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Sanders Would Win Vermont’s Senate Seat
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Voters in the Green Mountain State would send independent candidate Bernie Sanders to the United States Senate, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. More than two-thirds of respondents in Vermont would support Sanders in head-to-head contests against two prospective Republican rivals.
Sanders has been Vermont's at-large member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991. After independent U.S. senator Jim Jeffords announced his retirement from the upper house, Sanders launched his bid for the Senate seat.
In October, Republican lieutenant governor Brian Dubie said he would not challenge Sanders. The independent candidate has been endorsed by several Democrats, including Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Howard Dean and Senate minority leader Harry Reid.
Sanders holds a 38-point lead over businessman Richard Tarrent, and a 44-point advantage over former Air Force colonel Greg Parke. Talent and Parke will seek the GOP nomination in a primary election scheduled for Sept. 12.
Earlier this month, Parke expressed confidence in a victory in the primary, declaring, "We're getting a lot of talk about people that are not enamoured with Mr. Tarrant, and that they don't represent his values as Republicans."
The senatorial election is scheduled for Nov. 7.
Polling Data
Election 2006 - Vermont Senate
Option 1
Bernie Sanders (I) | 67% |
Richard Tarrant (R) | 29% |
Option 2
Bernie Sanders (I) | 73% |
Greg Parke (R) | 29% |
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 500 likely Vermont voters, conducted on May 9, 2006. Margin of error is 4.5 per cent.