2020 Vermont elections

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.

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.

Lieutenant governor

2020 Vermont lieutenant gubernatorial election

November 3, 2020

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

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

Eliminated in primary

• Tim Ashe, President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate (also ran in Progressive primary)
• Debbie Ingram, Chittenden County State Senator
• 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)

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

Eliminated in primary

• Dana Colson Jr.
• Meg Hansen, former executive director of Vermonters for Healthcare Freedom
• Jim Hogue, Vermont secession activist
• Dwayne Tucker, contractor and civil engineer

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
• 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

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	Margin of error	Molly Gray (D)	Scott Milne (R)	Other	Undecided
co/efficient/Scott Milne for Lt. Governor	October 19–29, 2020	584 (LV)	± 4.05%	43%	37%	7%	13%
Braun Research/VPR	September 3–15, 2020	582 (LV)	± 4%	35%	31%	34%	–

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

November 3, 2020

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

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

November 3, 2020

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

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

November 3, 2020

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

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

November 3, 2020

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

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:

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

Partisan clients

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