1996 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

National Republicans were eager to unseat Sanders, and had placed him on a list of 10 incumbent Representatives they would most heavily target in the 1996 cycle.[2] The Republican nominee, state senator Susan Sweetser, was viewed as a rising star within the party and campaigned as a political moderate, though she was viewed as a conservative Republican.[2][3] Sweetser's gender was viewed as a potential advantage by University of Vermont political analyst Garrison Nelson, who felt that it would prevent Sanders from utilising his traditional aggressive campaign style.[4] There was also a prominent Democratic candidate in the form of Jack Long, former commissioner of the Vermont Environmental Conservation Department, who campaigned as a moderate between Sanders and Sweetser politically.[5] Long's campaign faced staunch opposition from national Democratic strategists, with Rob Engel, political director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, accusing him of being a spoiler candidate attempting to throw the election to Sweetser.[6]

Sweetser's campaign imploded after it was revealed that she had hired a private investigator to investigate Sanders' first marriage, which was largely viewed as unacceptable "dirty campaigning" by the electorate.[2]