In the race for lieutenant governor, Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe and activist Brenda Siegel have been splitting the endorsements on the progressive left, as the four candidates running for the Democratic nomination seek to stand out in the highly competitive field.
Ashe, who began his political career as a Progressive city councilor in Burlington and staffer for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has lost out on some progressive support to Siegel. He also failed to pick up the endorsement of Sanders, who weighed in on other contested primaries, including some statewide races and Vermont House and Senate contests, but not the lieutenant governor’s race.
In recent weeks, many progressive groups, including the social justice organization Rights & Democracy, the national organization Progressives for Democracy in America, and the Champlain Valley chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, have rallied behind Siegel.
Siegel has never held public office, but ran for governor in 2018.
Ashe has received endorsements from several unions, and the Sierra Club, a left-leaning environmental group. He also nearly won the nomination from the Vermont Progressive Party, but failed to meet the party’s requirement of a two-thirds majority vote.
Assistant Attorney General Molly Gray, another candidate in the race, has touted the support she has received from Vermont’s Democratic establishment. She won the endorsements of former Democratic Govs. Madeleine Kunin and Peter Shumlin, as well as support from current and former staffers to Vermont’s congressional delegation.
On Tuesday, Gray and Sen. Debbie Ingram, D-Chittenden, another candidate for lieutenant governor, were both endorsed by the Vermont State Employees’ Union (VSEA), which represents more than 6,000 state workers.
But it remains unclear whether endorsements will prove influential on the outcome of the Democratic primary race — even more so without any “horse race” polling expected ahead of Vermont’s primary election on Aug. 11.
Sen. Anthony Pollina, the chair of the Vermont Progressive Party, said that endorsements from progressive groups in primaries can be consequential, because more people on the left of the political spectrum tend to vote.
But he noted that this year, their support is divided in the lieutenant governor’s race because of the crowded field.
“I don’t think anybody’s getting all the endorsements of the progressive groups,” Pollina said. “There are so many candidates running and the endorsements are getting split.”
The Vermont Progressive Party, which uses a system of ranked choice voting to endorse candidates, heavily favored Ashe and Siegel over Gray and Ingram.
In ranked choice voting, voters rank candidates in order of preference, in multiple rounds, eliminating the candidates with the lowest number after each round. Voters’ second choice votes are redistributed, when their first choice candidate is eliminated.
In the first round, 45.2% of party members listed Ashe as their first choice and 42.5% listed Siegel. Gray and Ingram both had 1.4%, and about 10% favored no endorsement at all. In the final round, Ashe received 63% of the vote — just missing the two-thirds majority needed for endorsement. While 46 party members voted to endorse Ashe, 27 voted not to endorse any candidate.
Pollina said Siegel stands out to Progressives because she has the most “progressive point of view” of all the candidates. He said, for example, that she discusses raising taxes on the wealthy to fund new programs, and moving towards a publicly funded health care system.
“She’s the most clear and forceful in staking out her positions on progressive issues,” Pollina said. “And this is not a criticism, but of course it’s easier to do that when you haven’t been in office so you know, you don’t have to defend anything.”
Ashe said that he’s not concerned “about any endorsement as make-or-break for a candidacy.”
“Because ultimately, it’s how people vote in the election that matters,” Ashe said. “And I’ve enjoyed very strong Democratic support, obviously, in my races for state Senate. I’ve also enjoyed support from Progressive voters and actually, Republicans and independents.”
“Anyone who knows me knows that I am very determined to be judged on what I get done,” he said.
“I have not been in public service trying to court any group for the purpose of ensuring endorsements or anything,” he added. “And I’m very proud that those who have watched me most closely, have been supporting my candidacy very enthusiastically.”
Ashe has been endorsed by about a dozen serving state senators, the Vermont Building and Construction Trades Council and Gunsense Vermont, a gun control advocacy group. He has also been endorsed by the union that represents staff at the Brattleboro Retreat, and the Professional Firefighters of Vermont, a firefighters’ union.
Rights & Democracy, as well as its “movement politics” director, Kiah Morris, a former state rep in Bennington, have both backed Siegel.
Morris, who was the only Black female legislator in the Vermont Statehouse, said she endorsed Siegel because she has “overcome great adversity” and has met directly with communities across different ethnic and social groups.
On the campaign trail, Siegel often discusses her background as a low-income single mother.
Morris said that Siegel has “dedicated her life to finding ways to not only lift up others’ voices, but to position herself to be ready to lead effectively.”
Morris declined to say why she endorsed Siegel over other candidates. But she said the endorsement of several progressive groups for Siegel “speaks volumes to the fact that [Siegel] actually walks the talk.”
“There are individuals who carry the moniker of a Progressive or a Democrat or whatever, and they don’t live up to, even their party values,” Morris said, adding that those individuals existed “up and down the ballot.”
Ingram, who has touted her work on social justice policies in the Legislature, said she found it “particularly disappointing” that she didn’t receive the endorsement of Rights & Democracy.
She previously served on the group’s advisory board.
But she wasn’t surprised that Siegel has received endorsements from other progressive groups.
“Brenda is definitely to the left of me generally speaking in terms of our policy orientation so that makes sense,” Ingram said.
Ingram received the endorsement of the racial justice group Justice for All last month.
Eric Davis, an emeritus political science professor at Middlebury College, said he doesn’t believe that endorsements play a huge role in influencing Vermont elections.
“If Bernie himself were to come out in support of any of these candidates that might make a difference,” he said. “But other than that, I don’t think these organizational endorsements are going to make much of a difference.”
Davis added that endorsements from large organizations like VSEA and the Vermont-NEA may have some influence because their groups have large memberships.
Steve Howard, the executive director of the VSEA, said Gray and Ingram both demonstrated they would best support the VSEA’s members.
Howard added that the union declined to back Ashe because it has had to “do battle” with him on issues in the Legislature, including funding increases for the state college system and budgets for state employees.
The NEA will not be endorsing in the primary, according to its spokesperson Darren Allen.
While Sanders has waded into other races in Vermont, he has not weighed in on the competitive lieutenant governor contest.
In recent weeks, he has endorsed Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive Democrat, in the governor’s race, as well as the incumbent statewide officials: Attorney General TJ Donovan, State Treasurer Beth Pearce and State Auditor Doug Hoffer.
He has even endorsed candidates in local races — on Monday he announced he was supporting longtime housing advocate Erhard Mahnke, and incumbent Sen. Chris Pearson, a Progressive Democrat in the competitive Chittenden County Senate race. He is also supporting Tanya Vyhovsky, a Progressive Democrat who is running for a House seat in Essex.
Sanders’ office did not return a request for comment about the lack of an endorsement in the lieutenant governor’s race.
Siegel said that she believes endorsements in this year’s race may be more significant than in others.
She said that it may help them stand out in a time when campaigning has been made more difficult by the pandemic.
“I think it matters a little bit more in this race because there’s very few ways for us to get out there,” Siegel said.
