2010 Vermont gubernatorial election

The 2010 Vermont gubernatorial general election took place on November 2.[1] Vermont and New Hampshire are the only two states where the governor serves a two-year term instead of four.[2] Primary elections took place on August 24.[1]

2010 Vermont gubernatorial election
November 2, 2010
 
Nominee Peter Shumlin Brian Dubie
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 119,543 115,212
Percentage 49.5% 47.7%
County results
Shumlin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Dubie:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election

Jim Douglas
Republican

 Elected Governor

Peter Shumlin
Democratic

Elections in Vermont
Federal offices
Presidential elections
U.S. Senate elections
Class One
Class Three
U.S. House elections
Special elections
State offices
General elections
Gubernatorial elections
Legislative elections
Senate
House of Representatives
Municipal offices
Mayoral elections
City of Burlington
City of Rutland

Incumbent Republican governor Jim Douglas was not a candidate for re-election.[3] Brian Dubie, the incumbent Lieutenant Governor, was the Republican nominee.[1] The Democratic nomination was won by Peter Shumlin, the President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate.[1]

The result was a 119,543 (49.5 percent) to 115,212 (47.7 percent) plurality for Shumlin.[1] Several minor candidates got between 600 and 2,000 votes each.[1] In accordance with the Vermont Constitution, if no candidate receives a majority, the contest is decided by the Vermont General Assembly.[4] In such races, the combined Vermont House and Senate almost always chooses the candidate who won a plurality.[4] Dubie indicated on November 3 that he did not intend to ask for a recount or contest the election in the legislature, and conceded to Shumlin.[5] On January 6, 2011, with 173 of 180 members voting, 87 votes were necessary for a choice.[6] The General Assembly elected Shumlin on the first ballot, 145-28.[6]

Republican primary

Candidate

Democratic primary

Candidates

Peter Shumlin won the Democratic primary according to the uncertified tabulation of statewide votes released by the Office of the Secretary of State on August 27, 2010, by 197 votes over Doug Racine, who requested a recount.[12] The recount began September 8.[13] Racine conceded on September 10.[14]

Results
Democratic primary results[12][15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter Shumlin 18,276 24.8
Democratic Doug Racine 18,079 24.6
Democratic Deborah Markowitz 17,579 23.9
Democratic Matt Dunne 15,323 20.8
Democratic Susan Bartlett 3,759 5.1
Democratic Write-in 560 0.8
Total votes 73,576 100

Progressive primary

Candidates
  • Martha Abbott, state party chair; Abbott won the primary, then withdrew from the election, so the party did not have a candidate on the ballot.[16] The Party had promised not to play a "spoiler" role in the election if Shumlin supported single-payer health care, which he did.[17]

Results
Vermont Progressive primary results[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive Martha Abbott 257 69.6
Progressive Write-in 112 30.4
Total votes 369 100

Independent and third-party candidates

Polling
Poll source Dates administered Brian
Dubie (R)		 Peter
Shumlin (D)
Rasmussen Reports October 28, 2010 45% 50%
Vermont Public Radio October 12, 2010 44% 43%
Rasmussen Reports September 13, 2010 46% 49%
Rasmussen Reports June 17, 2010 55% 36%
Rasmussen Reports March 18, 2010 51% 33%

Results
2010 Vermont gubernatorial election[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Peter Shumlin 119,543 49.44% +27.8%
Republican Brian Dubie 115,212 47.69% -5.7%
Independent Dennis Steele 1,917 0.79% n/a
Marijuana Cris Ericson 1,819 0.75% n/a
Independent Dan Feliciano 1,341 0.56% n/a
Independent Emily Peyton 684 0.28% n/a
Liberty Union Ben Mitchell 429 0.18% -0.33%
Write-in 660 0.27% n/a
Plurality 4,331
Total votes 241,605 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican

Vermont's Constitution requires the Vermont General Assembly to select if no candidate obtains a majority. The combined Vermont House and Senate almost always chooses the candidate who won a plurality. The legislature officially elected Peter Shumlin on January 6, 2011.

2010 gubernatorial election results, Legislative Joint Assembly
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Peter Shumlin 145 80.6% N/A
Republican Brian Dubie 28 15.6% N/A
Total votes 173 of 180 96.2% N/A

See also

References
  1. "Vermont Gubernatorial Election, 2010". Ballotpedia. Middleton, WI: Lucy Burns Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  2. Allen, Anne Wallace (February 3, 2019). "Vermont governors are divided on question of 4-year terms". VT Digger. MOntpelier, VT.
  3. "Vermont Governor Douglas will not seek re-election". Vermont Biz.com. South Burlington, VT: Vermont Business Magazine. August 27, 2009.
  4. Dobbs, Taylor (November 6, 2014). "Wait, The Legislature Is Choosing The Governor?". Vermont Public Radio. Colchester, VT.
  5. Galloway, Anne (November 3, 2010). "Dubie concedes; Shumlin holds victory presser at noon". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
  6. Remsen, Nancy (January 7, 2011). "'Regular Guy' Phil Scott sworn in as lt. governor". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Sneyd, Ross (1 October 2009). "Dubie will run for governor". Vermont Public Radio.
  8. "Sen. Bartlett Enters 2010 Governor's Race". WCAX News. 2009-05-04. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  9. "Dunne will run: Times Argus Online". Timesargus.com. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  10. Hallenbeck, Terri (2009-02-24). "Democrats crowd race for governor". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  11. "Sen. Shumlin Confirms He'll Run for Governor | www.rherald.com | Randolph Herald". www.rherald.com. 2009-11-19. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  12. "Shumlin wins; Racine calls for recount". The Burlington Free Press. August 27, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  13. Judge will speed up Vt. primary recount, Bennington Banner, September 3, 2010
  14. Remsen, Nancy (September 10, 2010). "Racine concedes". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  15. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2010-08-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "Abbott drops out of governor's race". The Burlington Free Press. August 28, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  17. Molly Worthen (April 5, 2014). "As Vermont Goes, So Goes the Nation?". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  18. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2015-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Official campaign websites (Archived)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.