2012 United States Senate election in Vermont

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November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06)

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Turnout

63.47% (voting eligible)^[1]


Nominee	Bernie Sanders	John MacGovern
Party	Independent	Republican
Popular vote	207,848	72,898
Percentage	71.00%	24.90%

Sanders: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%

U.S. senator before election

Bernie Sanders
Independent

Elected U.S. Senator

Bernie Sanders
Independent

Federal government

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U.S. Senator from Vermont

Presidential campaigns

Published works

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. Sanders, a 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	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	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	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	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	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	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	July 28–31, 2011	1,233	±2.8%	25%	62%	—	13%

Results

United States Senate election in Vermont, 2012^[17]
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

References

External links

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Portal:Politics Third party (U.S. politics) List of third-party and independent performances in United States elections Third-party and independent members of the United States Congress

Bernie Sanders

U.S. Senator from Vermont (2007–present)
U.S. Representative from Vermont's at-large district (1991–2007)
Mayor of Burlington (1981–1989)

Politics

Elections

Gubernatorial	1972 1976 1986
Mayoral	1981 1983 1985 1987
U.S. House	1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
U.S. Senate	1972 special 1974 2006 2012 2018
Presidential	2016 campaign endorsements primaries debates 2020 campaign endorsements primaries debates

Family

Jane O'Meara Sanders (wife)
Carina Driscoll (stepdaughter)
Larry Sanders (brother)

Works

Public image

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