Campaign

Sanders cruises to an easy win in Vermont

by Niv Elis - 11/06/18 7:02 PM ET

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is projected to cruise to an easy reelection victory in Vermont on Tuesday night, defeating Republican Lawrence Zupan by a wide margin.

Projections from AP and ABC called the race as polls closed, with less than 1 percent of precincts reporting.

Sanders had a 40-point lead in pre-election polls in his bid for a third Senate term from Vermont, one of the most Democratic-leaning states in the nation.

Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, kept his status as a political independent despite running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. He ultimately lost to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

{mosads}Sanders, whose views represent the progressive flank of the party, is considered a likely contender for the 2020 Democratic nomination. His push on issues such as “Medicare for all” have shaped the debate within the Democratic establishment.

Zupan, who ran on an anti-regulation platform, had actually lost the GOP primary to H. Brooke Paige, but the GOP state committee put him on the ballot anyway after Paige withdrew his candidacy.

Tags Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton