(Editor’s note: This story was updated March 2 at 5 p.m. to add the delegate breakdown.)
[B]usinessman Donald Trump won the Vermont Republican primary in a tight contest with Gov. John Kasich of Ohio.
With all but nine Vermont towns reporting election results, Trump beat Kasich by 1,733 votes. Trump had 33 percent of the Republican vote in Vermont. Kasich, who campaigned in Castleton on Monday and was at Colchester High School last week, locked down almost 29 percent of the vote.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who recently gained the endorsement of many Republican politicians in the state, trailed in third place with 19 percent of the vote.
A recent poll by the Castleton Polling Institute for Vermont Public Radio found that Trump would crush his Republican opponents, leading the next closest candidate, Rubio, by more than 20 points.
Rep. Kurt Wright, R-Burlington, is backing Rubio. He said Kasich’s decision to spend time campaigning in Vermont contributed to his surge, and that Rubio hurt his own chances by not doing the same. Many Vermont lawmakers backed Rubio, Wright included, because his message was positive, he said.
But recently, his rhetoric turned negative, Wright said.
“I actually passed on word to the (Rubio) campaign that I was concerned about the campaign devolving into sort of back-and-forth personal insults,” he said. “When I had the (endorsement) press conference, that was one of the main things we were talking about was the uplifting message of Rubio.”
“That night, or the next day, he started taking on a different tone,” Wright said.
Vermont had 16 delegates up for grabs in Tuesday’s voting — the least of any state that voted that day, and amounting to roughly 1 percent of the 1,237 that a candidate would need to clinch the Republican nomination.
Trump and Kasich will each get eight Vermont delegates, said state party Executive Director Jeffrey D. Bartley.
The delegates will be pledged at least for the first round of voting at the Republican National Convention in July, the state party’s chairman, Dave Sunderland, told VPR’s “Vermont Edition” on Tuesday. It is “much more fair” to the grass-roots voters in Vermont to know that the delegates will be voting based on each candidate’s proportion of the primary vote, he said.
“I think from that standpoint we’re more closely tied to the wishes of the people,” he said.
Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, also a Rubio supporter and a candidate for governor, could not be reached for comment.
The secretary of state does not officially announce the primary winners until two days after the vote, when all the results are in from town and city clerks.
Voters speak up
Harry Laughy, 65, a longtime Vermonter, stood with his wife, Kathleen, 67, on Route 7 in South Burlington on Tuesday waving signs in support of the real estate mogul from New York who continues to dominate polls all over the country.
In the span of 15 minutes, the couple were both jeered and supported by passing motorists. The driver of a semitrailer coming off the highway blasted his horn and gave a thumbs up. Shortly after, a woman in a compact car accelerated past the two and made an obscene gesture.
“It’s basically the young kids who are giving us the finger,” Harry Laughy said.
“The uninformed think he’s trying to buy his way in there,” he said of Trump. “What he’s actually doing is showing us how to run an election without special interests owning the president.”
The Laughys said they voted for Trump in Fairfax and were confident he would take the lion’s share of Vermont’s 16 delegates. Despite their support, if it comes down to a general election battle between Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders, “either one of them would be fine,” he said.
“I don’t see a huge difference in their heart,” he said.
Allen Robtoy, 62, is the director of public works in St. Albans — a conservative city by Vermont standards. Robtoy, who said he voted for Sanders, considers himself an independent and likes some Republican candidates — Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, and Kasich among them — but voted for Sanders out of “a sense of loyalty.”
“He’s an independent thinker. I mean, Donald Trump is too, but he’s a little bit out there, isn’t he?” he said. “He’s kind of abusive.” Robtoy said he was frustrated because he had seen so many bad stories about Trump but nothing seems to blunt his momentum.
Plenty of Republican voters chose someone other than Trump, despite his dominating lead in the polls.
“I think he’s a TV celebrity, not a politician for the country,” said Keith Whitaker, 60, referring to Trump. Whitaker said he voted for Kasich but didn’t think his candidate stood a chance.
Shane Spence, 22, who works for the Ethan Allen Institute, a free market think tank, said he often disagrees with the Republican establishment but finds Rubio’s stances on foreign policy and his relative youth politically attractive. He also said the most important thing Republicans can do is beat Trump.
“It’s really hard for me to explain to my friends that, no, just because I’m a Republican doesn’t mean I want to throw out all Muslims,” he said. “I would go so far as to say Trump is not a Republican. He found a group of voters who can help him express whatever hate and vitriol he has deep inside.”
Spence said he attended the Trump rally at the Flynn Center in Burlington in January.
“There were a lot of people outside protesting, but there were more inside loving everything he had to say,” Spence said. “Not just as a Vermonter but as an American, that really terrifies me.”
Lawmakers weigh in
Republican lawmakers in Vermont came out mainly for Rubio and Kasich. Many say they are wary about Trump’s rise.
Rep. Dennis Devereux, R-Mount Holly, is one of almost 30 Republican lawmakers who came out in support of Rubio last week.
Devereux said he is still hoping Trump will “go away,” which is why he’s supporting Rubio. “(Trump) keeps saying he’s going to fix everything, but he doesn’t say how,” he said.
The lieutenant governor explained in a statement Monday why he is behind the Florida senator.
“It’s not a perfect choice for me personally or politically — but it’s the choice I am making because it reflects my hope for a thoughtful, civil debate about the challenges and opportunities we have ahead,” Scott said in the statement.
Rep. Don Turner, R-Milton, said he voted but didn’t feel right publicly endorsing anyone.
“I just feel that my political beliefs aren’t really aligned with any of the candidates that are left in the race,” Turner said.
Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, said that despite his wishes, all early indications pointed to Trump. “He’s no one that I support, but all early polls seem to have him as the leader,” Benning said.
He found it difficult to get behind any of the candidates in the GOP primary.
“I don’t support every policy of John Kasich. I certainly didn’t approve of his defunding of Planned Parenthood. But after careful consideration I’ve landed on him,” Benning said. “Not only does he seem to be the only adult in the room, but he is the most experienced person running and keeps the conversation civil. As a Republican, I very much appreciated that.”
Like Benning, many of the GOP lawmakers not on the list supporting Rubio said they backed Kasich.
Sens. Kevin Mullin, of Rutland County, and William Doyle, of Washington County, as well as Reps. Patrick Brennan, of Colchester, Martha Feltus, of Lyndon, and Linda Myers, of Essex, said they had voted for Kasich.
Myers, who grew up in Ohio, said she supports Kasich because of his experience.
“He’s the kind of person that I can see being the president of the United States, more than any of the other candidates,” she said.
Asked who she thought would win, she said it would “of course be Donald Trump.”
“I think there is a tsunami coming for Donald Trump,” Myers said. “If there is someone else that wins in the state of Vermont, I will be very surprised.”
