 28–31, 2011	1,233	±2.8%	24%	63%	—	13%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tom Salmon (R)	Bernie Sanders (I)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling ^[17]	July 28–31, 2011	1,233	±2.8%	28%	62%	—	10%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Phil Scott (R)	Bernie Sanders (I)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling ^[17]	July 28–31, 2011	1,233	±2.8%	30%	61%	—	9%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mark Snelling (R)	Bernie Sanders (I)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling ^[17]	July 28–31, 2011	1,233	±2.8%	25%	62%	—	13%

Results

United States Senate election in Vermont, 2012^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders (incumbent)	207,848	71.00%	+5.59%
	Republican	John MacGovern	72,898	24.90%	−7.46%
	Marijuana	Cris Ericson	5,924	2.02%	N/A
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	2,511	0.86%	+0.55%
	Peace and Prosperity	Peter Moss	2,452	0.84%	+0.26%
	VoteKISS	Laurel LaFramboise	877	0.30%	N/A
	Write-in		252	0.08%	-0.02%
Total votes			292,762	100.00%	N/A
	Independent hold

By county

County	Bernie Sanders Independent		John MacGovern Republican		Various candidates Other parties
County	#	%	#	%	#	%
Addison	12,845	72.4%	4,324	24.37%	572	3.23%
Bennington	11,525	67.28%	4,437	25.9%	1,168	6.82%
Caledonia	8,763	65.08%	4,158	30.88%	545	4.04%
Chittenden	55,615	73.69%	17,369	23.01%	2,491	3.3%
Essex	1,746	63.82%	848	30.99%	142	5.19%
Franklin	13,607	68.97%	5,336	27.05%	787	3.98%
Grand Isle	2,769	68.68%	1,119	27.75%	144	3.57%
Lamoille	8,701	73.67%	2,672	22.62%	438	3.71%
Orange	9,750	70.38%	3,533	25.5%	570	4.12%
Orleans	8,033	69.53%	3,106	26.88%	414	3.59%
Rutland	18,286	65.13%	8,577	30.55%	1,214	4.32%
Washington	21,502	74.23%	6,448	22.26%	1,017	3.51%
Windham	16,050	74.7%	4,143	19.28%	1,294	6.02%
Windsor	19,861	70.41%	7,128	25.27%	1,220	4.33%
Totals	209,053	71.04%	73,198	24.87%	12,016	4.09%

References

↑ Dr. Michael McDonald (February 9, 2013). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
↑ Dobbs, Taylor (June 13, 2012). "Sanders' papers filed, Peyton running for governor". VTDigger.org. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
↑ "Progressives nominate Sanders, Hoffer, Condos and Stanak for statewide office". VTDigger.org. June 12, 2012. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
↑ Gregg, John P. (March 10, 2012). "MacGovern Plans Run at U.S. Senate". Valley News . Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
↑ Gregg, John P. (March 15, 2012). "Republican in Waiting?". Valley News . Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
↑ Hirschfeld, Peter (March 19, 2012). "Kevin Dorn opts against run for office". Vermont Press Bureau. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
↑ "Lauzon wants 2 more years in Barre". Vermont Today. December 21, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
↑ Remsen, Nancy (September 23, 2011). "Salmon says he wants to remain as Vermont Auditor". The Burlington Free Press . Retrieved September 24, 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
↑ Grasgreen, Allie (January 23, 1964). "2016 Primary Election Results: President Live Map by State, Real-Time Voting Updates". Politico. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
↑ McCarty, Alicia (November 13, 2011). "A look ahead to the key races in the Northeast in 2012". USA Today . Retrieved February 15, 2012.
1 2 Dobbs, Taylor (June 14, 2012). "And they're off: Candidates file for races". VTDigger.org. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
↑ Hemingway, Sam (January 31, 2012). "Sanders has nearly $3 million for re-election bid". The Burlington Free Press . Retrieved February 15, 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
↑ "2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
↑ "2012 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
↑ "2012 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
↑ "2012 Elections Map - Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Public Policy Polling
↑ "VT Elections Database » Search Elections". Vermont Secretary of State . Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2021.

External links

Elections and Campaign Finance Division at the Vermont Secretary of State
Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
Outside spending at Sunlight Foundation
Candidate issue positions at On the Issues

Official campaign websites (Archived)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[VEP12-1] Dr. Michael McDonald (February 9, 2013). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2013.

[2] Dobbs, Taylor (June 13, 2012). "Sanders' papers filed, Peyton running for governor". VTDigger.org. Retrieved June 23, 2012.

[3] "Progressives nominate Sanders, Hoffer, Condos and Stanak for statewide office". VTDigger.org. June 12, 2012. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.

[4] Gregg, John P. (March 10, 2012). "MacGovern Plans Run at U.S. Senate". Valley News . Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.

[5] Gregg, John P. (March 15, 2012). "Republican in Waiting?". Valley News . Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2012.

[6] Hirschfeld, Peter (March 19, 2012). "Kevin Dorn opts against run for office". Vermont Press Bureau. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.

[7] "Lauzon wants 2 more years in Barre". Vermont Today. December 21, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2011.

[8] Remsen, Nancy (September 23, 2011). "Salmon says he wants to remain as Vermont Auditor". The Burlington Free Press . Retrieved September 24, 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[9] Grasgreen, Allie (January 23, 1964). "2016 Primary Election Results: President Live Map by State, Real-Time Voting Updates". Politico. Retrieved January 23, 2016.

[10] McCarty, Alicia (November 13, 2011). "A look ahead to the key races in the Northeast in 2012". USA Today . Retrieved February 15, 2012.

[VTD-11] 1 2 Dobbs, Taylor (June 14, 2012). "And they're off: Candidates file for races". VTDigger.org. Retrieved June 23, 2012.

[12] Hemingway, Sam (January 31, 2012). "Sanders has nearly $3 million for re-election bid". The Burlington Free Press . Retrieved February 15, 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[13] "2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.

[14] "2012 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.

[15] "2012 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.

[16] "2012 Elections Map - Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 20, 2018.

[Public_Policy_Polling-17] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Public Policy Polling

[18] "VT Elections Database » Search Elections". Vermont Secretary of State . Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2021.

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2012 United States Senate election in Vermont

Contents

Democratic primary

Candidates

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Results

General election

Candidates

Predictions

Debates

Polling

Results

By county

References

External links