November 8, 2016 2020 → 3 0 95,369 18,183 Date 8 November 2016 | Turnout 67.95% 178,573 95,369 56.7% 30.3% | |
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The 2016 United States presidential election in Vermont was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 general election in which all 50 states plus The District of Columbia participated. Vermont voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.
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Regarded as one of the most progressive states in the country, Hillary Clinton easily won Vermont with 56.7% of the vote, although her margin was reduced by 8.34 percentage points from President Obama in 2012. Donald Trump received 30.3% of the vote, and won only Essex County, the most rural and sparsely populated county in the state. Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win a county in Vermont since George W. Bush in 2004.
Despite not running in the general election, incumbent United States Senator Bernie Sanders (a former candidate for the Democratic nomination) received 5.7% of the vote as a write-in candidate, more than Gary Johnson's 3.1% and Jill Stein's 2.1% combined. Sanders received the highest write-in draft campaign percentage for a statewide presidential candidate in history.
With 30.3% of the vote, Trump's performance is the worst showing for a Republican in Vermont, setting a record low for the party since George H. W. Bush lost the state in 1992 with 30.4% of the vote. Vermont was once a liberal Republican stronghold, having voted Republican in every election from 1856 to 1988 with the exception of 1964. Since 1992, the Democratic Party has carried the state in every election, most often by landslide margins. No Republican has gotten over 40% of the vote in Vermont since George W. Bush in 2000.
Primary elections
On March 1, 2016, in the presidential primaries, Vermont voters expressed their preferences for the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties. Voters who were unaffiliated chose any one primary in which to vote.
Democratic primary
The 2016 Vermont Democratic primary took place on March 1 as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
On the same day, dubbed "Super Tuesday," Democratic primaries were held in ten other states plus American Samoa, while the Republican Party held primaries in eleven states including their own Vermont primary.
As Sanders was an extremely popular favorite son, there was no campaign to speak of, and all pledged delegates were given to Sanders, due to Clinton getting less than 15% of the popular vote.
General Election
With the heavy Democratic and Progressive presence in the state, the state was bypassed by the candidates during the General.