Vermont's at-large congressional district
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.
Bernie Sanders held the seat from 1991 until 2007, when he became a U.S. senator. Democrat Peter Welch, who succeeded Sanders in 2007, represented the state until 2023, when he was elected to succeed Patrick Leahy in the Senate. Progressive Democrat Becca Balint was elected to succeed Welch in the House for the 118th Congress. Balint is the first woman and LGBT person to represent Vermont, making Vermont the last state to be represented in Congress by a woman.
List of members representing the district
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.
13th Congress (1813–1815)
- William C. Bradley
- Ezra Butler
- James Fisk
- Charles Rich
- Richard Skinner
- William Strong
14th Congress (1815–1817)
- Daniel Chipman, until May 5, 1816
- Luther Jewett
- Chauncey Langdon
- Asa Lyon
- Charles Marsh
- John Noyes
15th Congress (1817–1819)
- Heman Allen , until April 20, 1818; vacant thereafter
- Samuel C. Crafts
- William Hunter
- Orsamus C. Merrill
- Charles Rich
- Mark Richards
16th Congress (1819–1821)
- Samuel C. Crafts
- Ezra Meech
- Orsamus C. Merrill, until January 12, 1820
- Rollin C. Mallary, from January 13, 1820
- Charles Rich
- Mark Richards
- William Strong
18th Congress (1823–1825)
- Rollin C. Mallary
- William C. Bradley
- Charles Rich, until October 15, 1824
- Henry Olin, from December 13, 1824
- Daniel A. A. Buck
- Samuel C. Crafts
1933–present: one seat
Electoral history
1990
Independent Bernie Sanders defeated incumbent Republican Peter Plympton Smith.1992
Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.1994
Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.1996
Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.1998
Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.2000
Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.2002
Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.2004
Incumbent Bernie Sanders ran for and won re-election.2006
Incumbent Bernie Sanders retired to successfully run for a U.S. Senate seat.Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Welch was the Democratic nominee and the eventual winner.
Three candidates competed for the Republican nomination:
- Retired Major General Martha Rainville, former Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard.
- Vermont State senator Mark Shepard of Bennington County.
- Businessman Dennis Morrisseau, who promised to bring articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush.
There were also numerous third party and independent candidates: Chris Karr, Bruce Marshall, Dennis Morrisseau, Jane Newton, Keith Stern, and Jerry Trudell. 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.
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.
Welch beat Rainville 53% to 45%, or 139,585 votes to 117,211.