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Vermont has been represented by self-described democratic socialist Bernie Sanders in the United States House of Representatives during the 1990s and early 2000s and in the U.S. Senate since 2007. Bernie Sanders often votes with the Democratic Party, but maintains his independence as an Independent in Congress. [1]
Vermont's Senior Senator is Patrick Leahy, a liberal Democrat. Vermont's sole Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives is Democrat Peter Welch. [1]
While Vermont's federal representation is on the left side of the political spectrum, at the state level Vermont's politics are more balanced. Vermont's current Governor is Republican Jim Douglas. [2]. The governorship in Vermont has been held by both Democrats and Republicans in recent decades. Most notably perhaps is Democrat Howard Dean, who went on to chair the Democratic National Committee.
The Vermont Progressive Party is a small liberal political party which has held a handful of seats in the Vermont legislature for two decades and has run candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. It has had official recognition as a political party by the state government since 1999. They polled less than 1% of the vote for Governor in 2006.
An in-depth evaluation of government ranked Vermont high compared to other states. It ranked highest in "small discrete issues and huge global ones." It performed poorly in the issues in-between and planning for the future.[2]
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