1998 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

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

November 3, 1998

Nominee Bernie Sanders Mark Candon Party Independent Republican Alliance Democratic Popular vote 136,403 70,740 Percentage 63.4% 32.9%

Sanders:      40–50%     50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Candon:      40–50%     50–60%      60–70%

U.S. Representative before election Bernie Sanders Independent Elected U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders Independent

The 1998 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1998, to elect the U.S. representative from the state's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including an election to the U.S. Senate.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Mark Candon, investment advisor and former state representative
• Peter Diamondstone, perennial candidate and socialist activist
• Jack Long, lawyer and Democratic nominee for VT-AL in 1996

Results

Candon won the primary against Long by a comfortable 16-point margin. His victory came of the back of a very strong result in Rutland County, where he received over 90% of the vote, while also keeping Long's margin of victory in Chittenden County down to 15%. Diamondstone's effect on the primary was disputed; Long believed that Diamondstone had drawn voters from his campaign while Candon stated that he did not believe Diamondstone had a notable effect on the results.

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Candon	23,101	48.43
	Republican	Jack Long	15,716	32.95
	Republican	Peter Diamondstone	8,327	17.46
	Republican	Write-ins	552	1.16
Total votes			47,696	100.00

Democratic primary

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bernie Sanders (Write-in)	1,661	47.88
	Democratic	Mark Candon (Write-in)	524	15.11
	Democratic	Other Write-ins	467	13.46
	Democratic	Jack Long (Write-in)	465	13.40
	Democratic	Peter Diamondstone (Write-in)	352	10.15
Total votes			3,469	100.00

General election

Endorsements

Bernie Sanders (I)

Newspapers and publications

• Bennington Banner

Mark Candon (R)

State officials

• Thomas P. Salmon, former Governor of Vermont (Democratic)

Results

Vermont's at-large congressional district election, 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Bernie Sanders (incumbent)	136,403	63.40
	Republican	Mark Candon	70,740	32.88
	Grassroots	Matthew Mulligan	3,464	1.61
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	2,153	1.00
	Libertarian	Robert Maynard	2,097	0.98
	Write-ins	N/A	276	0.13
Total votes			215,133	100.00
	Independent hold