1972 United States House Special Election in Vermont

The 1972 United States House Special Election in Vermont was held on January 7, 1972, to elect United States Representative to represent the Vermont Congressional District. The total votes casted was 71,507. Richard W. Mallary (Republican) was elected, receiving 55.80% of the votes, which equals 39,903 votes. Robert T. Stafford (Republican) won the previous election in 1970.James M. Jeffords (Republican) won the following election in 1974.

Election Result

The final election result is as follows. Richard W. Mallary of Republican (55.80%) won with a majority of the votes, defeated J. William O'Brien of Democratic (37.60%) by a comfortable margin of 18.2%.

1972 United States House Special Election in Vermont
General
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	option = {color: ['red','blue','gold','#DCDCDC'], tooltip: {trigger: 'item', formatter: '{b}: {c} ({d}%)'}, series: [{type: 'pie', radius: '90%', label: {show: false}, data: [{value: 39903, name: 'Richard W. Mallary'},{value: 26889, name: 'J. William OBrien'},{value: 3362, name: 'Doris Lake'},{value: 1353, name: 'Anthony N. Doria'}] }]}
Richard W. Mallary	Republican	39,903	55.80%
J. William O'Brien	Democratic	26,889	37.60%
Doris Lake	Liberty Union	3,362	4.70%
Anthony N. Doria	Vermont Independent	1,353	1.89%
Date: 1972-01-07, Valid Votes: 71,507, Margin: 18.2%
Republican Primary
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	option = {color: ['red','#C77DFA','#C80E0F','#619324','#F7B480','#89BDB9','#808080'], tooltip: {trigger: 'item', formatter: '{b}: {c} ({d}%)'}, series: [{type: 'pie', radius: '90%', label: {show: false}, data: [{value: 15108, name: 'Richard W. Mallary'},{value: 10941, name: 'Richard C. Thomas'},{value: 5698, name: 'John T. Alden'},{value: 4591, name: 'Fred Westphal'},{value: 421, name: 'John H. Buik'},{value: 285, name: 'George M. Abbott'},{value: 10, name: 'Write-In'}] }]}
Richard W. Mallary	Republican	15,108	40.77%
Richard C. Thomas	Republican	10,941	29.53%
John T. Alden	Republican	5,698	15.38%
Fred Westphal	Republican	4,591	12.39%
John H. Buik	Republican	421	1.14%
George M. Abbott	Republican	285	0.77%
Write-In		10	0.03%
Date: 1972-01-01, Valid Votes: 37,054, Margin: 11.2%
Democratic Primary
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	option = {color: ['blue','#772EF6','#29CCDD','#8BE4FA','#808080'], tooltip: {trigger: 'item', formatter: '{b}: {c} ({d}%)'}, series: [{type: 'pie', radius: '90%', label: {show: false}, data: [{value: 5796, name: 'J. William OBrien'},{value: 4886, name: 'Dennis Morrisseau'},{value: 1608, name: 'Bernard OShea'},{value: 1033, name: 'Daniel W. Allen'},{value: 26, name: 'Write-In'}] }]}
J. William O'Brien	Democratic	5,796	43.42%
Dennis Morrisseau	Democratic	4,886	36.60%
Bernard O'Shea	Democratic	1,608	12.05%
Daniel W. Allen	Democratic	1,033	7.74%
Write-In		26	0.19%
Date: 1972-01-01, Valid Votes: 13,349, Margin: 6.8%

Previous Election

Robert T. Stafford (Republican) won the previous election in 1970.

1970 United States House Election in Vermont
General
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	option = {color: ['red','blue','gold','#808080'], tooltip: {trigger: 'item', formatter: '{b}: {c} ({d}%)'}, series: [{type: 'pie', radius: '90%', label: {show: false}, data: [{value: 103806, name: 'Robert T. Stafford'},{value: 44415, name: 'Bernard OShea'},{value: 4315, name: 'Dennis Morrisseau'},{value: 21, name: 'Write-In'}] }]}
Robert T. Stafford	Republican	103,806	68.04%
Bernard O'Shea	Democratic	44,415	29.11%
Dennis Morrisseau	Liberty Union	4,315	2.83%
Write-In		21	0.01%
Date: 1970-11-03, Valid Votes: 152,557, Margin: 38.9%
Republican Primary
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	option = {color: ['red','#B775B2','#808080'], tooltip: {trigger: 'item', formatter: '{b}: {c} ({d}%)'}, series: [{type: 'pie', radius: '90%', label: {show: false}, data: [{value: 33678, name: 'Robert T. Stafford'},{value: 6099, name: 'Adelaide Knowles'},{value: 29, name: 'Write-In'}] }]}
Robert T. Stafford	Republican	33,678	84.61%
Adelaide Knowles	Republican	6,099	15.32%
Write-In		29	0.07%
Date: 1970-09-08, Valid Votes: 39,806, Margin: 69.3%
Democratic Primary
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	option = {color: ['blue','#1CC436','#808080'], tooltip: {trigger: 'item', formatter: '{b}: {c} ({d}%)'}, series: [{type: 'pie', radius: '90%', label: {show: false}, data: [{value: 15795, name: 'Bernard OShea'},{value: 13710, name: 'Dennis Morrisseau'},{value: 201, name: 'Write-In'}] }]}
Bernard O'Shea	Democratic	15,795	53.17%
Dennis Morrisseau	Democratic	13,710	46.15%
Write-In		201	0.68%
Date: 1970-09-08, Valid Votes: 29,706, Margin: 7.0%

Next Election

James M. Jeffords (Republican) won the following election in 1974.

1974 United States House Election in Vermont
General
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	option = {color: ['red','#DCDCDC','gold'], tooltip: {trigger: 'item', formatter: '{b}: {c} ({d}%)'}, series: [{type: 'pie', radius: '90%', label: {show: false}, data: [{value: 74561, name: 'James M. Jeffords'},{value: 56342, name: 'Francis J. Cain'},{value: 9961, name: 'Michael Parenti'}] }]}
James M. Jeffords	Republican	74,561	52.93%
Francis J. Cain	Democratic/Independent Vermonters	56,342	40.00%
Michael Parenti	Liberty Union	9,961	7.07%
Date: 1974-11-05, Valid Votes: 140,864, Margin: 12.9%
Republican Primary
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	option = {color: ['red','#B0208D','#1443DA'], tooltip: {trigger: 'item', formatter: '{b}: {c} ({d}%)'}, series: [{type: 'pie', radius: '90%', label: {show: false}, data: [{value: 18583, name: 'James M. Jeffords'},{value: 16345, name: 'Madeline B. Harwood'},{value: 11453, name: 'John S. Burgess'}] }]}
James M. Jeffords	Republican	18,583	40.07%
Madeline B. Harwood	Republican	16,345	35.24%
John S. Burgess	Republican	11,453	24.69%
Date: 1974-09-10, Valid Votes: 46,381, Margin: 4.8%
Democratic Primary
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	option = {color: ['blue','#A5286B','#ADF10B','#D3F142','#A89516','#8A6DDB'], tooltip: {trigger: 'item', formatter: '{b}: {c} ({d}%)'}, series: [{type: 'pie', radius: '90%', label: {show: false}, data: [{value: 9415, name: 'Francis J. Cain'},{value: 3384, name: 'Margaret A. Lucenti'},{value: 3004, name: 'John J. Welch'},{value: 2804, name: 'Francis J. Esposito'},{value: 2623, name: 'Dennis Morrisseau'},{value: 1426, name: 'Pete Diamondstone'}] }]}
Francis J. Cain	Democratic	9,415	41.56%
Margaret A. Lucenti	Democratic	3,384	14.94%
John J. Welch	Democratic	3,004	13.26%
Francis J. Esposito	Democratic	2,804	12.38%
Dennis Morrisseau	Democratic	2,623	11.58%
Pete Diamondstone	Democratic	1,426	6.29%
Date: 1974-09-10, Valid Votes: 22,656, Margin: 26.6%

1972 United States House Special Election in Vermont (General) - Results by County
County	Richard W. Mallary Republican		J. William O'Brien Democratic		Doris Lake Liberty Union		Anthony N. Doria Vermont Independent		Valid Votes	Margin
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Total	-	%	-	%	-	%	-	%	71,507	0.00%

1972 United States House Special Election in Vermont (Democratic Primary) - Results by County
County	Bernard O'Shea		Daniel W. Allen		J. William O'Brien		Dennis Morrisseau		Valid Votes	Margin
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Total	-	%	-	%	-	%	-	%	13,349	0.00%

1972 United States House Special Election in Vermont (Republican Primary) - Results by County
County	John H. Buik		Richard W. Mallary		George M. Abbott		Richard C. Thomas		John T. Alden		Fred Westphal		Valid Votes	Margin
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Total	-	%	-	%	-	%	-	%	-	%	-	%	37,054	0.00%

See Also

• 1972 United States Senate Special Election in Vermont
• 1972 Vermont Attorney General Election
• 1972 Vermont Governor Election
• 1972 Vermont Lieutenant Governor Election
• 1972 Vermont Secretary of State Election
• 1972 Vermont State Auditor Election
• 1972 Vermont State Treasurer Election
• 1972 United States House Election in Vermont
• 1972 United States Presidential Election in Vermont
• Vermont Congressional District
• 2022 United States House Election in Vermont
• 2020 United States House Election in Vermont
• 2018 United States House Election in Vermont
• 2016 United States House Election in Vermont
• 2014 United States House Election in Vermont

United States House Elections in Vermont

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