With all precincts now reporting in the Vermont Democratic primary for governor, Peter Shumlin clung to a 190-vote lead and was ready to claim victory Wednesday afternoon, but his nearest rival, Doug Racine, wasn’t ready to concede just yet.
With all five Democratic candidates appearing together at a pre-planned noon “unity rally” in Burlington, Shumlin, the state Senate president pro tempore, declared, “It looks like we've won.”
But Racine, the state’s former lieutenant governor, has not yet thrown in the towel, saying at the rally he would wait for official results from the secretary of state’s office, which may not come until late next week. Shortly before the gathering, his campaign manager, Amy Shollenberger, told POLITICO the results remained “very close” and they were “getting conflicting results from different sources.”
When all precinct totals were tallied at 1:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, Shumlin had expanded his razor-thin lead to 190 votes, taking 25.1 percent of the vote to Racine’s 24.8 percent.
Counting had temporarily paused in the early Wednesday morning hours, with 89 percent of returns in, which gave Shumlin a razor-thin 121-vote overnight lead to edge Racine. But AP still has not yet called the race, even with all votes now tabulated.
Secretary of State Deb Markowitz, who had led early Tuesday evening, wasn’t far behind with 24.1 percent of the vote, but still trailed Racine by 494 votes. Former state Sen. Matt Dunne, now the head of Google’s community affairs division, was taking 21 percent, while state Sen. Susan Bartlett was getting only 5 percent.
The race appears headed for a recount. Under Vermont law, if the first vote count shows a statewide candidate down by less than 2 percent, the trailing candidate can request a recount, and both Racine and Markowitz fall within that margin.
Although Vermont polls closed the earliest on Tuesday, at 7 p.m. ET, the vote tabulation proved among the slowest of the evening, likely due to the state’s hybrid tally system. According to the state’s Division of Elections, 140 Vermont towns count their ballots by hand, while 106 towns use optical scanners.
Whoever does officially emerge from the Democratic contest will face GOP Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie this fall in the race to succeed retiring Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, who’s served four two-year terms. Dubie faced no primary opposition. Vermont and New Hampshire are the only states that still elect their governors to two-year terms.
If Shumlin does win, the general election would serve as a rematch of the state’s 2002 lieutenant governor’s race, which Dubie won.
Little public polling had been done among the quintet of Democrats, but state political observers had correctly predicted a close contest. All the candidates were longtime state officeholders who had waited years in the wings for an open-seat governor’s race, not wanting to face the popular Douglas, who had easily won each of his three reelection campaigns since winning a close 2002 race against Racine.
The five candidates held an unprecedented 60 debates across the state over the past several months. But perhaps most stunning was that throughout those debates, amid a crowded primary, the candidates all ran unusually cordial and positive campaigns. Instead of hitting one another, they focused their fire on Dubie for what was expected to be a close November contest no matter which Democratic candidate won the nomination. The candidates were mostly united on key issues — all were pro-choice, backed health care reform and supported expanding broadband coverage throughout the state.
Shumlin entered Vermont politics after being appointed to the state House in 1990 by then-Gov. Madeleine Kunin. He was elected to the state Senate in 1993, quickly rising to become minority leader, and was elected president pro tempore in 1997. But he had goals beyond the legislature, and in 2002 Shumlin won his party’s nomination for lieutenant governor to succeed Racine, who was running for governor. That race pitted him against Dubie, but Shumlin lost in a three-way race. After a four-year hiatus he spent managing his family’s student travel business, he was reelected to the state Senate in 2006, and upon his return he was again elected president pro tempore. In 2009, he helped push a same-sex marriage bill through the Senate and subsequently helped it become law over Douglas’s veto.
Should Racine leapfrog Shumlin in the event of a recount, that sets in motion another political comeback story in the tiny state — this one for Racine, who lost to Douglas in the 2002 general election.
A former staffer for longtime Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, Racine lost his first bid for the state Senate in 1980 but was elected two years later. He made a run for lieutenant governor in 1994 and lost, but a two-year wait again proved lucky for him, as he won and served alongside Dean until he retired for a presidential run in 2002. Racine narrowly lost the subsequent governor’s race to Douglas, 45 percent to 42 percent with an independent candidate taking 10 percent. Despite a law that would have allowed him to take a result under 50 percent before a Democratically-controlled legislature, Racine conceded.
Markowitz was the only current statewide-elected candidate in the race, and she got backing of the pro-abortion rights women’s group EMILY’s List. She was also endorsed by Kunin, the state’s first, and only, female governor. Markowitz stressed her past 12 years as the first female secretary of state, touting her name recognition and polls showing her as the most competitive against Dubie.
Dunne, who at 40 was the youngest candidate, came in a close fourth. He had won election to the state House at just 22, but left eight years later to direct AmeriCorps. He was elected two years later, though, to the state Senate, but lost the 2006 lieutenant governor’s race to Dubie. After that loss, he took a job as manager of community affairs for Google.
State Sen. Susan Bartlett was a distant fifth, languishing in single digits. Although she led the powerful Appropriations committee in the Senate, that role didn’t garner her much statewide attention and her campaign never seemed to take hold.
The state’s other primaries were much more predictable. Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy was easily renominated for a seventh term, defeating Daniel Freilich. A physician and Navy veteran making his first run at office, Freilich enjoyed a bit of internet and cable news fame with his campaign ad spoofing an Old Spice commercial. Leahy will be heavily favored against Republican Len Britton this fall, and will also face at least five independent candidates — including Freilich again. And for the state’s lone House seat, two-term Democratic Rep. Peter Welch will face former radio talk show host Paul Beaudry, who won the three-way GOP primary.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41438.html
But Racine, the state’s former lieutenant governor, has not yet thrown in the towel, saying at the rally he would wait for official results from the secretary of state’s office, which may not come until late next week. Shortly before the gathering, his campaign manager, Amy Shollenberger, told POLITICO the results remained “very close” and they were “getting conflicting results from different sources.”
When all precinct totals were tallied at 1:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, Shumlin had expanded his razor-thin lead to 190 votes, taking 25.1 percent of the vote to Racine’s 24.8 percent.
Counting had temporarily paused in the early Wednesday morning hours, with 89 percent of returns in, which gave Shumlin a razor-thin 121-vote overnight lead to edge Racine. But AP still has not yet called the race, even with all votes now tabulated.
Secretary of State Deb Markowitz, who had led early Tuesday evening, wasn’t far behind with 24.1 percent of the vote, but still trailed Racine by 494 votes. Former state Sen. Matt Dunne, now the head of Google’s community affairs division, was taking 21 percent, while state Sen. Susan Bartlett was getting only 5 percent.
The race appears headed for a recount. Under Vermont law, if the first vote count shows a statewide candidate down by less than 2 percent, the trailing candidate can request a recount, and both Racine and Markowitz fall within that margin.
Although Vermont polls closed the earliest on Tuesday, at 7 p.m. ET, the vote tabulation proved among the slowest of the evening, likely due to the state’s hybrid tally system. According to the state’s Division of Elections, 140 Vermont towns count their ballots by hand, while 106 towns use optical scanners.
Whoever does officially emerge from the Democratic contest will face GOP Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie this fall in the race to succeed retiring Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, who’s served four two-year terms. Dubie faced no primary opposition. Vermont and New Hampshire are the only states that still elect their governors to two-year terms.
If Shumlin does win, the general election would serve as a rematch of the state’s 2002 lieutenant governor’s race, which Dubie won.
Little public polling had been done among the quintet of Democrats, but state political observers had correctly predicted a close contest. All the candidates were longtime state officeholders who had waited years in the wings for an open-seat governor’s race, not wanting to face the popular Douglas, who had easily won each of his three reelection campaigns since winning a close 2002 race against Racine.
The five candidates held an unprecedented 60 debates across the state over the past several months. But perhaps most stunning was that throughout those debates, amid a crowded primary, the candidates all ran unusually cordial and positive campaigns. Instead of hitting one another, they focused their fire on Dubie for what was expected to be a close November contest no matter which Democratic candidate won the nomination. The candidates were mostly united on key issues — all were pro-choice, backed health care reform and supported expanding broadband coverage throughout the state.
Shumlin entered Vermont politics after being appointed to the state House in 1990 by then-Gov. Madeleine Kunin. He was elected to the state Senate in 1993, quickly rising to become minority leader, and was elected president pro tempore in 1997. But he had goals beyond the legislature, and in 2002 Shumlin won his party’s nomination for lieutenant governor to succeed Racine, who was running for governor. That race pitted him against Dubie, but Shumlin lost in a three-way race. After a four-year hiatus he spent managing his family’s student travel business, he was reelected to the state Senate in 2006, and upon his return he was again elected president pro tempore. In 2009, he helped push a same-sex marriage bill through the Senate and subsequently helped it become law over Douglas’s veto.
Should Racine leapfrog Shumlin in the event of a recount, that sets in motion another political comeback story in the tiny state — this one for Racine, who lost to Douglas in the 2002 general election.
A former staffer for longtime Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, Racine lost his first bid for the state Senate in 1980 but was elected two years later. He made a run for lieutenant governor in 1994 and lost, but a two-year wait again proved lucky for him, as he won and served alongside Dean until he retired for a presidential run in 2002. Racine narrowly lost the subsequent governor’s race to Douglas, 45 percent to 42 percent with an independent candidate taking 10 percent. Despite a law that would have allowed him to take a result under 50 percent before a Democratically-controlled legislature, Racine conceded.
Markowitz was the only current statewide-elected candidate in the race, and she got backing of the pro-abortion rights women’s group EMILY’s List. She was also endorsed by Kunin, the state’s first, and only, female governor. Markowitz stressed her past 12 years as the first female secretary of state, touting her name recognition and polls showing her as the most competitive against Dubie.
Dunne, who at 40 was the youngest candidate, came in a close fourth. He had won election to the state House at just 22, but left eight years later to direct AmeriCorps. He was elected two years later, though, to the state Senate, but lost the 2006 lieutenant governor’s race to Dubie. After that loss, he took a job as manager of community affairs for Google.
State Sen. Susan Bartlett was a distant fifth, languishing in single digits. Although she led the powerful Appropriations committee in the Senate, that role didn’t garner her much statewide attention and her campaign never seemed to take hold.
The state’s other primaries were much more predictable. Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy was easily renominated for a seventh term, defeating Daniel Freilich. A physician and Navy veteran making his first run at office, Freilich enjoyed a bit of internet and cable news fame with his campaign ad spoofing an Old Spice commercial. Leahy will be heavily favored against Republican Len Britton this fall, and will also face at least five independent candidates — including Freilich again. And for the state’s lone House seat, two-term Democratic Rep. Peter Welch will face former radio talk show host Paul Beaudry, who won the three-way GOP primary.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41438.html