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

← 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%

County results Municipality results Sanders:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Parke:      40–50%      50–60%

Representative At-large before election Bernie Sanders Independent Elected Representative At-large Bernie Sanders Independent

As of 2020, 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

Candidates

• Larry Drown^[1] (Democratic)
• Jane Newton^[1] (Liberty Union)
• Gregory "Greg" Tarl Parke, former United States Air Force lieutenant colonel^[2] (Republican)
• Bernie Sanders, incumbent U.S. Representative^[3] (Independent)

Controversy

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

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

1. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2012.
2. Delaney, Steve. "August 31, 2004 – Midday Report". Vermont Public Radio. Retrieved April 15, 2004.
3. Pertman, Adam (November 11, 1990). . The Boston Globe. p. 83. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
4. Marx, Claude R. (October 30, 2004). . The Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Vermont Press Bureau. Archived from the original on December 4, 2004. Retrieved April 15, 2012.