Cris Ericson (born May 16, 1952) is an American marijuana legalization activist and perennial candidate for public office in Vermont. She has unsuccessfully run for the governorship of Vermont nine times and for a seat in the United States Congress eight times.

Early life

Cris Ericson was born in Washington, D.C., on May 16, 1952. From 1970 to 1971, she attended Goddard College. In 1976, she graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a bachelor of arts degree.

Career

Vermont elections

During the

2002 Vermont gubernatorial election The 2002 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic Governor Howard Dean did not run for re-election to a sixth full term as Governor of Vermont. Republican Jim Douglas defeated Democratic candidate Dou ...

Ericson was one of four independent candidates and ran under the Make Marijuana Legal party line. In the general election she placed fourth behind Jim Douglas, Doug Racine, and Cornelius Hogan. During the 2004 Vermont gubernatorial election she ran as an independent under the Marijuana party line. In the general election she placed third behind Douglas and Peter Clavelle. She ran for governor of Vermont in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. In 2020, she ran for the gubernatorial, lieutenant gubernatorial, attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state, and auditor nominations of the Vermont Progressive Party. The Vermont Progressive Party sought volunteers to run in the primaries and for party members to write-in David Zuckerman in the gubernatorial primary and

Doug Hoffer Douglas R. Hoffer Jr. (born September 3, 1951) is an American policy analysis, policy analyst from Burlington, Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, who is currently serving as the Vermont Auditor of Accounts, Vermont State Auditor. He took office on Jan ...

in the auditor general primary to prevent Ericson from winning. She was able to appear on the ballot due to lower ballot access requirements instituted due to COVID-19. She was defeated by Zuckerman, who won as a write-in candidate, in the gubernatorial primary. However, she won the Progressive nominations for lieutenant governor, auditor, secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer. Ericson called for a recount in the gubernatorial primary.

United States Congress

During the

2004 United States Senate election in Vermont The 2004 United States Senate election in Vermont was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy won reelection to a sixth term. Democratic primary Candidates * Patrick Leahy, incumbent U.S. Senator * Craig Hil ...

Ericson ran under the Marijuana party line and placed third behind Patrick Leahy and

John A. McMullen John A. McMullen, known as Jack McMullen, (born December 10, 1941) is an American businessman from Vermont and former politician. He is most notable for his unsuccessful runs for United States Senate election in Vermont, 1998, U.S. Senator in 1 ...

. During the

2006 United States Senate election in Vermont The 2006 United States Senate election in Vermont was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent independent Senator Jim Jeffords decided to retire rather than seek reelection to a fourth term, and Bernie Sanders was elected to succeed him. Sanders, who ...

she ran for the Republican nomination, but was defeated by Richard Tarrant. In the general election she ran as an independent and placed third behind

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

and Tarrant.

References

External links

*
Ballotpedia: Cris Ericson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ericson, Cris Living people American cannabis activists Cannabis in Vermont Cannabis political party politicians Vermont politicians 1952 births Vermont Independents Vermont Republicans Vermont Democrats Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Candidates in the 2012 United States elections Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Candidates in the 2016 United States Senate elections Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Candidates in the 2020 United States elections Candidates in the 2022 United States Senate elections