2004 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

The 2004 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004, 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 a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate.

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

← 2002 November 2, 2004 2006 →
 
Nominee Bernie Sanders Greg Parke Larry Drown
Party Independent Republican Democratic
Popular vote 205,774 74,271 21,684
Percentage 67.5% 24.4% 7.1%

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

U.S. Representative before election

Bernie Sanders
Independent

Elected U.S. Representative

Bernie Sanders
Independent

As of 2022, this is the last time someone who was not a member of the Democratic or Republican party was elected to the House of Representatives.

General election

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Candidates

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Controversy

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On Friday, October 29, 2004, the Parke campaign aired a radio ad which portrayed Sanders as being on friendly terms with pornographers, pedophiles, illegal immigrations and terrorists. The ad was pulled the same day that it first aired. Parke was criticized for his actions by both the state chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, James Barnett and Vermont Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie, as well as by other Vermont Republicans.[4]

Parke had earlier blamed Sanders for the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks based on Sanders's prior vote to cut the intelligence budget.[2]

Results

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Vermont's At-large congressional district election, 2004[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Bernie Sanders (incumbent) 205,774 67.46
Republican Greg Parke 74,271 24.35
Democratic Larry Drown 21,684 7.11
Liberty Union Jane Newton 3,018 0.99
Write-ins N/A 261 0.09
Total votes 305,008 100.00
Independent hold

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Official Report of the Canvassing Committee - United States and Vermont Statewide Offices General Election, November 2, 2004" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Delaney, Steve. "August 31, 2004 – Midday Report". Vermont Public Radio. Retrieved April 15, 2004.
  3. ^ Pertman, Adam (November 11, 1990). "'The Times Caught Up' to Vermont Socialist". The Boston Globe. p. 83. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Marx, Claude R. (October 30, 2004). "Parke targets Sanders, then pulls the ad". The Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Vermont Press Bureau. Archived from the original on December 4, 2004. Retrieved April 15, 2012.