Live in the noon hour, Vermont Edition covers the top races in the the state with interviews with politicians and reporters covering the stories.
Governor's race:
As we concluded the broadcast at 12:55, all precincts had reported results in the race between Democratic incumbent Peter Shumlin and Republican challenger Scott Milne. At the time the unofficial results of the top three vote-getters were:
- Peter Shumlin (D) 89,874 votes, 46.42%
- Scott Milne (R) 87,786 votes, 45.35%
- Dan Feliciano (L) 8,468 votes, 4.37%
Legislative races:
All 180 members of the Vermont House and Senate were up for re-election and the Vermont Republican Party had a more successful day than in recent election cycles. In the last legislative biennium, the GOP held only 45 out of 150 House seats. On Tuesday, the GOP picked up at least nine seats, bringing their caucus to 54. In the Vermont Senate, Republicans picked up two seats, bringing their total to nine of the 30 Senate seats. We examine the results with:
- House Majority Leader Willem Jewett
- House Minority Leader Don Turner
- Senate President Pro Tempore John Campell
U.S. Senate
Neither of Vermont’s U.S. Senators was up for re-election on Tuesday, but both of them will be affected by the change in leadership of that body. Of the 100 members of the U.S. Senate, Patrick Leahy has the most seniority. With the Democrats in control, Leahy is chair of the powerful Judiciary Committee. In January, when the new Senate is seated, Republicans will take control and Leahy will lose his chairmanship. Likewise, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, will lose his chairmanship of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. We speak live with Leahy and hear taped comments from Sanders.
State's Attorneys
There will be five new state’s attorneys taking charge after Tuesday’s election. New prosecutors will assume control in Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orleans, Rutland, and Washington Counties. In Washington County, Democrat Scott Williams defeated incumbent Tom Kelly by eight percentage points. Doug DiSabito is the new Grand Isle state’s attorney. He was unopposed Tuesday but defeated incumbent David Miller in August’s primary.
VPR's Nina Keck explains the outcome of the Rutland state's attorney race where Rose Kennedy narrowly defeated incumbent Marc Brierre in a campaign that focused on the homicide of toddler Dezirae Shelden.
Local ballot items
Several communities voted on local ballot items for infrastructure improvement or changes to governance. VPR’s Amy Noyes recaps votes in communities around the state.
Broadcast live on Wednesday, Nov 5, at 12 noon; rebroadcast 7 p.m.
