Updated Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 12:38 p.m.
Progressive/Democrat David Zuckerman has won the race for Vermont lieutenant governor, setting up his second stint in the office come January.
Zuckerman defeated his chief opponent, Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, 51% to 41%, according to complete but uncertified results released Wednesday by the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office.
In a year featuring a historic number of open statewide races — in Vermont’s congressional delegation and its executive branch — the race for lieutenant governor saw the tightest margin between its top two contenders.
Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, the incumbent Democrat, chose to vacate the seat in order to run for Congress this year but lost in the primary.
On stage at the Vermont Democratic Party’s election night gathering in Burlington, Zuckerman celebrated not only his win, but those of Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
“Throughout this campaign, I’ve highlighted the economic stress Vermonters are facing,” he said. “The anxiety, the economic stress, combined with the anxiety of our planetary climate crisis, is weighing folks down…. The breakdown of our democracy and respectful discourse of people with different political differences is weighing people down. People are tired. We need leaders who are willing to step up and meet these huge challenges we’re facing right now.
“And today voters made that choice,” Zuckerman said, gesturing to his Democratic colleagues standing in a row behind him.
Benning did not immediately respond to an inquiry from VTDigger early Wednesday. He stayed home Tuesday night, forgoing celebrations hosted by Scott’s campaign and the Vermont GOP.
This won’t be Zuckerman’s first time in the lieutenant governor’s office on the first floor of the Statehouse — or refereeing state Senate proceedings from behind the chamber’s podium. Zuckerman held the largely ceremonial position for two terms before vacating it to challenge Republican Gov. Phil Scott in the 2020 gubernatorial election. Scott had a commanding victory that year: 69% to Zuckerman’s 27%.
Prior to his time as lieutenant governor, Zuckerman served for 14 years in the Vermont House, and later, four years in the state Senate. He has staked out a liberal position on the political spectrum throughout his years in office and on the campaign trail. Over the years, he gained prominence in progressive circles alongside allies such as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and retiring state Sen. Anthony Pollina, P/D-Washington.
This campaign cycle, Zuckerman’s prior experience in the lieutenant governor’s office was both an asset and a vulnerability for him. He touted his years in the office, assuring voters he knew the ins and outs of the position. But on the debate stage, Benning attempted to paint him as an opportunist, already eyeing his next statewide bid.
Benning also questioned how effectively Zuckerman would be able to work alongside Scott after the two engaged in bitter rhetoric during the 2020 gubernatorial race. Zuckerman pushed back against that argument, saying past elections were behind them.
The primary duty of the ceremonial position is presiding over the state Senate during the Legislature’s part-time session. The lieutenant governor does not write or vote on legislation, sign bills into law or strike them down with a veto. At most, the lieutenant governor can cast a tie-breaking vote if necessary in the Senate.
But it’s a visible role in state government that has afforded lieutenant governors in years past — including Zuckerman — the time and resources to embark on statewide tours to get face time with constituents.
The position has also gained a reputation over the years as a stepping stone from which lieutenant governors have attempted, with mixed success, to move into higher office. Scott was lieutenant governor before winning his first term as governor in 2016. Zuckerman attempted to take the same path.
During his 2020 gubernatorial campaign, Zuckerman told reporters and voters that he was running for higher office because he was frustrated by the limits of the LG role. In 2020, he told VTDigger that having influence over policy-making “is by far the thing I miss the most.”
A central tenet of Benning’s campaign was to critique the revolving nature of the lieutenant governor’s office. Having represented the Caledonia district in the state Senate for 11 years, he emphasized his years of institutional knowledge during his first statewide campaign and said he could provide the office with stability amid historic legislative turnover and the continuing ripple effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also promised that, should he win, he would run for the seat at least once more in 2024 — a not-so-subtle jab at Zuckerman’s recent history.
Benning’s colleagues mused that he appeared to be attempting to follow in Scott’s footsteps as a moderate Republican with statewide appeal. While Benning certainly tried to appeal to Scott’s voters and draw parallels between himself and the nation’s second-most popular governor, he maintained that he doesn’t want Scott’s job.
Asked specifically about a future gubernatorial bid, Benning told VTDigger in October, “I just don't look at the job as something that I feel like I've got to have for my ego purposes.”
But Benning has also admitted in the past that the Vermont Republican Party’s bench of viable statewide candidates to succeed Scott is lacking.
