MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - With the second-fewest residents of any state, Vermont has a single congressional district. So its boundaries don’t change, and the state wasn’t subject to the gerrymandering and geography that helped Republicans build an advantage in House seats by drawing new districts after the 2010 Census.
Since 1991, Vermont’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives has been held by left-of-center politicians. First was Bernie Sanders, an independent sometimes described as a socialist. He has since gone on to serve in the Senate. Since 2007, the House seat has been held by Democrat Peter Welch.
The occupant of the House seat is in keeping with Vermont’s liberal reputation. In the 2012 presidential election, 67 percent of Vermont voters chose President Barack Obama, the third-highest percentage in the nation behind the District of Columbia and Hawaii.
Every decade, boundaries for the state Legislature’s 150 House and 30 Senate seats are redrawn. With both houses controlled by Democrats, the 2012 redistricting was relatively straightforward, although Republicans threatened to sue.
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