Sen. Debbie Ingram, D-Chittenden, has entered the race for lieutenant governor.
Ingram, who has served in the Vermont Senate since 2016, announced her bid for lieutenant governor in an email to reporters Wednesday morning, saying she is running “to improve the lives of those I serve.”
Her decision puts a second Senate seat in Chittenden County in play along with Senate Pro Tem Tim Ashe, D/P-Burlington, who is also running for the lieutenant governor post.
“Since the LG post is mostly a ‘create your own adventure’ kind of job, with few designated duties, it is the perfect platform to listen to people and to bring them together,” Ingram said in the email.
“I have the skills and experience to bring everyday Vermonters into the law-making process so that they feel heard and respected, by each other and by legislators and the administration,” she added.
Ingram has served for six years on the Williston Planning Commission, six years on the Williston Selectboard, and is currently in her fourth year in the Vermont Senate. She is also an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and is the executive director of Vermont Interfaith Action, a nonprofit coalition of congregations that advocate for social justice.
Ingram has been vocal about substance use during her time in the Senate and has personally struggled with alcohol. In 2017, during her first term in the Senate, Ingram was arrested for driving under the influence. She issued a full apology at the time, saying she had “experienced a relapse of the disease of alcoholism.”
Ingram’s decision to enter the statewide race comes after there was a flurry of political maneuvering in the wake of current Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman’s announcement he is running for governor.
Ashe announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor last week and former gubernatorial candidate Brenda Siegel has also thrown her hat in the ring. Assistant Attorney General Molly Gray has said she intends to run, but is not yet prepared to make it official.
House Committee on Government Operations Chair Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford, had also been considering a bid for lieutenant governor, but Wednesday told VTDigger she had decided against running.
Hanzas said she isn’t prepared to endorse any other candidate at this point.
“I expect I will,” she said. “I need to have deeper conversations with those who are running.”
With Ashe and Ingram now vying for lieutenant governor, it opens up two Chittenden County senate seats, an attractive option for House members seeking to switch chambers and for others looking for a chance to win a seat without facing an incumbent.
Former Rep. Kesha Ram, D-Burlington, and Rep. Dylan Giambatista, D-Essex Junction, both announced Tuesday they are planning to run for a seat in the six-member Chittenden Senate District. Louis Meyers, a doctor who campaigned for a Chittenden Senate seat in 2018 as an independent and lost, is running again this year, as a Democrat.
Editor’s note — John Walters contributed reporting.
Correction: Louis Meyers is running as a Democrat, not an independent.