2006 United States Senate election in Vermont
Incumbent independent Senator Jim Jeffords decided to retire rather than seek reelection to a fourth term, and Bernie Sanders was elected to succeed him.[2] (Vermont's Class 3 seat had been held by Democrat Patrick Leahy since 1974, the first time a Republican had lost any Senate election in the state since 1850.)After Jeffords retired, there was brief speculation that DNC chair Howard Dean, a former governor and 2004 presidential candidate, would run for Senate.After Dean quickly issued a statement that he would not run, independent Representative Bernie Sanders became the subject of media attention, and ultimately entered and won the race.[12] Organizations State officials Individuals In mid-August 2006, the campaign heated up considerably, with Tarrant fully engaged in heavy media advertising, most of which criticized Sanders's public stances.