Senator Patrick Leahy narrowly won reelection to a second term, defeating Republican Stewart Ledbetter, the former Vermont Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.

[3] Leahy himself knew this would be a tough race, and even though early polls showed him up, he noticed a much more sour tone among voters while campaigning.

Over the course of the campaign, a dispute broke out between T. Garry Buckley, a former Lieutenant Governor, and James Mullin, the former Vermont GOP Chair.

"[12] Mullin in turned accused Buckley of bigotry, stating, "I thought this nonsense went out when Jack Kennedy was elected President.

[25] However, he later acknowledged in his memoirs that he had seen a different mood among voters, and his internal polls, conducted late in the campaign, showed him trailing.

[4] Even though Republicans performed strongly in Vermont, winning the Presidential, Gubernatorial, and House elections, Leahy pulled ahead by a narrow margin.