1986 Vermont gubernatorial election
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Kunin: 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% Smith: 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Vermont |
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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]
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
[edit]Results
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Madeleine M. Kunin (inc.) | 19,401 | 95.1 | |
Democratic | Write-ins | 993 | 4.9 | |
Total votes | 20,394 | 100 |
Republican primary
[edit]Results
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Peter Plympton Smith | 24,837 | 96.8 | |
Republican | Write-ins | 813 | 3.2 | |
Total votes | 25,650 | 100 |
Liberty Union primary
[edit]Results
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Liberty Union | Richard F. Gottlieb | 135 | 86.0 | |
Liberty Union | Bernie Sanders (write-in) | 16 | 10.2 | |
Liberty Union | Write-ins (other) | 6 | 3.8 | |
Total votes | 157 | 100 |
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Madeleine M. Kunin (D), incumbent Governor of Vermont
- Peter Plympton Smith (R), Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
- Bernie Sanders (I), Mayor of Burlington, Vermont[4]
- Richard F. Gottlieb (LU)
Results
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Madeleine M. Kunin (inc.) | 92,485 | 47.0 | −3.0 | |
Republican | Peter Plympton Smith | 75,239 | 38.2 | −10.3 | |
Independent | Bernie Sanders | 28,418 | 14.4 | +14.4 | |
Liberty Union | Richard F. Gottlieb | 491 | 0.2 | −0.1 | |
Write-in | Write-ins | 83 | 0.1 | n/a | |
Total votes | 196,716 | 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.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Madeleine M. Kunin (inc.) | 139 | 77.22 | |
Republican | Peter Plympton Smith | 39 | 21.66 | |
Independent | Bernie Sanders | 2 | 1.11 | |
Total votes | 180 | 100 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "General Election Results - Governor - 1789-2012" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ^ Doyle 1992, p. 222.
- ^ a b c "Primary Election Results" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ^ "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
[edit]- Doyle, William (1992). The Vermont Political Tradition: And Those Who Helped Make It. W. Doyle. ISBN 0961548614.