The 2016 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2016, and elected the

governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

, concurrently with the

2016 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and ...

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in other states,

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, and various

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. Incumbent Democratic governor

Peter Shumlin Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to ...

was eligible to run for re-election to a fourth term in office, but opted to retire instead. The primaries were held on August 9. Former

Vermont Agency of Transportation The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is a government agency of the U.S. state of Vermont that is responsible for planning, constructing, and maintaining a variety of transportation infrastructure in the state. This includes roads, bridge ...

Secretary

Sue Minter Sue M. Minter (born January 23, 1961) is an American politician from the state of Vermont. She served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011, led Vermont's recovery efforts after Tropical Storm Irene, and became secretary of th ...

won the Democratic nomination, and Lieutenant Governor

Phil Scott Philip Brian Scott (born August 4, 1958) is an American politician, businessman, and Stock car racing, stock car racer who has been the List of governors of Vermont, 82nd governor of Vermont since 2017. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...

won the Republican primary, with Scott defeating Minter in the general election. This was the first gubernatorial election in Vermont in which the winner was of a different party than the incumbent president since 1992.

Background

Two-term Democratic governor

ran for re-election in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and was widely expected to win easily. However, he only took a plurality of the vote, 46.36%, to Republican

Scott Milne Scott Edward Milne (born March 10, 1959) is an American businessman and political candidate from North Pomfret, Vermont. A Republican, Milne was the party's nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont in 2020, losing to Democrat Molly Gray; th ...

's 45.1%, and thus the result was decided by the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

. The Assembly picked Shumlin by 110 votes to 69. Shumlin announced in June 2015 that he would not run for a fourth term. Vermont and

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

are the only states in the country whose governors are elected every two years.

Democratic primary

In August, Vermont House Speaker

Shap Smith Shapleigh "Shap" Smith, Jr. (born December 16, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 92nd Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives. In August 2015 Smith announced his candidacy for the 2016 Democratic nomination for Governor ...

announced that he would be a candidate, but ended his candidacy in November 2015, after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. In September,

Matt Dunne Matt Dunne (born November 20, 1969) is an American politician and businessman from the U.S. state of Vermont. He served four terms in the Vermont House of Representatives, two terms in the Vermont State Senate, was the Democratic candidate in ...

announced that he would also be a candidate. Also in September, former state legislator

, then serving as Vermont's

Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

, announced that she would resign her position in order to join the Democratic race. Former ambassador

Peter Galbraith Peter Woodard Galbraith (born December 31, 1950) is an American author, academic, commentator, politician, policy advisor, and former diplomat. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he helped uncover Saddam Hussein's gassing of the Kurds. From 19 ...

announced his candidacy in March 2016. In July, H. Brook Paige was excluded from official Democratic Party events after making derogatory comments on social media. Minter won the nomination decisively, and was endorsed by Dunne but not Galbraith.

Candidates

Declared

, former state senator, Google executive, and candidate for governor in 2010 * Cris Ericson,

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...

(also

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...

for the U.S. Senate) *

Peter W. Galbraith Peter Woodard Galbraith (born December 31, 1950) is an American author, academic, commentator, politician, policy advisor, and former diplomat. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he helped uncover Saddam Hussein's gassing of the Kurds. From 19 ...

, former state senator and former

United States Ambassador to Croatia The diplomatic post of United States Ambassador to Croatia was created on April 7, 1992, following Croatia's independence from SFRJ, SFR Yugoslavia and its recognition as an independent state by the United States, although official presence of t ...

, former secretary of the

and former state representative * H. Brooke Paige, former CEO of Remington News Service, candidate for

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

in 2014 and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

(also ran for attorney general)

Withdrawn

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

(running for lieutenant governor)

Declined

* T.J. Donovan, Chittenden County state's attorney and candidate for

Vermont Attorney General The Vermont attorney general is a statewide elected executive official in the U.S. state of Vermont who is elected every two years. It was created by an act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1790, repealed in 1797, and revived in 1904. The office ...

in 2012 (running for Vermont attorney general) *

Deborah Markowitz Deborah Markowitz is the state director for The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts. Prior to this, she served from 2011-2017 as the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. She was appointed by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin. She h ...

, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, former secretary of state of Vermont and candidate for governor in 2010 *

Doug Racine Douglas Alan Racine (born October 7, 1952) is an American politician and former Vermont Secretary of Human Services, a former Vermont State Senator and was the 79th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1997 to 2003. He is a Democrat. Racine was ...

, former secretary of the Vermont Agency of Human Services, former

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, nominee for governor in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and candidate for governor in 2010 *

, incumbent governor *

Peter Welch Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2023 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party (Unit ...

, U.S. representative and nominee for governor in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Republican primary

In September 2015, Lieutenant Governor

entered the race, and 2014 gubernatorial nominee

, who had been considering running, endorsed Scott. In October 2015, retired Wall Street executive Bruce Lisman officially announced his "outsider" candidacy. Scott was endorsed by most active Vermont Republican politicians, and held a strong lead in a February poll. Lisman's campaign criticized Scott for being too closely connected to outgoing Democratic governor

and for "plagiarizing" Lisman's ideas, and linked Scott to the "failures" of the Vermont Health Connect insurance platform and the school redistricting Act 46; the candidates' campaigns disagreed over whether this constituted "negative campaigning," and Scott's campaign said the attacks were "patently false". Scott won the nomination by a large margin.

Candidates

Declared

* Bruce Lisman, retired

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

executive *

, lieutenant governor

Declined

Randy Brock Randolph D. "Randy" Brock III (born September 28, 1943) is an American politician from the state of Vermont and a member of the Republican Party. He currently serves in the Vermont Senate and is the first African American caucus leader in Vermo ...

, former state senator, former

Vermont Auditor of Accounts The auditor of accounts of Vermont, informally referred to as "the state auditor", is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. Twenty-nine individuals have occupied the office of state auditor si ...

and nominee for governor in

(running for lieutenant governor)

Endorsements

On May 6, 2016, Scott received the endorsements of all Vermont Republican legislators (listed above) except state representatives Donald Turner, Doug Gage, Mary Morrissey, Job Tate, and Paul Dame. Among those five legislators who did not endorse Scott, four said they always remain neutral in a party primary election, and one was waiting until after the filing deadline to make an endorsement.

Polling

Results

Liberty Union primary

Candidates

Declared

* Bill "Spaceman" Lee, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher and

Rhinoceros Party The Rhinoceros Party, officially the Parti Rhinocéros Party, is a Canadian federal political party. It originally existed from 1963 to 1993. It was refounded in Montreal on May 21, 2006, and was registered with Elections Canada on August 23, ...

presidential candidate in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Results

General election

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 6, 2016 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

Predictions

Polling

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administered ! class=small , Sample
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Minter (D) ! style="width:100px;", Phil
Scott (R) ! style="width:100px;", Bill
Lee (LU) ! Undecided , - ,

SurveyMonkey SurveyMonkey Inc. (formerly Momentive Global Inc. from 2021 to 2023) is an experience management company that offers cloud-based software in brand insights, market insights, product experience, employee experience, customer experience, online sur ...

, align=center, November 1–7, 2016 , align=center, 454 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 51% , align=center, 47% , align=center, — , align=center, 2% , - ,

, align=center, October 31–November 6, 2016 , align=center, 447 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 50% , align=center, 48% , align=center, — , align=center, 2% , - ,

, align=center, October 28–November 3, 2016 , align=center, 449 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 46% , align=center, 51% , align=center, — , align=center, 3% , - ,

, align=center, October 27–November 2, 2016 , align=center, 424 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 44% , align=center, 53% , align=center, — , align=center, 3% , - ,

, align=center, October 26–November 1, 2016 , align=center, 428 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 43% , align=center, 54% , align=center, — , align=center, 3% , - ,

, align=center, October 25–31, 2016 , align=center, 436 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 45% , align=center, 52% , align=center, — , align=center, 3% , - , RRH Elections , align=center, October 24–26, 2016 , align=center, 1,052 , align=center, ± 3.0% , align=center, 38% , align=center, 45% , align=center, 4% , align=center, 13% , - , Braun Research/

WCAX WCAX-TV (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Saranac Lake, New York–li ...

Braun Research/WCAX
/ref> , align=center, October 19–22, 2016 , align=center, 603 , align=center, ± 4.0% , align=center, 40% , align=center, 47% , align=center, 6% , align=center, 9% , - , , align=center, September 29–October 14, 2016 , align=center, 579 , align=center, ± 3.9% , align=center, 38% , align=center, 39% , align=center, 7% , align=center, 14%

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario, a community United States * Addison, Alabama, a town * Addison, Illinois, a village * Addison, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Addison, Maine, a town * Addison, Michigan, a villag ...

(largest municipality: Middlebury) *

Bennington Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

(largest municipality:

)

References

External links

Live results from the Vermont Secretary of State
Official candidate websites
Sue Minter (D) for GovernorPhil Scott (R) for Governor
{{2016 United States elections

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...