2008 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

The 2008 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont was held on November 4, 2008, and determined who represents the state of Vermont in the United States House of Representatives. Democratic Congressman Peter Welch decided to run for a second term in Congress. In an aberration for a freshman member of Congress, Welch encountered no major-party opposition and received the Republican nomination based on write-in votes in their primary.[1] Welch defeated a series of independent candidates with ease and represented Vermont in the 111th Congress.

2008 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont's at-large district

← 2006 November 4, 2008 2010 →
 
Nominee Peter Welch Mike Bethel
Party Democratic Independent
Alliance Republican
Popular vote 243,203 14,349
Percentage 83.3% 4.81%

Welch:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

U.S. Representative before election

Peter Welch
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Peter Welch
Democratic

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter Welch (incumbent) 19,566 87.74
Democratic Craig Hill 2,635 11.82
Democratic Write-ins 98 0.44
Total votes 22,299 100.00

Independent candidates

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  • Mike Bethel
  • Cris Ericson, marijuana activist, perennial candidate
  • Jerry Trudell, renewable energy activist, pilot, independent candidate for U.S. House in 2006[3]

General election

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Results

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Vermont's At-large congressional district election, 2008[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter Welch (incumbent) 243,203 83.25
Independent Mike Bethel 14,349 4.81
Independent Jerry Trudell 10,818 3.63
Progressive Thomas James Hermann 9,081 3.05
Independent Cris Ericson 7,841 2.63
Liberty Union Jane Newton 5,307 1.78
Write-ins 2,552 0.86
Total votes 298,151 100.00
Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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References

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  1. ^ Caygle, Heather (October 7, 2016). "Sanders-loving Vermont lawmaker snags GOP nomination". POLITICO. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "For representative to Congress - 2008 Democratic Primary" (PDF). vermont-elections.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2010.
  3. ^ "Trudell blows green energy whistle". October 24, 2008.
  4. ^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".