2020 Vermont elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Vermont on November 3, 2020. All of Vermont's executive officers were up for election, as well as Vermont's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on August 11, 2020.

2020 Vermont elections

← 2018 2022 →

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

The incumbent representative was Democrat Peter Welch.

Governor

Main article: 2020 Vermont gubernatorial election

The incumbent governor was Republican Phil Scott. He beat Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman in the general election.^[1]

Lieutenant governor

2020 Vermont lieutenant gubernatorial election

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 →

Nominee Molly Gray Scott Milne Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 182,820 157,065 Percentage 51.3% 44.1%

County results Municipality results Gray:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Milne:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Tie:      40–50%

Lieutenant Governor before election Dave Zuckerman Progressive/Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray Democratic

Incumbent Progressive/Democratic lieutenant governor Dave Zuckerman (since 2017) declined to run for a third term, and instead ran for governor.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Molly Gray, Vermont Assistant Attorney General^[2][3]

Eliminated in primary

• Tim Ashe, President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate (also ran in Progressive primary)^[2][4][5]
• Debbie Ingram, Chittenden County State Senator^[2][6][7]
• Brenda Siegel, candidate for governor in 2018, opioid epidemic and Brattleboro hurricane relief activist, southern Vermont nonprofit founder and executive director (also ran in Progressive primary)^[2][8]

Declined

• Shap Smith, former Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, candidate for lieutenant governor in 2016, attorney
• David Zuckerman, incumbent lieutenant governor (ran for governor)

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Molly Gray	47,636	46.0
	Democratic	Tim Ashe	35,954	34.7
	Democratic	Brenda Siegel	9,945	9.6
	Democratic	Debbie Ingram	9,466	9.1
	Write-in	Write-ins	568	0.5
Total votes			103,645	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Scott Milne, Republican nominee for governor in 2014, Republican nominee for US Senate in 2016, businessman^[2][9]

Eliminated in primary

• Dana Colson Jr.^[2][10][11]
• Meg Hansen, former executive director of Vermonters for Healthcare Freedom^[2][12]
• Jim Hogue, Vermont secession activist^[2][13]
• Dwayne Tucker, contractor and civil engineer^[14]

Declined

• Don H. Turner Jr., nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018, former minority leader of the Vermont House of Representatives

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott Milne	26,817	51.5
	Republican	Meg Hansen	16,875	32.4
	Republican	Dwayne Tucker	3,066	5.9
	Republican	Dana Colson	2,736	5.2
	Republican	Jim Hogue	1,944	3.7
	Write-in	Write-ins	680	1.3
Total votes			52,118	100.0

Progressive primary

Incumbent Progressive lieutenant governor David Zuckerman did not run for a third term.

Candidates

Declared

• Tim Ashe, President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate^[15]
• Cris Ericson, perennial candidate
• Brenda Siegel, candidate for governor in 2018, opioid epidemic and Brattleboro hurricane relief activist, southern Vermont nonprofit founder and executive director^[15]

Declined

• David Zuckerman, incumbent lieutenant governor (running for governor)

Results

Progressive primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive	Cris Ericson	438	57.5
	Write-in	Write-ins	324	42.5
Total votes			762	100.0

General election

Debate

2020 Vermont lieutenant gubernatorial debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Republican	Progressive	Independent	Stop the F35s
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Molly Gray	Scott Milne	Cris Ericson	Wayne Billado III	Ralph Corbo
1	Sep. 23, 2022	Town Meeting TV	Stephanie Lahar	YouTube	P	P	N	N	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Molly Gray (D)	Scott Milne (R)	Other	Undecided
co/efficient/Scott Milne for Lt. Governor[16][A]	October 19–29, 2020	584 (LV)	± 4.05%	43%	37%	7%	13%
Braun Research/VPR[17]	September 3–15, 2020	582 (LV)	± 4%	35%	31%	34%[b]	–

Results

2020 Vermont lieutenant gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Molly Gray	182,820	51.3
	Republican	Scott Milne	157,065	44.1
	Progressive	Cris Ericson	7,862	2.2
	Independent	Wayne Billado III	5,101	1.4
	Stop the F35s	Ralph Corbo	2,289	0.6
	Write-in	Write-ins	1,097	0.3
Total votes			356,234	100.0

Secretary of state

2020 Vermont secretary of state election

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 →

Nominee Jim Condos H. Brooke Paige Pamala Smith Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 214,666 99,564 21,210 Percentage 57.87 26.84 5.72

County results Municipality results Condos:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Paige:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Tie:      40–50%

Secretary of State before election Jim Condos Democratic Elected Secretary of State Jim Condos Democratic

The incumbent secretary of state was Democrat Jim Condos.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Jim Condos, incumbent secretary of state

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• H. Brooke Paige, perennial candidate.

State Treasurer

2020 Vermont state treasurer election

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 →

Nominee Beth Pearce Carolyn Whitney Branagan Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 197,255 114,177 Percentage 53.17 30.78

County results Municipality results Pearce:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Branagan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Tie:      40–50%

Treasurer before election Beth Pearce Democratic Elected Treasurer Beth Pearce Democratic

The incumbent treasurer was Democrat Beth Pearce.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Beth Pearce, incumbent treasurer

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Carolyn Whitney Branagan, former state representative to Franklin-1 (2003–2017) and former state senator to Franklin (2017–2019)

Attorney general

2020 Vermont Attorney General election

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 →

Nominee T. J. Donovan H. Brooke Paige Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 234,081 94,892 Percentage 63.10 25.58

County results Municipality results Donovan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Paige:      40–50%      50–60% Tie:      40–50%

Attorney General before election T. J. Donovan Democratic Elected Attorney General T. J. Donovan Democratic

The incumbent attorney general was Democrat T. J. Donovan.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• T.J. Donovan, incumbent attorney general

Republican primary

The Republican nominee was H. Brooke Paige.

Candidates

Declared

• H. Brooke Paige, perennial candidate
• Emily Peyton, candidate for governor in 2018

Progressive primary

Candidates

Declared

• Cris Ericson, perennial candidate, running for other statewide offices as well

State Auditor

2020 Vermont Auditor election

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 →

Nominee Doug Hoffer Cris Ericson Party Democratic Progressive Alliance Progressive Republican Marijuana Popular vote 266,445 48,731 Percentage 71.82 13.14

County results Municipality results Hoffer:      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90–100%

Auditor before election Doug Hoffer Democratic Elected Auditor Doug Hoffer Democratic

The incumbent auditor was Democrat/Progressive Doug Hoffer.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Doug Hoffer, incumbent auditor (also ran in Progressive primary)
• Linda Joy Sullivan, state representative

Republican primary

No candidates filed for the Republican primary. Doug Hoffer won the nomination via write-in.

Progressive primary

Incumbent Democratic/Progressive Auditor Doug Hoffer also ran in the Progressive primary. Perennial candidate Cris Ericson ran for the Progressive nomination for auditor, as well as several other statewide offices.

Candidates

Declared

• Cris Ericson, perennial candidate
• Doug Hoffer, incumbent auditor (also ran in Democratic primary)

General election

Candidates

• Cris Ericson (P*), perennial candidate
• Doug Hoffer (D/P*/R), incumbent auditor

Hoffer won the Democratic and Republican nominations. Ericson, who was not a member of the Progressive Party, won the primary election. However, the Progressive state committee endorsed Hoffer for reelection. He had previously been nominated by both the Democratic and Progressive Parties in elections from 2010 to 2018.

State legislature

All 30 seats in the Vermont Senate and all 150 seats of the Vermont House of Representatives were up for election. The balance of political power remained the same in each chamber, with Democrats having large majorities in both; however, Republicans made very small gains in both chambers. While those gains were small, they allowed Republicans to break the Democrat/Progressive supermajority in the state house. This could potentially lead to any veto from Governor Phil Scott being upheld under these new circumstances.

State senate Party # of seats before election # of seats after election Net change Democratic 22 21 1 Republican 6 7 1 Progressive 2 2 Independent 0 0

House of Representatives Party # of seats before election # of seats after election Net change Democratic 95 92 3 Republican 43 46 3 Progressive 7 7 Independent 5 5

County offices

Some county level offices were up for election. The balance of political power before and after the elections for each office was:^[18]

Addison County Office Name Party States Attorney Dennis Wygmans Democratic Assistant Judge Patricia Ross Democratic Jacqueline Mclean Democratic Probate Judge Eleanor Smith Democratic Sheriff Peter Dorey Newton Democratic High Bailiff Charles S. Clark Jr. Rep/Dem Bennington County Office Name Party States Attorney Erica Albin Marthage Democratic Assistant Judge James H. Colvin Democratic Wesley L. Mook Democratic Probate Judge D. Justine Scanlon Democratic Sheriff Chad D. Schmidt Dem/Rep High Bailiff Frederick C. Gilbar Democratic Caledonia County Office Name Party States Attorney Lisa A. Warren Dem/Rep Assistant Judge John S. Hall Rep/Dem Roy C. Vance Dem/Rep Probate Judge William W. Cobb Democratic Sheriff Dean Shatney Dem/Rep High Bailiff Stephen Bunnell Rep/Dem Chittenden County Office Name Party States Attorney Sarah F. George Democratic Assistant Judge Suzanne Brown Dem/Rep Connie Cain Ramsey Democratic Probate Judge Gregory J. Glennon Democratic Sheriff Kevin M. McLaughlin Dem/Rep High Bailiff Daniel L. Gamelin Dem/Prog/Rep Essex County Office Name Party States Attorney Vincent Illuzzi Prog/Rep/Dem/Lib Assistant Judge Calvin Colby Republican Allen D. Hodgdon Republican Probate Judge Republican Sheriff Trevor Colby Rep/Prog High Bailiff Vacant N/A Franklin County Office Name Party States Attorney James A. Hughes Democratic Assistant Judge Kelly Gosselin Democratic Robert Johnson Dem/Rep Probate Judge Vaughn Comeau Republican Sheriff Roger Langevin Democratic High Bailiff Roberta Allard Democratic Grand Isle County Office Name Party States Attorney Douglas Disabito Democratic Assistant Judge Sherri Potvin Democratic Joanne R. Batchelder Rep/Dem Probate Judge George Ned Spear Democratic Sheriff Ray C. Allen Dem/Prog/Rep High Bailiff Kevin G. Winch Independent Lamoille County Office Name Party States Attorney Todd A. Shove Democratic Assistant Judge Joel W. Page Democratic Madeline M. Motta Democratic Probate Judge James Dean R. Mahoney Independent Sheriff Roger M. Marcoux Jr. Dem/Rep High Bailiff Claude D. Ammons Jr. Democratic Orange County Office Name Party States Attorney William J. Porter Democratic Assistant Judge Joyce McKeeman Democratic Victoria Weiss Democratic Probate Judge Kathryn C. A. Kennedy Democratic Sheriff Bill Bohnyak Democratic High Bailiff George Contois Democratic Orleans County Office Name Party States Attorney Jennifer Barrett Dem/Rep Assistant Judge Benjamin Batchelder Dem/Rep Curtis A. Hardy Democratic Probate Judge Robert B. Chimileski Independent Sheriff Kirk J. Martin Republican High Bailiff Philip Brooks Republican Rutland County Office Name Party States Attorney Rose Kennedy Democratic Assistant Judge Jean H. Colourtti Dem/Rep David W. Lewis Dem/Rep Probate Judge Karl C. Anderson Republican Sheriff Stephen P. Benard Sr. Dem/Rep High Bailiff David Fox Democratic Washington County Office Name Party States Attorney Rory T. Thibault Democratic Assistant Judge Miriam Conlon Democratic Otto Kinzel Trautz Dem/Rep Probate Judge Jeffrey P. Kilgore Democratic Sheriff W. Samuel Hill Dem/Rep High Bailiff Marc Poulin Democratic Windham County Office Name Party States Attorney Tracy Kelly Shriver Democratic Assistant Judge Patricia W. Duff Democratic Lamont Barnett Democratic Probate Judge Jodi P. French Democratic Sheriff Keith D. Clark Democratic High Bailiff Mark Anderson Democratic Windsor County Office Name Party States Attorney David Cahill Democratic Assistant Judge Jack W. Anderson Democratic Eleen Terie Democratic Probate Judge Frederick M. Glover Democratic Sheriff Michael Chamberlain Democratic High Bailiff Michael E. Manley Democratic

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. "Other/not sure/no opinion" with 24%; Ericson (Progressive) and "No one/not voting on this item" with 4%; Billado (I) with 2%; Cordo (Banish the F35s) with 0%

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by Milne's campaign in the 2020 Vermont lieutenant gubernatorial election

References

1. Heintz, Paul. "Scott's Victory Lap: Gov Wins Third Term, Gray Elected LG, Speaker Johnson Falls Short". Seven Days.
2. "General Election Candidates". sos.vermont.gov. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
3. Flanders, Colin. "Molly Gray Announces Bid to Become Lieutenant Governor of Vermont". Seven Days. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
4. Landen, Xander; Norton, Kit (January 8, 2020). "Senate leader Tim Ashe to run for open lieutenant governor post". VTDigger. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
5. "Tim Ashe officially announces run for lieutenant governor seat". WPTZ. January 14, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
6. Norton, Kit (January 15, 2020). "Sen. Debbie Ingram enters race for lieutenant governor". VTDigger. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
7. Bradley, Pat (February 20, 2020). "Two-Term Vermont State Senator Discusses Her Campaign For Lieutenant Governor". www.wamc.org. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
8. WCAX. "Brenda Siegel officially running for Vermont lieutenant governor". www.wcax.com. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
9. Hewitt, Elizabeth (May 28, 2020). "Milne joins race for lieutenant governor". VTDigger. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
10. Elletson, Grace (January 6, 2020). "'Agri-publican' candidates look to broaden appeal of Republican ticket". VTDigger. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
11. Cutler, Calvin. "'Agripublicans' announce candidacies for Vermont offices". www.wcax.com. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
12. French, Ellie (December 17, 2019). "Republican Meg Hansen enters race for lieutenant governor". VTDigger. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
13. 2ndvtrepublic (May 13, 2017). "Secede – From What? US of Empire and Plan 'V" for a 2VR (INDY RADIO)". Vermont Independent. Retrieved June 21, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
14. "Republican Lieutenant Governor Primary Race 2020: Dwayne Tucker". August 5, 2020.
15. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Progressive Party State Committee Meeting". YouTube.
16. co/efficient/Scott Milne for Lt. Governor
17. Braun Research/VPR
18. "VT Elections Database » Vermont Election Statistics". Archived from the original on August 17, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

External links

• Candidates at Vote Smart
• Candidates at Ballotpedia
• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Vermont", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Vermont: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of Vermont". (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• "State Elections Legislation Database", Ncsl.org, Washington, D.C.: National Conference of State Legislatures, State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020
• Results at The Indianapolis Star