Vermont's at-large congressional district

Vermont has been represented in the United States House of Representatives by a single at-large congressional district since the 1930 census, when the state lost its second seat, obsoleting its 1st and 2nd congressional districts. There were once six districts in Vermont, all of which were eliminated after various censuses.

Vermont's at-large congressional district
Representative	Peter Welch D–Norwich
Area	9,620 sq mi (24,900 km^2)
Distribution	61.1% rural 38.9% urban
Population (2019)	623,989
Median household income	$63,001[1]
Ethnicity	94.1% White 1.9% Hispanic 1.8% Asian 1.3% Black 0.4% Native American 0.2% other
Occupation	61% White-collar 24.6% Blue-collar 14.4% Gray-collar
Cook PVI	D+15[2]

Bernie Sanders (Independent) held the seat from 1991 until 2007, when he became a U.S. senator. Democrat Peter Welch has represented the state since 2007.

List of representatives

Vermont has elected its representatives at-large from 1813 to 1821, beginning with the 13th Congress; 1823 to 1825, with the 18th Congress; and from 1933 to the present, beginning with the 73rd Congress, after being reduced to one representative as a result of the 1930 Census. In all other years, Vermont elected its representatives from separate districts.

All members were elected statewide at-large on a general ticket.

1813–1823: Six seats

Congress & Years
		Seat A				Seat B				Seat C				Seat D				Seat E				Seat F
		Mem.	Party	Electoral history		Mem.	Party	Electoral history		Mem.	Party	Electoral history		Mem.	Party	Electoral history		Mem.	Party	Electoral history		Mem.	Party	Electoral history
13th	March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1815	William C. Bradley	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1812. Lost re-election.		William Strong	Democratic-Republican	Redistricted from the 2nd district and re-elected in 1812. Lost re-election.		James Fisk	Democratic-Republican	Redistricted from the 3rd district and re-elected in 1812. Lost re-election.		Charles Rich	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1812. Lost re-election.		Richard Skinner	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1812. Lost re-election.		Ezra Butler	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1812. Lost re-election.
14th	March 4, 1815 – May 5, 1816	Daniel Chipman	Federalist	Elected in 1814. Resigned due to illness.		Luther Jewett	Federalist	Elected in 1814. Retired.		Chauncey Langdon	Federalist	Elected in 1814. Lost re-election.		Asa Lyon	Federalist	Elected in 1814. Lost re-election.		Charles Marsh	Federalist	Elected in 1814. Retired.		John Noyes	Federalist	Elected in 1814. Retired.
	May 5, 1816 – March 3, 1817	Vacant
15th	March 4, 1817 – April 20, 1818	Orsamus C. Merrill	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Lost election contest.[lower-alpha 1]		Mark Richards	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Redistricted to the 2nd district and lost re-election.		Charles Rich	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Redistricted to the 3rd district.		Heman Allen	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1816. Resigned to become a U.S. Marshall.		Samuel C. Crafts	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Redistricted to the 5th district.		William Hunter	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1816. Retired.
	April 20, 1818 – March 3, 1819													Vacant
16th	March 4, 1819 – January 12, 1820													William Strong	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1818. Redistricted to the 4th district and lost re-election.						Ezra Meech	Democratic-Republican	Re-elected in 1818. Redistricted to the 3rd district and lost re-election to Rich.
	January 13, 1820 – March 3, 1821	Rollin C. Mallary	Democratic-Republican	Won election contest.[lower-alpha 1] Redistricted to the 1st district.

In 1821, Vermont used districts instead.

1823–1825: Five seats

Vermont returned to at-large districts briefly in 1823 for just one Congress.

Congress & Years
		Seat A				Seat B				Seat C				Seat D				Seat E
		Mem.	Party	Electoral history		Mem.	Party	Electoral history		Mem.	Party	Electoral history		Mem.	Party	Electoral history		Mem.	Party	Electoral history
17th	March 4, 1823 – October 15, 1824	Rollin C. Mallary	Democratic-Republican	Redistricted from the 1st district and re-elected in 1822. Redistricted to the 2nd district.		William C. Bradley	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1822. Redistricted to the 1st district.		Charles Rich	Democratic-Republican	Redistricted from the 3rd district and re-elected in 1822. Died.		Daniel A. A. Buck	Democratic-Republican	Elected in 1822. Retired.		Samuel C. Crafts	Democratic-Republican	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1822. Retired.
	October 15, 1824 – December 13, 1824									Vacant
	December 13, 1824 – March 3, 1825									Henry Olin	Democratic-Republican	Elected to finish Rich's term. Retired.

1933–Present: 1 seat

After the 1930 United States Census, Vermont was reduced to one seat, which it has used ever since.

Representative	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral History
Ernest W. Gibson	Republican	March 4, 1933 – October 19, 1933	73rd	Redistricted from the 2nd district and re-elected in 1932. Resigned when appointed U.S. senator.
Vacant		October 19, 1933 – January 16, 1934
Charles A. Plumley	Republican	January 16, 1934 – January 3, 1951	73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st	Elected to finish Gibson's term. Subsequently, re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Retired.
Winston L. Prouty	Republican	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1959	82nd 83rd 84th 85th	Elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Retired to run for U.S. senator.
William H. Meyer	Democratic	January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961	86th	Elected in 1958. Lost re-election.
Robert Stafford	Republican	January 3, 1961 – September 16, 1971	87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd	Elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Resigned when appointed U.S. senator.
Vacant		September 16, 1971 – January 7, 1972	92nd
Richard W. Mallary	Republican	January 7, 1972 – January 3, 1975	92nd 93rd	Won special election in 1972. Re-elected in November 1972. Retired to run for U.S. senator.
Jim Jeffords	Republican	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1989	94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th	Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Retired to run for U.S. senator.
Peter P. Smith	Republican	January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1991	101st	Elected in 1988. Lost re-election.
Bernie Sanders	Independent	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2007	102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th	Elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Retired to run for U.S. senator.
Peter Welch	Democratic	January 3, 2007 – Present	110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th	Elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020.

Recent elections

1990 election

Independent Bernie Sanders defeated incumbent Republican Peter Plympton Smith.

1990 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	117,522	56.0
	Republican	Peter Plympton Smith	82,938	39.52
	Democratic	Lewis E. Young	6,315	3.01
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	1,965	0.94
	Write-in	Write-ins	1,116	0.53
Majority			34,584	16.48
Turnout			209,856
	Independent gain from Republican		Swing

1992 election

Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.

1992 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	162,724	57.78	+1.78%
	Republican	Tim Philbin	86,901	30.86	+2.35%
	Democratic	Lewis E. Young	22,279	7.91	+4.9%
	Natural Law	John Dewey	3,549	1.26	+1.26%
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	3,660	1.30	+0.36%
	Freedom for LaRouche	Douglas M. Miller	2,049	0.73	+0.73%
	Write-in	Write-ins	464	0.16	−0.37%
Majority			75,823	26.92
Turnout			281,626
	Independent hold		Swing

1994 election

Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.

1994 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	105,502	44.84	−12.94%
	Republican	John Carroll	98,523	41.87	+11.01%
	Natural Law	Carole Banus	2,963	1.26	+0.00
	Green	Jack Rogers	2,664	1.13	+1.13%
	Liberty Union	Annette Larson	1,493	0.63	−0.67%
	Write-in	Write-ins	304	0.13	−0.03%
Majority			6,979	2.97
Turnout			235,279
	Independent hold		Swing

1996 election

Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.

1996 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	140,678	55.23	+10.39%
	Republican	Susan W. Sweetser	82,021	32.59	−9.28%
	Democratic	Jack Long	23,830	9.36	+9.36%
	Libertarian	Thomas J. Morse	2,693	1.06	+1.06%
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	1,965	0.77	+0.14%
	Green	Robert Melamede	1,350	0.53	−0.60%
	Natural Law	Norio Kushi	812	0.32	−0.94%
	Write-in	Write-ins	357	0.14	+0.01%
Majority			57,657	22.64
Turnout			254,706
	Independent hold		Swing

1998 election

Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.

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

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	136,403	63.40	+8.17%
	Republican	Mark Candon	70,740	32.88	+0.29%
	Green	Matthew Mulligan	3,464	1.61	+1.08%
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	2,153	1.01	+.024%
	Libertarian	Robert Maynard	2,097	0.97	−0.09%
	Write-in	Write-ins	276	0.13	−.01%
Majority			65,663	30.52
Turnout			215,133
	Independent hold		Swing

2000 election

Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.

2000 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	196,118	69.21	+5.81%
	Republican	Karen Ann Kerin	51,977	18.34	−14.54%
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	14,918	5.26	+3.65%
	Independent	Stewart Skrill	4,799	1.69	+1.69%
	Green	Jack Rogers	2,978	1.05	−0.56%
	Libertarian	Daniel H. Krymkowski	2,978	1.05	+0.08%
	Write-in	Write-ins	760	0.27	+0.14%
Majority			144,141	50.87	+20.35
Turnout			283,366
	Independent hold		Swing

2002 election

Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.

2002 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	144,880	64.32	−4.89%
	Republican	William Meub	72,813	32.32	+13.98%
	Liberty Union	Jane Newton	3,185	1.41	−3.85%
	Grassroots	Fawn Skinner	2,344	1.04	−0.01%
	Libertarian	Daniel H. Krymkowski	2,033	0.90	−0.15%
Majority			72,067	31.99
Turnout			225,255
	Independent hold		Swing

2004 election

Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.

2004 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders	205,774	67.47	+2.8%
	Republican	Greg Parke	74,271	24.35	−7.7%
	Democratic	Larry Drown	21,684	7.11	+7.1%
	Liberty Union	Jane Newton	3,018	0.99	−0.3%
	Write-in	Write-ins	261	0.09	N/A
Majority			131,503	43.11
Turnout			305,008
	Independent hold		Swing	+5.3

2006 election

Incumbent Bernie Sanders retired to successfully run for a U.S. Senate seat.

Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Welch (D-Windsor County) was the Democratic nominee and the eventual winner.

Three candidates competed for the Republican nomination:

• Major General Martha Rainville, USANG (ret) (R), former Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard.
• Vermont State senator Mark Shepard (R-Bennington County).
• Republican businessman Dennis Morrisseau, who promised to bring articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush.[3]

Rainville won the Republican primary on September 12, beating Shepard by a wide margin.

There were also numerous third party and independent candidates: Chris Karr (WTP), Bruce Marshall (Green Party), Dennis Morrisseau (Ind), Jane Newton (Liberty Union Party), Keith Stern (Ind), and Jerry Trudell (Ind). Morrisseau gathered the most votes, with 1% or 1,383 votes.

By September 14, 2006, the race between Rainville and Welch was close. An American Research Group poll showed Welch with a 48–45% lead.[4]

On October 4, 2006, The Burlington Free Press reported that one of Rainville's staffers, Christopher Stewart, resigned from her campaign after committing plagiarism—copying policy statements from other politicians, including senator Hillary Clinton, and using them on Rainville's website. Rainville's website was off-line for some time while her staff removed the plagiarized passages.[5]

Welch beat Rainville 53% to 45%, or 139,585 votes to 117,211.

2006 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Peter Welch	139,815	53.22	+46.1
	Republican	Martha Rainville	117,023	44.54	+20.1
	Independent	Dennis Morrisseau	1,390	0.53	+0.53
	Independent	Jerry Trudell	1,013	0.39	+0.39
	Green	Bruce Marshall	994	0.38	+0.38
	Independent	Keith Stern	963	0.37	+0.37
	Liberty Union	Jane Newton	721	0.27	−0.7
	We the People	Chris Karr	599	0.23	+0.23
	Write-in	Write-ins	208	0.08	+0.08
Majority			22,792	8.68	−34.4
Turnout			262,726
	Democratic gain from Independent		Swing

2008 election

2008 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Peter Welch	248,203	83.25	+30.03%
	Independent	Mike Bethel	14,349	4.18	+4.18
	Energy Independence	Jerry Trudell	10,818	3.63	+3.63%
	Progressive	Thomas James Hermann	9,081	3.05	+3.05%
	Independent	Cris Ericson	7,841	2.63	+2.63%
	Liberty Union	Jane Newton	5,307	1.78	+1.51%
	Write-in	Write-ins	2,552	0.86	+0.78%
Majority			233,854	78.43
Turnout			298,151
	Democratic hold		Swing

2010 election

2010 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Peter Welch	154,006	64.57	−18.68%
	Republican	Paul D. Beaudry	76,403	32.03	+32.03%
	Independent	Gus Jaccaci	4,704	1.97	+1.97%
	Socialist	Jane Newton	3,222	1.35	−0.43%
	Write-in	Write-ins	186	0.08	−0.78%
Majority			77,603	32.54
Turnout			238,521
	Democratic hold		Swing

2012 election

2012 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Peter Welch	208,600	72.01	+7.44%
	Republican	Mark Donka	67,543	23.32	−8.71%
	Independent	James "Sam" Desrochers	8,302	2.87	+0.90%
	Liberty Union	Jane Newton	4,065	1.40	+1.40%
	VoteKISS[6]	Andre Laframboise	1,153	0.40	+0.40%
Majority			141,057	48.69
Turnout			289,663
	Democratic hold		Swing

2014 election

2014 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Peter Welch (incumbent)	123,349	64.41%	-7.60%
	Republican	Mark Donka	59,432	31.03%	+7.71%
	Independent	Cris Ericson	2,750	1.44%	N/A
	Liberty Union	Matthew Andrews	2,071	1.08%	-0.34%
	Independent	Jerry Trudell	2,024	1.06%	N/A
	Independent	Randall Meyer	1,685	0.88%	N/A
	n/a	Write-ins	193	0.10%	N/A
Total votes			'191,504'	'100.0%'	N/A
	Democratic hold

2016 election

2016 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic/Republican	Peter Welch (incumbent)	264,414	89.53	+25.12
	Liberty Union	Erica Clawson	29,410	9.96	+8.88
	Write-in		1,510	0.51	+0.41
Total votes			295,334	100.0
	Democratic hold

2018 election

2018 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Peter Welch (incumbent)	188,547	69.20%	-13.31%
	Republican	Anya Tynio	70,705	25.95%	N/A
	Marijuana	Cris Ericson	9,110	3.34%	N/A
	Liberty Union	Laura Potter	3,924	1.44%	-7.74%
	Write-in		165	0.07%	-0.39%
Total votes			272,451	100.0%	N/A
	Democratic hold

2020 election

2020 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont: Vermont's at-large district[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Peter Welch (incumbent)	238,827	67.31%	-1.89%
	Republican	Miriam Berry	95,830	27.01%	+1.06%
	Independent	Peter R. Becker	8,065	2.27%	N/A
	Independent	Marcia Horne	4,334	1.22%	N/A
	Communist	Christopher Helali	3,432	0.97%	N/A
	Independent	Shawn Orr	1,926	0.54%	N/A
	Independent	Jerry Trudell	1,881	0.53%	N/A
	Write-in		542	0.15%	+0.08%
Total votes			345,837	100.0%	N/A
	Democratic hold

2008 Presidential primary results

Democratic primary

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois won the March 4, 2008 Vermont Democratic Primary with 59.31% of the statewide/at-large congressional district vote while senator Hillary Clinton of New York received 38.59%.

Republican primary

U.S. senator John McCain of Arizona won the March 4, 2008 Vermont Republican Primary with 71.32% of the statewide/at-large congressional district vote while former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas finished second with 14.30%.

Sources

• Office of the Clerk: Election Statistics since 1920
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

Notes

1. Initial returns in the 1818 election showed Rollin C. Mallary in 8th place with 6,879 votes and Orsamus Cook Merrill in 6th place with 6,955 votes, but after challenging the results, the House Committee on Elections declared Mallary the winner of the last seat with 6,961 votes, a 6-vote lead over Merrill.

References

1. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
2. "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
3. Dritschilo, Gordon (July 21, 2005). "GOP candidate calls for impeachment". Rutland Herald. Archived from the original on October 31, 2005. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
4. "Vermont US Congress". American Research Group, Inc. September 29, 2006. Archived from the original on September 29, 2006. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
5. Hallenbeck, Terri (October 4, 2006). "Rainville staff rewrites statements. Web site closed over plagiarism". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved April 13, 2017. Alt URL
6. "VoteKISS Home". VoteKISS party.
7. "VT Elections Database: Election Results Archive".
8. Johnson, Cheryl L. (February 28, 2019). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 2018". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
9. "2020 General Election Canvass Report" (PDF). Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved November 19, 2020.