2022 Vermont lieutenant gubernatorial election

2022 Vermont lieutenant gubernatorial election

← 2020 November 8, 2022 2024 →
 
Nominee David Zuckerman Joe Benning
Party Progressive Republican
Alliance Democratic
Popular vote 150,102 118,724
Percentage 53.9% 42.6%

Zuckerman:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Benning:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Tie:      40–50%      40–50%
     No votes

Lieutenant Governor before election

Molly Gray
Democratic

Elected Lieutenant Governor

David Zuckerman
Progressive

The 2022 Vermont lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the lieutenant governor of the state of Vermont. The election coincided with various other federal and state elections, including for Governor of Vermont. Primary elections were held on August 9. Vermont is one of 21 states that elects its lieutenant governor separately from its governor.

Incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Molly Gray retired to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. She was first elected in 2020, defeating Republican businessman Scott Milne with 51.3% of the vote. Former lieutenant governor David Zuckerman won the election as the Progressive candidate, defeating his Republican opponent Joe Benning. Zuckerman became the first Vermont Progressive to be elected lieutenant governor in Vermont's history and the first person elected to a statewide office without a formal designation as a Democrat or Republican since 2004. Benning was the second-best-performing Republican in Vermont during the 2022 cycle, only being outperformed by incumbent governor Phil Scott in the concurrent gubernatorial election.

Democratic primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

Nominee[edit]

Eliminated in primary[edit]

Declined[edit]

Endorsements[edit]

Patricia Preston
Local officials
David Zuckerman

Polling[edit]

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Charlie
Kimbell
Patricia
Preston
Kitty
Toll
David
Zuckerman
Other Undecided
University of New Hampshire July 21–25, 2022 352 (LV) ± 5.2% 4% 7% 23% 38% 0% 27%

Results[edit]

Results by county:
  Zuckerman—50–60%
  Zuckerman—40–50%
  Toll—40–50%
  Toll—50–60%
  Toll—60–70%
Democratic primary results[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David Zuckerman 42,562 43.71
Democratic Catherine Toll 37,868 38.89
Democratic Patricia Preston 9,326 9.58
Democratic Charles Kimbell 7,253 7.45
Write-in 356 0.37
Total votes 97,365 100.00

Republican primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

Nominee[edit]

Eliminated in primary[edit]

  • Gregory Thayer, accountant, former Rutland city councillor, and former chair of the Rutland Republican Party[20][21]

Declined[edit]

Polling[edit]

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Joe
Benning
Gregory
Thayer
Other Undecided
University of New Hampshire July 21–25, 2022 196 (LV) ± 7.0% 33% 20% 0% 47%

Results[edit]

Results by county:
  Benning—80–90%
  Benning—70–80%
  Benning—60–70%
  Benning—50–60%
  Thayer—50–60%
  Thayer—60–70%
Republican primary results[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe Benning 14,678 53.51
Republican Gregory Thayer 12,188 44.44
Write-in 562 2.05
Total votes 27,428 100.00

Progressive primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

Declared[edit]

Withdrew[edit]

Results[edit]

Progressive primary results[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive David Zuckerman (write-in) 118 55.14
Write-in 96 44.86
Total votes 214 100.00

Other parties[edit]

Candidates[edit]

Declared[edit]

General election[edit]

Endorsements[edit]

David Zuckerman (P/D)

Polling[edit]

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
David
Zuckerman (P/D)
Joe
Benning (R)
Other Undecided
University of New Hampshire September 29 – October 3, 2022 865 (LV) ± 3.5% 51% 35% 2%[c] 12%

Results[edit]

2022 Vermont lieutenant gubernatorial election[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive David Zuckerman[d] 150,102 53.85% +0.09
Republican Joe Benning 118,724 42.60% –3.42
Green Mountain Ian Diamondstone 8,159 2.93% N/A
Write-in 1,738 0.62% +0.21
Total votes 278,823 100.00%
Progressive gain from Democratic

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c This individual is a member of the Vermont Progressive Party, but runs in Democratic primaries through Vermont's electoral fusion system.
  2. ^ a b c Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  3. ^ Diamondstone with 2%; "Other" with 0%
  4. ^ Candidate received the nominations of both the Progressive and Democratic parties and will be listed on the ballot as "Progressive/Democratic" (candidate is primarily a Progressive).

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Patricia Preston launches campaign for lieutenant governor | Vermont Business Magazine". vermontbiz.com.
  2. ^ a b Duffort, Lola (January 21, 2022). "Former LGs Zuckerman and Racine say they're mulling a run for their old job". VTDigger.
  3. ^ a b c "Former Vermont Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman announces campaign to return to the seat". WAMC. February 8, 2022.
  4. ^ Duffort, Lola (February 7, 2022). "David Zuckerman seeks to reclaim lieutenant governor's office". VTDigger.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Duffort, Lola (December 15, 2021). "Vermont's lieutenant governor is running for Congress. So who's running for lieutenant governor?". VTDigger.
  6. ^ Mearhoff, Sarah (January 3, 2022). "Woodstock Democrat Charlie Kimbell to run for lieutenant governor". VTDigger.
  7. ^ McCallum, Kevin. "Political Newcomer Patricia Preston Announces Run for Lieutenant Governor". Seven Days.
  8. ^ Duffort, Lola (February 4, 2022). "Kitty Toll, former House Appropriations chair, is running for lieutenant governor". VTDigger.
  9. ^ Huntley, Katharine (May 5, 2022). "Donovan won't seek reelection as Vermont attorney general". WCAX-TV. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  10. ^ "Vermont Lt. Gov. Molly Gray to seek US House seat". www.wcax.com. December 6, 2021.
  11. ^ Duffort, Lola; Mearhoff, Sarah (January 12, 2022). "Kesha Ram Hinsdale to join Vermont congressional race". VTDigger.
  12. ^ Goldstein, Sasha (January 13, 2022). "Vermont Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale Joins Race for U.S. House". sevendaysvt.com. Seven Days. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  13. ^ "Brenda Siegel Announces She'll Run for Governor of Vermont".
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Big Money in the Democratic LG Race (And Other Campaign Finance Notes)". The Vermont Political Observer. March 16, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Mearhoff, Sarah (August 1, 2022). "Bernie Sanders endorses David Zuckerman's bid for lieutenant governor".
  16. ^ a b Mearhoff, Sarah; Duffort, Lola; Robinson, Riley (March 9, 2022). "Final Reading: Like Uber, for everyone". VTDigger.
  17. ^ a b c @progparty (March 24, 2022). "Our Progressive State Committee has voted to endorse @DaveZuckermanVT for the office of Lt. Governor. He won over 95% of the vote. David has fought for the issues we care about for his entire career and we are excited to get to work. Please join us. #vtpoli #vt" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ a b c "Vermont Election Night Results". Secretary of State of Vermont. August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  19. ^ McCallum, Kevin. "Benning Launches LG Bid by Promising to Be a 'Cheerleader' for Vermont". Seven Days.
  20. ^ Mearhoff, Sarah (January 27, 2022). "Former Rutland GOP chair launches bid for lieutenant governor". VTDigger.
  21. ^ Lyons, Olivia. "Thayer to run for Vermont lieutenant governor". www.wcax.com.
  22. ^ "Buckle up: Vermont's Robust August Primary Contests Take Shape".
  23. ^ "Cindy Weed".
  24. ^ "General Election Candidates". sos.vermont.gov. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  25. ^ "Editorial: Endorsements". November 3, 2022.
  26. ^ Mearhoff, Sarah (August 2, 2022). "In the Republican lieutenant governor primary, one candidate sees an existential crisis. The other doesn't 'buy into that.'". VTDigger. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  27. ^ "Former Gov. Jim Douglas endorses Joe Benning for lieutenant governor". VTDigger. May 31, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  28. ^ "Vermont Lieutenant Governor Election Results 2022". NBC News. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.