[T]he Democratic incumbents in Vermont’s lower-tier statewide races coasted easily to wins on Tuesday night.
Vermont voters turned out heavily, eager to send a message to Washington, and in the process re-elected their treasurer, attorney general, secretary of state and auditor.
The closest of Vermont’s four lower statewide races was for auditor. Incumbent Doug Hoffer took 62 percent of the vote in unofficial returns posted at 11 p.m., with 34 percent going to his leading opponent Richard Kenyon. Treasurer Beth Pearce took 68 percent of the vote; her opponent, Richard Morton, took 32 percent.
Secretary of State Jim Condos got 67 percent of the vote to leading opponent H. Brooke Paige’s 29 percent; and TJ Donovan, the state’s attorney general, won 70 percent of the vote over his leading opponent, Republican St. Johnsbury state Rep. Janssen Willhoit, who was showing 26 percent at 11 p.m.
Pearce said Tuesday night that the incumbents’ sweep in Vermont reflected high turnout by Democrats.
“Folks are looking at the issues and Democratic values are important,” she said.
Of all those who contested the incumbents, only Paige actually campaigned, and then only minimally, said Ellen Andersen, an associate professor of political science at the University of Vermont. She noted that Morton, Willhoit and Kenyon — chosen by the Republican State Committee in August to go up against the Democratic incumbents — didn’t seem to be trying hard enough to reach voters.
“The Condos race was the closest, as there was a relatively active opponent,” she said.
Condos said he never took the race for granted. He didn’t use signs, even though he had plenty of them, because his opponent had said he didn’t believe in using them, Condos said Tuesday. He added that the run shows Vermonters want statewide officials who focus on their work, not politics.
“For the most part we all run our offices in a non-partisan fashion,” he said. “We are doing what is right for Vermont, not what is right for a party.”
