2022 Vermont Attorney General election

The 2022 Vermont Attorney General election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next attorney general of Vermont. Former Democratic Attorney General T.J. Donovan resigned after three terms in office.^[1][2][3] Susanne Young, appointed by Governor Phil Scott to fill the vacancy left by Donovan, was not running for a full term, and Vermont Republicans nominated Mike Tagliavia to run against Charity Clark, the Democratic candidate.

2022 Vermont Attorney General election

← 2020 November 8, 2022 2024 →

Nominee Charity Clark Mike Tagliavia Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 179,098 95,661 Percentage 65.07% 34.76%

County results Municipality results Precinct results [citation needed] Clark:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tagliavia:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      No votes

Attorney General before election Susanne Young Republican Elected Attorney General Charity Clark Democratic

Republican primary

Candidates

Withdrew after winning primary

• H. Brooke Paige, newsstand owner and perennial candidate^[4][5]

Replacement nominee

• Mike Tagliavia, retired businessman^[5][6]

Declined

• Christina Nolan, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont (ran for U.S. Senate)^[5]
• Susanne Young, incumbent attorney general^[7]

Results

Republican primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	H. Brooke Paige	20,668	95.7%
	Write-in		919	4.3%
Total votes			21,587	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Charity Clark, former chief of staff to former Attorney General T.J. Donovan^{[9][1][10][11]}

Eliminated in primary

• Rory Thibault, Washington County State's Attorney^[9]

Declined

• T.J. Donovan, former attorney general^[1][2][3]
• Sarah George, Chittenden County State's Attorney (ran for re-election)^[1]
• Shap Smith, former Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2016^[1]

Results

Democratic primary results^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charity Clark	58,589	67.1%
	Democratic	Rory Thibault	28,383	32.5%
	Write-in		376	0.4%
Total votes			87,348	100.0%

Progressive primary

Candidates

Withdrew after winning primary

• Elijah Bergman, attorney^[13][4][14]

Results

Progressive primary results^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive	Elijah Bergman	477	92.6%
	Write-in		38	7.4%
Total votes			515	100.0%

General election

Clark was considered to be nearly certain to win, and the race was called for her as soon as polls closed. Upon her swearing-in, she became Vermont's first elected female Attorney General.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[16]	Safe D (flip)	September 14, 2022
Elections Daily[17]	Safe D (flip)	November 1, 2022

Results

Republican primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charity Clark	179,098	65.1%
	Republican	Mike Tagliavia	95,661	34.8%
	Write-in		467	0.2%
Total votes			275,226	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican

See also

• Vermont Attorney General

References

1. "TJ Donovan won't seek reelection as Vermont attorney general". May 5, 2022.
2. Elder-Connors, Liam (May 5, 2022). "Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan won't seek reelection". vermontpublic.org.
3. "Attorney General T.J. Donovan will not seek reelection | Vermont Business Magazine".
4. "Buckle up: Vermont's Robust August Primary Contests Take Shape".
5. "Vermont GOP set to nominate candidates for auditor, attorney general; still searching for treasurer". August 22, 2022.
6. "In the race for Vermont's attorney general, only one candidate is an attorney". November 4, 2022.
7. Mearhoff, Sarah; Keays, Alan J.; Weinstein, Ethan (June 22, 2022). "Phil Scott appoints former Administration Secretary Susanne Young to complete attorney general's term". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
8. "2022 Attorney General Republican Primary". Retrieved July 3, 2023.
9. "2022 Vermont campaign announcements". May 6, 2022.
10. "Vermont Attorney General's Chief of Staff steps down". May 9, 2022.
11. "Charity Clark announces run for Vermont attorney general". May 16, 2022.
12. "2022 Attorney General Democratic Primary". Retrieved July 3, 2023.
13. "Politics1 - Online Guide to Vermont Politics".
14. "General Election Candidates". Vermont Secretary of State.
15. "2022 Attorney General Progressive Primary". Retrieved July 3, 2023.
16. "The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape". Sabato's Crystal Ball. September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
17. Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Charity Clark (D) for Attorney General
• Mike Tagliavia (R) for Attorney General