2012 elections review: Uncompetitive elections in Vermont

August 29, 2012

By Ballotpedia's Congressional and State legislative teams

The primary season continued yesterday with elections in Alaska, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Vermont.

Here's what happened in Vermont.

Contested Primaries in Vermont -- August 28, 2012
	U.S. House (1 seat)	State Legislature (180 seats)
Total Democratic Contested Primaries	0 (0%)	40 (22%)
Total Republican Contested Primaries	0 (0%)	25 (14%)

Congress

U.S. Senate

United States Senate elections in Vermont, 2012

Three candidates competed in primaries for Vermont's U.S. Senate seat yesterday - 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat. In the Republican primary, John MacGovern defeated Brooke Paige. Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

U.S. House

United States House of Representatives elections in Vermont, 2012

Vermont has a single congressional seats on the ballot in 2012. A total of 4 candidates filed to run, made up of 1 Republican challenger, 1 incumbent, and 2 third-party candidates. A total of 415 U.S. House seats have held primaries. Thus far, 54.94% of possible primaries have been contested. Vermont's contested figure of 0% (0 out of 2 possible party primaries) is significantly less competitive than the national average.

In Vermont's lone congressional district, incumbent Peter Welch ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Republican Mark Donka was also unopposed in his primary. They will face off in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Members of the U.S. House from Vermont -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	1	1
	Republican Party	0	0
Total		1	1

State legislature

See also Vermont State Senate elections, 2012 and Vermont House of Representatives elections, 2012

In Vermont, there are 180 total legislative seats with elections in 2012. There were 40 (22%) contested Democratic primaries and 25 (14%) contested Republican primaries. Thus, there were 65 (18%) races with at least two candidates on the ballot. The 18% figure of contested primaries in Vermont was lower than the current national contested average of 18.4% for states that have had filing deadlines.

There were a total of 14 incumbents facing primary opposition -- 12 Democrats and 2 Republicans. No incumbents were defeated last night.

Some of the incumbents who faced a primary challenge were:

Senate

Chittenden District (6): There were a total of 9 candidates that ran in this district, and four were incumbents. The incumbents were Timothy Ashe, Philip Baruth, Sally Fox, and Virginia Lyons. All survived relatively easily.

Windham District (2): Incumbents Jeanette White and Peter Galbraith fended off challenger Mary Cain. Both incumbents were victorious.

House

Chittenden 6-1: Incumbent William Aswad was challenged by Joanna Cole and Robert Hooper. Hooper lost, and Cole garnered the most votes.

Windham 3: Incumbent Carolyn Partridge faced incumbent Matt Trieber and Christopher Moore. While the race was close and has yet to be officially called, both incumbents are in the lead.

Vermont House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	94	98
	Republican Party	47	43
	Vermont Progressive Party	5	4
	Independent	3	4
	Vacancy	1	1
Total		150	150

Vermont State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	20	21
	Republican Party	8	7
	Vermont Progressive Party	2	2
Total		30	30

See also

• United States Senate elections in Vermont, 2012
• United States House of Representatives elections in Vermont, 2012
• Vermont State Senate elections, 2012
• Vermont House of Representatives elections, 2012