Sanders to run as a Democrat -- but not accept nomination (2018 Senate)

[karynnj]

583. What is an unauthorized candidate - was she on the ballot?

Not to mention this article, written during the 2016 primaries, is inaccurate. Bernie was against the first Gulf War and voted against it in early 1991 when he became a Congressman. Not to mention, Madeline Kunin, is a strong liberal and has for decades worked to get women into politics. The fact that Kunin did not endorse her (or Bernie) and the fact that even with the Democratic party line, Bernie got 56% of the vote to her 3% suggests that Bernie was by far the stronger candidate.

Bernie had been an excellent mayor of Burlington, the biggest town in the state and a left/progressive/Democratic stronghold. She was also from Burlington, but was far less known and did not have the experience that Sanders did in government. It may be that as Burlington was BERNIE"S base, it left her without a natural base.

The NYT explains the difference from the 1988 election:

Mr. Sanders's contest with Mr. Smith was remarkably similar to the 1988 Congressional race, with one important exception. In that race, a Democratic candidate, Paul Poirier, won a large chunk of votes that might otherwise have gone to Mr. Sanders.

In this election, Dolores Sandoval, the Democratic candidate, was not supported by any of the state's major Democratic figures, including the Governor, Madeleine Kunin, and she did not make a dent in Mr. Sanders's tally.
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/07/us/the-1990-elections-the-message-vermont-socialist-ex-mayor-elected-to-house.html

Looking up Poirier's bio ( https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/single/2018/14683 ), before 1990, he had been a member of teh VT House and had chaired some important committees and had been the majority leader. Unlike Sandoval, he had strong political ties to the Democratic party.