Vermont Governor Phil Scott (R) will have a (good) chance to be sworn in for a third time come January. He will take on his own Lt. Governor – David Zuckerman (D) – in the general having won the Republican primary by a whopping 51 points. The Governor did very little campaigning during the primary – originally declaring he would not be politicking until the end of the state of emergency – but eventually, he virtually debated his Republican opponents. He was a popular head of state before the coronavirus breached the borders but his response has gained bipartisan recognition including praise from his two previous Democratic opponents who lost to the Governor by 9 points (2016) and 15 points (2018).
David Zuckerman (D) was first elected Lt. Governor in 2016 after serving nearly two decades in the state legislature. He is a Progressive supporting raising the hourly minimum wage to $15, free in-state college tuition, and universal healthcare. He also earned the endorsement of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders during the primary campaign. Zuckerman enjoyed name recognition in the Democratic primary, but it will be an uphill battle to defeat the well-liked, and better well-known, incumbent Governor.
Attorney General TJ Donovan (D) did not have a primary opponent and will have to wait a bit longer to see who he will up against in November. As of 10:00AM ET, perennial statewide candidate H. Brooke Paige (R) had a 1,082 vote lead over Emily Peyton (R) in the Republican primary.
Want to know more about the 2020 elections? Contact Meghan Holihan