[T]he leaves have changed, meaning it’s debate season across Vermont. Wednesday night saw candidates for attorney general, state auditor, secretary of state, U.S. House and governor go at it on the issues. And that’s not to mention local debates in down-ticket races for Vermont House and Senate seats.
Here’s a guide to debates and forums in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 6 general election. (And if you know of any debates for statewide or federal office that aren’t on this list, please let us know.)
Governor
Republican Gov. Phil Scott and his Democratic opponent, Christine Hallquist, have already had three debates and have at least two more on the schedule.
The first encounter, hosted by WDEV Radio, came at the Tunbridge World’s Fair last month.
Then it was to Rutland for a debate hosted by VTDigger.
And last night they went on network TV for a debate hosted by WCAX.
The next two meetings between the incumbent governor and former electricity executive will be on public radio and public access TV.
On Thursday, Hallquist and Scott will be joined by four other independent and third-party candidates who have not been invited to the rest of the debates. Trever Barlow, Cris Ericson, Charles Laramie, Stephen Marx and Emily Peyton are set to take part in a debate at the Burlington studios of Channel 17.
Then on Oct. 24, Scott and Hallquist will be back on their own facing questions from Vermont Public Radio journalists Bob Kinzel and Jane Lindholm. The debate will air at 7 p.m. on VPR and Vermont PBS.
Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent David Zuckerman, a Progressive Democrat, also had his first debate against Republican nominee Don Turner in Tunbridge last month.
Their second meeting was on VPR, in a debate hosted by political report Peter Hirschfeld.
The two are set to meet at least two more times.
Turner and Zuckerman will meet again on Oct. 22 in a forum hosted by Channel 17 and aired at 5:25 p.m.
And VTDigger will host the lieutenant governor candidates on Nov. 1 at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro in a forum that will be streamed online at 6:30 p.m.
U.S. House
The two members of Vermont’s congressional delegation up for re-election, Rep. Peter Welch and Sen. Bernie Sanders, are both scheduled for two debates ahead of the election.
Welch kicked things off with a Vermont PBS debate against Republican challenger Anya Tynio on Wednesday.
Welch and Tynio are scheduled to meet again in a Channel 17 forum on Oct. 25 at 5:25 p.m., when they will be joined by independent candidate Cris Ericson and Liberty Union candidate Laura Potter.
U.S. Senate
Sanders will pack in two debates in one day on Oct. 29.
His first broadcast appearance with Republican opponent Lawrence Zupan will be a one-to-one matchup hosted by VPR and aired at noon.
The second will be with the full slate of nine candidates on Channel 17 at 5:25 p.m. Other vying for the seat are Folasade Adeluola, Russell Beste, Bruce Busa, Edward Gilbert Jr., Reid Kane, Brad Peacock and Jon Svitavsky.
Other statewide races
Channel 17 hosted an evening of debates on Wednesday.
First up were attorney general candidates TJ Donovan, the Democratic incumbent, and Janssen Willhoit, a Republican state representative from St. Johnsbury.
Second up were secretary of state candidates featuring incumbent Jim Condos, a Democratic, H. Brooke Paige, a Republican, and Mary Alice Hebert of the Liberty Union Party.
And rounding out the evening were auditor of account candidates Doug Hoffer, the incumbent Democratic candidate, and Marina Brown, the Liberty Union candidate. Richard Kenyon, the Republican candidate, didn’t show for the debate.
VTDigger will also be hosting an attorney general’s debate on Oct. 27 at 1:30 p.m. at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, which will be live-streamed.
