Vermont election updates: Scott, Rodgers and legislative candidates give strong showing

Tuesday was a historic night for Vermont Republicans, according to unofficial results compiled by the Vermont Secretary of State.

The GOP picked up 18 seats in the House and six seats in the Senate — a bigger net gain than by any party in Vermont in at least three decades.

Democrats and Progressives will retain a majority in both chambers, but will no longer hold a veto-proof supermajority.

A Vermont Public analysis of election data shows where those Republican wins came from, and how substantial they were.

Maps are below; find the full list here.

Senate

House of Representatives

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At 4 p.m. ET, Vice President Kamala Harris will give public remarks at Howard University after losing the election to former President Donald Trump. Watch the speech live via NPR.

Gov. Phil Scott won every town in Vermont, from the most conservative areas to the most liberal, according to unofficial results.

The same was true in 2022, when Scott easily defeated Democratic challenger Brenda Siegel.

More Vermonters voted for Donald Trump in 2024 than in the previous two elections he ran in, according to unofficial election results from the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office.

While Vice President Kamala Harris easily won the Green Mountain State’s three electoral votes Tuesday night, the data shows that Trump’s appeal increased each year that he was on the ballot in Vermont.

There were 6,645 more ballots cast for Trump this year, compared to the 2020 election. And this year, the Democratic candidate, Harris, received 7,131 fewer votes than President Joe Biden did in 2020.

The parts of the state supporting Trump have remained steady, with notable concentrations along the state's northern border and in Rutland County. Trump won nearly all the towns in Essex County, the state’s least populous region. East Haven went for Harris, while in Lemington there was a tie as both Trump and Harris got 25 votes.

Bristol Republican Steven Heffernan unseated longtime incumbent Democrat Sen. Chris Bray in their race in Addison County — a rebuke against longtime influential legislator who was the architect of some of Vermont’s most significant environmental policies, including the Affordable Heat Act.

The victory for Heffernan — a business owner and relative political newcomer — is part of a wider wave of Republican victories against Democratic incumbents this election, which will dislodge the veto-proof Democratic supermajority in the Legislature.

“I feel very good about that,” Heffernan said on the phone Wednesday morning, while picking up campaign signs. “I think supermajorities, whether it's Democratic or Republican, have shown that — it doesn't fare well. We need to always need balance. So I think we have some balance back.”

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Vermont Public

Bray’s seat was one of two up for grabs in the Addison County Senate district, which also includes Buels Gore, Huntington and Rochester. Heffernan scored a second place finish in the four-way race, beating Bray by over 600 votes, according to unofficial results from the Associated Press Wednesday morning.

Incumbent Sen. Ruth Hardy, a Middlebury Democrat, will keep her seat after eking out the top spot for her district and fending off Huntington Republican Landel James Cochran. Cochran and Heffernan were both endorsed by Republican Gov. Phil Scott.

Heffernan is a former member of the Vermont National Guard and co-owns three family businesses in Bristol and New Haven. Like other Republican challengers this election, he centered his campaign on affordability, criticizing Vermont’s rising property tax rates and the clean heat standard his opponent championed.

That policy — designed to reduce Vermont’s emissions from heating — has brought in thousands this election from out-of-state donors on both sides.

On Wednesday, Heffernan said he thinks that issue and higher property taxes brought voters out for him this election. Bray — who chairs the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy — could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday morning.

David Glidden is chair of the Vermont Democratic Party. He said he thinks voters were trying to send a message about their “economic anxieties.”

“We heard it on the doors at times that Vermonters are really concerned about property taxes and affordability, and Republicans had really strong, easy answers on those, even when they weren't necessarily things they could actually build into policy,” Glidden said Wednesday. “But it's still an incredible talking point, and very powerful.”

That message resonated with voters in Addison County, like Sue Brown, 62, of New Haven. At the polls Tuesday, Brown said she’s voted for the incumbent candidates in the Legislature before. But with the recent tax hikes statewide, she says it’s time for a change.

“There’s a big shakeup, and I’m hoping it happens tonight, that none of those guys go back,” she said.

Glidden, with Vermont Democrats, also pointed to Heffernan’s well-financed campaign, which brought in more than $50,000 in contributions this election, according to campaign disclosures filed with the state in November. Among his donors were Gov. Scott, heating suppliers and contractors, the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association, and a handful of Chittenden County property developers and managers.

Bray’s latest disclosure report declares over $42,000 in total contributions. His donors included the union representing educators in Vermont, the Vermont Renewable Energy Political Action Committee and Neale Lunderville, president and CEO of Vermont Gas.

Howard Weiss-Tisman

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Vermont Public

Springfield residents voted Tuesday to lift a recent municipal ordinance that bans shooting guns — and therefore much hunting — at the town’s 85-acre Hartness Park.

Voters were split on the issue — the measure passed by a margin of roughly 100 votes.

The select board banned shooting a gun in the park in August, after concerns were raised about the area being close to homes.

A citizen petition put the ban on the ballot for the general election.

Most voters Vermont Public encountered Tuesday at Riverside Middle School voted to lift the ban.

Stuart Beam signed the petition to put the issue on the ballot, and says he was one of those who voted in favor of allowing guns at Hartness Park, because he’s a hunter, as are many of his community members.

“There’s a lot of hunters in this town. Vermont is full of hunters — that’s all we’ve ever done, basically … all my neighbors are hunters,” he said.

Jennifer Carr lives in Springfield too, and said she walks at the park, and voted against lifting the ban.

“People walk through that park. It’s near homes, and there are other places to hunt,” she said.

Voters in St. Albans City approved two major bonds Tuesday — one for a new stormwater project and one for a new vacuum truck.

The municipality wants to construct a new “gravel wetland” to store stormwater runoff during heavy rain events, to make sure as much as possible gets treated or percolates into groundwater before it runs into local streams and the lake.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state have required the city take steps to reduce how much phosphorous and other nutrients run off its streets and into local waterways.

The $500,000 bond will have no impact on water bills for the year, since the city has already budgeted for the expenditure as part of the stormwater fees residents are paying now.

Voters also approved a $750,000 bond for a new vacuum truck, though the vote was closer. The vehicle helps with sewer and water pipe repairs and will replace a truck that Director of Planning and Development Chip Sawyer says is at the end of its useful life.

Wastewater, water and stormwater fees will pay for the investment.

“I think for a typical user, it’s going to be less than a few dollars a year,” Sawyer said. “It’s going to be a drop in the bucket, pun intended.”

John Rodgers, a Democrat-turned-Republican, appears to have narrowly won an upset victory on Tuesday to unseat incumbent Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive/Democrat.

The Associated Press has not officially called the race, but with all towns reporting, Rodgers holds a 6,000 vote lead over incumbent David Zuckerman, a Progressive/Democrat.

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Vermont Public

Rodgers is poised to become the first Republican to hold the office since 2016. No incumbent lieutenant governor has lost a reelection bid since T. Garry Buckley in 1978.

Because neither candidate appears to have secured 50% of the vote, it's likely the Legislature will get to decide the winner.

Speaking to a reporter around 11:30 p.m., Rodgers felt confident — but not quite ready to declare victory.

“It's just a wonderful feeling to have traveled around the state and talked with so many people in such a short period of time, and gained that much confidence from Vermonters,” he said.

While the lieutenant governor’s office is largely ceremonial, the race was the most competitive statewide contest this year — and a high-profile referendum on who should speak for Vermont’s working class.

Both candidates are farmers (Zuckerman grows organic vegetables in Hinesburg; Rodgers weed and hemp in West Glover), and both served for years in the state Legislature. But the two drew sharp contrasts on the topic of affordability and taxes.

Rodgers, a stonemason and farmer from the Northeast Kingdom, leaned heavily on his multi-generational Vermont roots, and seized on anger about rising property taxes as well as fear over the potential costs of Vermont’s energy transition. A former Democrat, Rodgers argued the party had turned its back on working-class Vermonters, and aligned himself with Vermont’s deeply popular Republican governor, Phil Scott, who endorsed him and campaigned aggressively for him and other down-ballot GOP candidates.

“I’m running for governor to make Vermont more affordable, but I can’t do it alone,” Scott said in a TV spot standing alongside Rodgers.

Rodgers repeatedly brought up Zuckerman’s privileged upbringing, and sought to paint him as a gentleman farmer. Zuckerman in turn pointed to Rodgers’ heavy backing from wealthy conservative donors, and suggested that these were the interests he would serve.

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Vermont Public

“Our challenger is funded by rich Republican millionaires. In just one day he received 24 $1,000 checks! I’ve never seen that before!” Zuckerman wrote to supporters in one fundraising email.

Speaking to reporters at the Democrats’ election night party at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Zuckerman did not concede, but acknowledged there was a “decent chance,” he would lose.

“I think his messaging really appealed to the sort of fear and frustration that people have,” Zuckerman said of his opponent, although he added that he did not think Rodgers offered much in the way of “significant” solutions.

While Rodgers out-spent Zuckerman, both candidates raised significant funds. Rodgers spent over $253,000, and Zuckerman over $190,000, according to campaign finance filings submitted to the Vermont Secretary of State.

Although he was — until this year — a lifelong Democrat, Rodgers never quite fit in with this caucus.

"He sometimes votes with us, he sometimes doesn't, and sometimes we don't know until we get on the floor," then-state Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint told Seven Days in 2018.

A lawmaker with a strong libertarian streak, Rodgers backed same-sex marriage, cannabis legalization and, perhaps most fervently, gun rights. When Scott signed a historic gun reform package into law in 2018, Rodgers even launched a write-in campaign for governor in protest.

Rodgers served eight years in the Vermont House and eight years in the Senate. He lost his Senate seat in 2020 after missing a filing deadline during the primaries.

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AP

Former President Donald Trump has been elected president again, according to a race call by the Associated Press.

It’s a stunning return to power after the former president falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged and stoked the Jan. 6 attack on the capital. He is the first convicted felon to win the White House.

Read more from NPR's Franco Ordoñez.

Zoe McDonald

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Vermont Public

Republicans Tuesday picked up more seats in the Vermont Legislature than they have in more than a decade and dislodged the Democratic/Progressive supermajority that Gov. Phil Scott blames for a “crisis of affordability.”

Republicans’ best hope to undo Democrats’ veto-proof majority was in the Senate, where a well-funded roster of capable candidates provided opportunities for pickups in Caledonia County, Orleans County, Grand Isle County and even deep-blue Chittenden.

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Vermont Public

They notched victories in all those races, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s office, and were in position late Tuesday to pick up surprise wins in Addison and Orange counties as well.

That means Republicans will have at least 11 members in the state Senate next year - more than they’ve had since 2002 and enough to prevent Democrats from unilaterally overriding whatever vetoes Republican Gov. Phil Scott may issue.

Republican officials said late Tuesday that they believed the party would gain 17 seats in the House of Representatives, which would erase Democrats’ veto-proof majority in that chamber as well.

In an election night victory speech, Scott said the red wave, powered largely by voter disaffection over rising property taxes, will force Democrats to a bargaining table that they’ve been able to leave without consequence for the last four years.

"They voted for balance, and they voted for moderation,” Scott said. “They told us they can’t afford the direction we’ve been going, and they want lawmakers to set clear priorities. Focus on the needs of all working families, small business owners in communities large and small.”

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth attended a somber election night event held by the Vermont Democratic Party in South Burlington. He said in an interview that his party will need to reckon with the results.

“You listen to the voters. There’s a clear result tonight that was not in our favor, so we need to listen to that. We can’t walk away as though that didn’t happen,” Baruth said. “For me the key is the reality that the voters were dissatisfied. I think the tax issue was a big part of it, and the education finance piece, so we will need to sit down with the new Republican caucus and work on education finance together.”

Scott’s influence

Scott, who regularly polls as the most popular governor in the United States, faced little in the way of a reelection challenge this year. But he’s been campaigning long and hard for a return to partisan balance in a Democratically controlled Legislature that’s used its numbers to enact policies that Scott opposes. Those policies include a payroll tax to fund child care subsidies, and energy policies that attempt to speed the state’s transition away from fossil fuels.

Scott tried to focus voters’ attention on the alleged dangers of the Democratic supermajority in his State of the State Address in January.

“I know you have a supermajority,” Scott told lawmakers. “You’ve proven the final budget, and the growing burden of taxes, fees and other policy-driven costs, is in your hands.”

Since then, he’s used some of his weekly media briefings to convince the voting public that his worst fears have materialized. In May, he expressed deep fears as lawmakers prepared to go forth over his objections with bills related to property taxes and the renewable energy standard.

“Unfortunately, due to a lack of balance in the Legislature, [Democrats] don’t want to hear about the consequences, limitations or barriers when it comes to their initiatives,” Scott said in May.

After Democrats shattered a state record by overriding six gubernatorial vetoes in a single day in June, Scott’s rhetoric darkened.

“It seems as though they’re learning well from D.C.,” Scott said. “D.C. is dysfunctional. It’s all about partisan politics, and it’s all about leverage and who gets what and making sure that you have the majority. And they've learned well. It's turning into the same thing here in Vermont.”

That messaging resonated with many voters Tuesday. Diane Bapp lives in Barton Town and arrived at her polling station in Lake Region Union High School with her ballot in hand. Asked what brought her out to vote, she had a one-word answer.

“Taxes,” Bapp said.

The 68-year-old, who’s lived in Barton Town her entire life, said she’s worried young families will leave the area due to the high cost of living.

“I feel sorry for the other generation coming in, because it’s going to be hell for them,” Bapp said.

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Vermont Public

And she said her vote for Republican Orleans County Senate candidate Samuel Douglass was her attempt to help fix the problem.

“He’s going to bring things down,” she said.

Democratic House speaker defends record

House Speaker Jill Krowinski told Vermont Public last week that the supermajority isn’t the bogeyman Scott has portrayed it as.

“I think what Vermonters want to see are us working together across party lines to get things done,” she said.

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Vermont Public

She said members of the House have heard the same concerns from their constituents as the governor has: affordable housing, property taxes, health care and flood recovery. She said addressing the issue of property taxes, which went up by an average of 14% this year, will require a new kind of collaboration between the legislative and executive branches.

“I think leading up to this legislative session, the time between the election and when we come back in the building, it’s going to be really important for us to communicate early about how we can work together to solve these big challenges ahead of us,” she said. “We just have to. There’s too much at stake. We have to take action this session, and we’re going to have to do it together.”

Krowinski also defended Democratic policies that have had the effect of increasing tax obligations in Vermont. The payroll tax that Scott has railed so hard against, Krowinski said, has resulted in 1,000 new child care slots, 39 new child care centers and more than 250 new jobs in the sector.

“I hear about that when I knock on doors and people deeply appreciate it and talk about how it’s made a difference in their lives,” she said. “I think there’s a misconception across the state about the work that we have done, and some of that comes from the governor.”

Bankrolled by the governor

Scott dipped deep into his own campaign war chest this cycle to try to offset the institutional advantage that Democrats have had over Republicans for more than a decade.

The Vermont Democratic Party’s fundraising prowess has built an organizational framework that employs five full-time staff who engage in behind-the-scenes efforts – such as candidate recruitment, field organizing and targeted voter outreach – that are pivotal in down-ballot races for House and Senate.

Jim Dandeneau, executive director of the VDP, said the party’s budget for this year alone is about $700,000. Democrats have also gotten a lift from super PACs such as the Child Care Victory Fund and the Vermont Conservation Voters Action Fund, the latter of which spent nearly $200,000 to support down-ballot candidates in the last month alone.

The Vermont Republican Party’s state committee, meanwhile, had raised a grand total of $164,000 for this election cycle as of Nov. 1.

Scott used more than $450,000 from his own campaign account to support dozens of candidates, appearing alongside them in postcards and radio ads that he helped bankroll.

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Sophie Stephens

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Vermont Public

Incumbent Democrat Mike Pieciak will serve a second two-year term as Vermont state treasurer.

The Associated Press called the race at 11:30 p.m., when Pieciak had earned about 61% of the vote to Republican candidate Joshua Bechhoefer’s 40%.

In a speech Tuesday night, Pieciak cited the challenges Vermonters face — housing, health care access, climate change, affordability — and also said he was optimistic about the future.

“We can grow our economy, we can provide for our neighbors, and we can make life more affordable in Vermont,” he said. “We as Democrats know that what we cannot afford is a lack of vision for the future and inaction in the face of these growing challenges.”

Pieciak, who lives in Winooski, told Vermont Public in an interview last month that during his first term, his office invested a percentage of state cash-on-hand in housing, including providing low-interest loans to developers.

He said there’s between $30 million and $35 million left to invest, and that he wants to prioritize senior housing during his next term.

Prior to serving as state treasurer, Pieciak served six years as the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation.

Two of the contested state Senate seats where Republican Gov. Phil Scott focused his efforts have flipped, according to the Associated Press.

Republican Chris Mattos has defeated incumbent Democratic state Sen. Irene Wrenner in the Chittenden-North district.

Republican Pat Brennan ousted incumbent Democratic state Sen. Andy Julow in the Grand Isle district.

And in Orleans County, Democrat Katherine Sims conceded to Republican Samuel Douglass. The seat is being vacated by retiring Democrat Bobby Starr. The race had not yet been called by the Associated Press as of 11 p.m.

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Vermont Public File

The Associated Press has called the Vermont state auditor’s race for Democrat Doug Hoffer. The six-term incumbent has said this upcoming two-year term will be his last.

The auditor’s duties include inspecting the state of Vermont’s financial statements and ensuring compliance with federal laws and rules.

Hoffer has used the post to scrutinize disaster preparedness, COVID-era business aid programs, pricing transparency in Vermont hospitals, and the state’s role in the massive EB-5 fraud in the Northeast Kingdom.

Hoffer told Vermont Public last month that those sorts of “performance audits” are the reason he was drawn to the job.

Hoffer’s Republican opponent, H. Brooke Paige, told Vermont Public last month that he was unqualified for the position and said that, if elected, he’d resign the office so that Republican Gov. Phil Scott could appoint a replacement.

Colchester voters on Tuesday approved a $115 million bond for major upgrades across the district’s five schools.

The measure passed by fewer than 100 votes, earning the support of just over half of voters, according to unofficial results.

The 30-year bond will finance complete renovations and expansions at the Porters Point, Union Memorial and Colchester Middle schools, along with updates at Colchester High School and the Mallets Bay School.

The district says, on average, the bond will add $5.9 million to its annual operational spending budget.

Colchester’s district spends less than the state average per pupil each year. For a $350,000 home, the bond would increase property taxes by roughly $43 per year in 2027, maxing out at $733 per year in 2032 and declining after that.

Construction is set to happen in three phases, starting in 2026 and ending in 2030.

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Vermont Public

Democratic Attorney General Charity Clark, the first woman to serve as Vermont’s top law-enforcement official, has coasted to victory in her first reelection campaign.

The Associated Press called the race at 10:07 p.m.

Clark spoke of the presidential election in a speech at a Democratic event Tuesday night.

"For months, my office has been meeting with other state attorneys general. We have been devising plans," Clark said. "In case the worst happens tonight, I want to reassure you, I have your back, Vermont. I am going to make sure that our values are reflected on the national level. And if Donald Trump does anything in his second term — should he be given one tonight — that is unjust, immoral or illegal, I will make sure that we do everything possible to protect Vermont and keep that from happening."

Clark defeated Republican Ture Nelson, who said he’d use the attorney general’s office to help state’s attorneys prosecute more property crimes, and Green Mountain Peace and Justice candidate Kevin Gustafson, who said he’d bring a sharper focus to consumer protection.

Clark told Vermont Public last month that “holding big corporations accountable” will be a major priority during her second term in office.

Last October, Clark filed suit against Instagram’s parent company, Meta, alleging the social media giant violated Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act in ways that have caused young people “to use the platform excessively and impulsively.”

“I have an eye towards Vermont's children,” Clark said in an interview on Vermont Edition last month. “And that means holding, you know, big tech and big tobacco, and in some ways, you know, big chemical accountable for bad acts here in Vermont.”

Hartford voters today approved a $4.1 million bond to stabilize key retaining walls near downtown White River Junction.

Town officials say the project could allow them to reopen a section of Gates Street to car traffic, after a multi-year closure.

The area has been closed over concerns about possible landslides.

The measure earned the support of about 61% of voters.

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Vermont Public

In Rutland City, Republican Chris Keyser beat Democratic incumbent William Notte for a seat in the House of Representatives, according to the Associated Press.

"It was all about the affordability and economy and the basic sense that there needed to be a break on the spend that was going on in the state of Vermont," Keyser said.

Keyser says he’s looking forward to being part of the effort to balance what is now a supermajority of Democrats in Montpelier.

“So now there may be some reasonableness and some compromise to the table," Keyser said. "And I’ll be part of that. I like to compromise. There’s other ways to do things.”

Keyser, 71, has not previously held political office but says his family’s name and his long time community service in Rutland helped him in the race. Keyser’s father, F. Ray Keyser was a former speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives and former governor of Vermont, and his grandfather was a state supreme court justice.

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Vermont Public

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Vermont Public

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat, easily beat Republican Mark Coester to win a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Associated Press called the race about two hours after the polls closed.

Balint’s first election in 2022 was the first time that Vermont voters ever sent a woman and an openly gay person to represent them in Congress. Previously Balint represented Windham County in the Vermont Senate and served as Senate president pro tem, and before getting into politics she was a middle school teacher.

Coester, who lives in Westminster, is a small-business owner with a background in fishing, logging, and sugaring.

Coester, a political newcomer, and Balint disagreed on nearly every issue, ranging from the existence of climate change to the role of the federal government in addressing health care costs and housing shortages.

Voters in Shelburne on Tuesday approved a $38 million bond to update the town’s wastewater treatment system. The measure earned the support of about 72% of voters.

The town clerk’s office says these preliminary results are unofficial, but the outcome was clear as of roughly 8:30 p.m. Tuesday evening.

The ballot item consolidates all of Shelburne’s wastewater treatment at the town’s Crown Road facility. Right now, treatment happens at two facilities, and town officials say the municipality’s other plant is older and more out of date, and that both sites need upgrades to prevent costly failures down the line.

State and federal grants were expected to cover 25-35% of the project’s total cost, the town said. Residents will pay for the project on their sewer bills, and town officials estimate the project would yield rate increases of less than 4% year over year.

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Vermont Public File

Burlington voters approved a charter change Tuesday that grants more power to the city’s police commission. The proposed change has to be authorized by the Vermont Legislature before it can take effect.

The measure earned the support of some 62% of Burlington voters.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak called the charter change a move in the right direction and thanked voters and city council members for supporting it.

“This work is critical as we continue to find ways to heed the calls for racial justice and fair and impartial policing practices and work on rebuilding a police department that reflects Burlington’s values,” she said.

This marks the third effort since 2020 to codify more citizen oversight of Burlington’s police department in the city’s charter.

If approved by lawmakers, the proposal will allow the police commission to create a new independent panel to review incidents of officer misconduct. The change would also give the now largely advisory commission a bigger role in governing the police department.

The charter change also includes a provision that the police commission, as much as possible, be made up of members who represent the full diversity of the city.

Keir Schofield is a Burlington resident who voted in favor of the charter change.

“I do think it’s important to have somebody watching the watchers, right?,” he said, outside a polling place in the city’s Old North End Tuesday morning. “I don’t think it’s that out of the blue or that strange to have somebody keeping watch over misconduct that may occur, or making sure that people are doing what they’re supposed to in their jobs.”

Fellow Ward 3 resident Sumner Ford said he voted against the charter change.

Ford said while he doesn’t have blind faith in the police, he does have some concerns about the oversight measure.

“I think that I trust the police to do a good job with what they’re trained to do, and I think citizen oversight is something that could be detrimental to their ability to do work,” he said.

The charter change drew bipartisan support from members of Burlington’s City Council, but pushback from Police Chief Jon Murad, who has argued it could make recruiting police officers more challenging.

Queen City voters also approved a $20 million bond to support grid investments that Burlington Electric Department say will make electricity there more reliable and support things like more electric vehicle charging, as well as adding new electric vehicles to the city’s municipal fleet.

The funds will be paid through electric rates and will not affect property taxes for residents.

The measure passed with the support of 79% of voters.

Gov. Phil Scott cruised to a fifth term in office on Tuesday. The race was called for him by the Associated Press at 7:33 p.m.

Scott’s victory was widely considered a foregone conclusion. The moderate Republican frequently polls as one of the country’s most popular governors, and he faced a relatively unknown challenger in Esther Charlestin, a former Middlebury Select Board member and equity and diversity consultant.

More established Democrats sat out the race, as they have every cycle since 2020. Former Gov. Howard Dean publicly flirted with a run earlier this year but ultimately backed out, and later endorsed Charlestin.

Scott spent barely any time or money campaigning for himself — although he did spend more time on the trail than he has in years. His energy and cash, though, went to down-ballot Republican candidates, particularly for the Vermont Senate, where he saw his best hope to put a dent in Democratic supermajorities in the state legislature.

School property taxes on average rose by double digits this year, and Scott sought to harness anger about the cost of living in Vermont to reinvigorate the state’s Republican party and bring him backup in Montpelier.

Scott has issued more vetoes than any other governor in Vermont history, and his relationship with Democrats has grown only more frayed over the years. His message to voters this year was simple: because Democrats and Progressives had the votes to override him in the Legislature, they did, and this was the reason for Vermont’s pocketbook woes.

An anti-Trump Republican, Scott has, in recent years, grown increasingly estranged from the Vermont GOP, which has become simultaneously more extreme and less influential. In 2020, Scott even voted for Joe Biden for president, and this year, he announced on Election Day that he had voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I did some soul searching and thought about a lot of different things — what would benefit Vermont, what I needed to do myself — and came to the conclusion that I had to put country over party, and do the same thing that I did four years ago when I voted for Joe Biden, and vote for Kamala Harris,” Scott said.

In 2022, when the Republican Party sent fewer House lawmakers to Montpelier than ever before, the party and Scott — its standard bearer — even held separate election night events. But this cycle brought a rapprochement as Scott took a more active role in candidate recruitment and campaigning. And this year, the party held no election night event of its own.

Scott, a former contractor, first entered politics in 2000, when he won a seat in the state Senate in Washington County. Ten years later, he ran and won a race for lieutenant governor, a largely ceremonial but high-profile post. He has been governor since 2017.

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent beloved by progressives, won reelection Tuesday to a fourth six-year term in the U.S. Senate.

Sanders defeated Republican Gerald Malloy, a U.S. Army veteran and businessman. Also on the ballot were independent candidate Steve Berry, as well as minor party candidates Mark Stewart Greenstein, Matt Hill and Justin Schoville.

The 83-year-old senator is a self-described democratic socialist who caucuses with the Democrats and twice came close to winning the presidential nomination. More recently, he has worked closely with the Biden administration to craft its domestic policy goals on health care, education, child care and workers' rights. He is the longest serving independent in Congress.

Sanders said he ran again because the country faces some of its toughest and most serious challenges of the modern era. He described those as threats to its democratic foundations, massive levels of income and wealth inequality, climate change, and challenges to women's ability to control their own bodies.

"I just did not feel with my seniority and with my experience that I could walk away from Vermont, representing Vermont, at this difficult moment in American history," he said during a recent WCAX-TV debate.

Malloy, 62, who served 22 years in the Army and was a defense contractor for 16 years, said he thought Sanders was going to retire — and thinks he should — after 34 years in Congress. Malloy said Sanders is not delivering results.

"I have 40 years of very relative experience: business, government, military, foreign policy," Malloy said during the debate.
Malloy, a graduate of West Point who has a master's in business administration, had said he would work to create high-paying jobs in Vermont, promote business and innovation, and that he does not support a rise in taxes.

Malloy had said he would seek to enforce immigration laws and secure the border.
Sanders, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he's very proud of his record in Congress. He has been a consistent champion for better health care paid for by the government, higher taxes for the wealthy, less military intervention abroad, and major solutions for climate change.

Sanders is a strong critic of former President Donald Trump and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Sanders has disagreed strongly with Biden on aid for Israel's yearlong war with Hamas and has sought to block U.S. arm sales to Israel.

Sanders got his political start as mayor of Burlington, Vermont's largest city, from 1981 to 1989. He was later a congressman for 16 years. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020. He said more than a year ago that he would forgo another presidential bid and would endorse Biden.

Jacquelyn Martin

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Associated Press

Vermont has handed Vice President Kamala Harris her first three electoral votes of the 2024 election. The Associated Press called the race at 7 p.m. immediately after the polls closed.

Neither campaign expended much energy courting Vermont voters, not bothering to dispatch even high-level surrogates.

Vermont has not chosen a Republican for president since 1988, when it gave then-Vice President George Bush a 51% to 48% victory over Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

President Joe Biden carried Vermont in 2020, besting former President Donald Trump 66% to 31%.

In 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defeated Trump 57% to 30% in Vermont.

At polls today, Pittsford resident Connor Eaton said he voted for Harris to protect reproductive rights.

“Voting for my girlfriend, voting for my mom, my sister, any woman in my life, and I just feel like it’s a really important time to be there for other women in your life and support them, and it means a lot to them, and means a lot to me,” Eaton said.

Fellow Pittsford residents Debbie Popovitch said she voted for Trump in 2016, but supported Harris today.

“I grew up as part of the women’s lib era, and I worked at GE where there was all men who didn’t want women there,” she said. “So being a product of that and going through all that and see how much forward we have come is important to me, and women’s rights are extremely important to me.”

Late in the day, Harris garnered a vote from a higher profile Vermonter. Republican Gov. Phil Scott said he was voting for the vice president as part of his longstanding opposition to Trump.

“I did some soul searching and thought about a lot of different things — what would benefit Vermont, what I needed to do myself — and came to the conclusion that I had to put country over party, and do the same thing that I did four years ago when I voted for Joe Biden, and vote for Kamala Harris,” Scott said. He added that his vote was not an endorsement of Harris.

Polls across the state are now closed. If you are in line to vote, stay in line — you have the right to vote.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott told reporters he cast his ballot today for Vice President Kamala Harris at the town office in Berlin.

“I did some soul searching and thought about a lot of different things — what would benefit Vermont, what I needed to do myself — and came to the conclusion that I had to put country over party, and do the same thing that I did four years ago when I voted for Joe Biden, and vote for Kamala Harris,” Scott said.

Scott said he’s never voted for Donald Trump. In the 2016 presidential election, he wrote in Jim Douglas, the former Republican governor of Vermont, for president. And in 2020, he made national headlines after breaking with his party and voting for Joe Biden. During the primary season this year, he campaigned for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

“In my opinion, there’s no one less equipped, no one more incapable of healing the huge divide we have in this country than Donald Trump,” Scott said at a rally for Haley in March. “He’s made a career of throwing fuel on the fire of hate and anger.”

This summer, after the debate between Trump and Biden, Scott said he would not be voting for Biden a second time if he remained on the Democratic ticket. “I don't think either candidate should be running for office or are fit for office, but for much different reasons,” he told reporters.

Once Harris became the nominee, Scott kept his choice for president to himself until after he voted Tuesday.

“I know that Donald Trump, from my standpoint, doesn't have the ability nor the desire to unite our country,” he said. “But does Kamala Harris have that ability? I don't know either. But I do know that she wants to. And she'll try — and that's half the battle."

State officials are reporting strong voter turnout throughout Vermont on this Election Day.

This afternoon, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland-Hanzas met with reporters in Montpelier and said she’s heard from clerks across the state that “traffic has been steady — they have not had a lot of downtimes during the polling today and there's a great deal of energy out there among Vermonters wanting to cast their ballot."

Copeland-Hanzas said she's hoping that overall turnout will approach the record set in the 2020 general election when 73% of registered voters cast a ballot.

She’s also urging anyone who received a ballot in the mail, but didn't send it in, to bring that ballot with them if they plan to vote in person. "Clerks are concerned about the possibility of running low on the extra ballot supply that was sent to them and so it's a good idea to bring your own ballot. It's somewhere in your kitchen, I can almost guarantee,” she said.

Polls will remain open throughout the state until 7 p.m.

Seeking a fourth term in the U.S. Senate today, Bernie Sanders was noncommittal about his own future but said American democracy could hang in the balance in the presidential race.

“Today is the most consequential election, I think, in the modern history of this country, and the choice is very clear,” Sanders told reporters after casting his ballot in Burlington’s New North End.

When asked if today would be the final time his name appeared on a ballot, Sanders, 83, said “Let’s not speculate. Got six years to worry about that one.”

He was more expansive when asked about the presidential election. Sanders said he is “deeply concerned” about the possibility that former President Donald Trump could claim voter fraud and incite violence if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidency.

“We live in a democracy and the essence of a democracy is these elections,” Sanders said. “And sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I have lost elections. No one likes to lose. When you get on the phone, you congratulate the winner. You don’t say, as Trump is literally saying… the only way I can lose an election is if there is fraud. So, I would hope that even our conservative friends out there … understand that Trump does not believe in the foundations of American democracy.”

David Littlefield

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Vermont Public

Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, is widely expected to secure a fresh six-year term today over Republican Gerald Malloy. He spent much of the fall stumping for Harris in swing states.

Sanders said Democrats face an “uphill fight," to retain control of the U.S. Senate.

April McCullum

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Vermont Public

If you're looking for a clue to Vermont's election results tonight, start with these five towns.

Vermont Public Senior Political Correspondent Bob Kinzel has pinpointed "mirror towns." These towns' results always match the statewide results for governor and lieutenant governor, and by a similar margin of victory.

The towns are Bethel, Bristol, Cambridge, Jericho and Randolph.

"So tonight, I'll be paying very close attention to these mirror towns for the lieutenant governor's race to see if the results give us any insight into how that contest might unfold," Kinzel said.

Vermont Public has an extensive page for live results today with visualizations provided by the Associated Press.

The page has statewide results for the presidential election, Vermont's gubernatorial and lieutenant governor races, plus the contests for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, state auditor, secretary of state, attorney general and contested Vermont House and Senate districts.

Results will start rolling in shortly after polls close at 7 p.m. — and the Associated Press could call winners in Vermont immediately.

In 2020, the news service declared that Joe Biden had won Vermont as soon as polls closed.

The Associated Press uses extensive factual research to declare a winner, including vote counts, surveys and the history of the state.

More from NPR: How will the Associated Press figure out who won the 2024 election? We asked them.

The Vermont Secretary of State's Office also reports unofficial vote tallies on election night, then maintains the official record of election results.

In 2020, Vermont saw the highest general election turnout ever in the state. It coincided with a move to universal mail-in voting — which meant all registered voters were automatically mailed a ballot.

After that, Vermont made universal mail-in voting the norm for all general elections.

As of a week ago, about a third of Vermont registered voters had already returned their ballots to town clerks, according to the secretary of state.