# 2018 Vermont gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 2018 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Vermont, concurrently with the election of Vermont's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Phil Scott, who was first elected in 2016, was re-elected to a second term in office. Hallquist's 40.3% was also the worst performance for a Democratic Party candidate since 2008. This was one of eight Republican-held governorships up for election in a state that Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election.
Despite initial expectations of a potentially close race due to national blue wave, Scott easily won reelection in what became a difficult year for Republicans, winning by 15 percentage points. As of 2025, this election marked the last time a Democratic candidate won a county in a gubernatorial election in Vermont.

## Background

Along with New Hampshire, Vermont is one of only two states where governors are elected to two-year terms. Republican Phil Scott was elected in the 2016 election.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Phil Scott, incumbent governor

#### Eliminated in primary

* Keith Stern, businessman, Republican candidate for U.S. representative in 2010, independent candidate for U.S. representative in 2006, independent candidate for U.S. senator in 2004

#### Endorsements
### Debates and forums

* CCTV Channel 17 Republican Primary Forum for Governor 7/25/2018
* WCAX Democratic+Republican forum 7/31/2018

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Phil Scott (incumbent) | 24,042 | 66.67 |
| | Republican | Keith Stern | 11,617 | 32.22 |
| | Republican | Write-ins | 401 | 1.11 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 36,060 | 100.0 |
| | Republican | Blank votes | 700 | |
| | Republican | Overvotes | 20 | |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Nominated

* Christine Hallquist, CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative

#### Eliminated in primary

* James Ehlers, executive director of Lake Champlain International and environmentalist
* John S. Rodgers, current State Senator from Essex County, former State Representative, and construction business owner (write-in candidate)
* Brenda Siegel, opioid epidemic and Brattleboro hurricane relief activist and worker, former community organizer for Bernie Sanders, southern Vermont nonprofit executive and founding director (also ran in Progressive primary)
* Ethan Sonneborn, freshman in high school who began his campaign when he was 13 years old. The election was held a few weeks before he entered his freshman year of high school. His campaign was focused on healthcare for all, the environment, economy, and education. Had he won, he would have been the youngest governor in American history. Vermont (as well as Kansas) does not have a minimum age requirement for governor.

### Endorsements

Organizations
* AFL-CIO
People
* Ben Cohen
Statewide and local politicians
* Mike Mrowicki, state representative
* Tommy Walz, state representative
Businesses
* Vermont Green Grow Wellness Center
Organizations
* Emerge Vermont
* SolutionsToWork
People
* Mark Hughes, executive director of Justice for All, organizer of Poor Peoples Campaign VT

### Debates and forums

* Brattleboro Community TV Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates Forum 6/6/2018
* CCTV Channel 17 Democratic Primary Forum for Governor hosted by VTDigger 8/2/2018
* WCAX Democratic+Republican forum 7/31/2018

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Christine Hallquist | 27,622 | 45.07 |
| | Democratic | James Ehlers | 12,668 | 20.67 |
| | Democratic | Brenda Siegel | 12,260 | 20.01 |
| | Democratic | Ethan Sonneborn | 4,696 | 7.66 |
| | Democratic | John S. Rodgers (write-in) | 950 | 1.55 |
| | Democratic | Write-ins (other) | 3,074 | 5.02 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 61,279 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic | Blank votes | 7,997 | |
| | Democratic | Overvotes | 68 | |
With this result, Christine Hallquist became the first openly transgender candidate for governor nominated by a major political party in the United States.

## Progressive primary
### Candidates
#### Eliminated in primary
##### Write-in

* Brenda Siegel (also ran in Democratic primary)

### Endorsements

Statewide and local politicians
* Mike Mrowicki, state representative
* Tommy Walz, state representative
Businesses
* Vermont Green Grow Wellness Center
Organizations
* Emerge Vermont
* SolutionsToWork
People
* Mark Hughes, executive director of Justice for All, organizer of Poor Peoples Campaign VT

### Debates and forums

* Brattleboro Community TV Meet the Candidates for VT Governor 7/18/2018

### Results

Vermont Progressive Party primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressive | Brenda Siegel (write-in) | 35 | 8.75 |
| | Progressive | Write-ins (other) | 365 | 91.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 400 | 100.0 |
| | Progressive | Blank votes | 199 | |

## Libertarian nomination
### Candidates
#### Withdrawn

* Seth Cournoyer (running for State Senate instead)

## Liberty Union nomination
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Emily Peyton, candidate for governor in 2014

## Independents
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Trevor Barlow, business and startup executive and founder, coach, as well as community and nonprofit board volunteer
* Cris Ericson, activist and perennial candidate also ran for congress.
* Charles Laramie, activist, roofing architect, school teacher, United States Navy veteran, and Vermont Air National Guard
* Stephen Marx, environmentalist

##### Write-in

* Tarl Warwick, far-right author, internet personality, and YouTuber

#### Withdrawn

* Joseph Barney, auto and agricultural mechanic, member of the Vermont Army National Guard, and school teacher

## General election
### Debates

* Complete video of debate, October 17, 2018

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe R | October 26, 2018 |
| The Washington Post | Lean R | November 5, 2018 |
| FiveThirtyEight | Safe R | November 5, 2018 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe R | November 1, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | November 5, 2018 |
| RealClearPolitics | Likely R | November 4, 2018 |
| Daily Kos | Likely R | November 5, 2018 |
| Fox News | Likely R | November 5, 2018 |
| Politico | Lean R | November 5, 2018 |
| Governing | Safe R | November 5, 2018 |

#### Notes

* ↑ The Fox News Midterm Power Rankings uniquely does not contain a category for Safe/Solid races

### Endorsements

US Cabinet members and Cabinet-level officials
* Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States
* Joe Biden, 47th vice president of the United States
US senators
* Cory Booker, US senator (D-NJ)
* Elizabeth Warren, US senator (D-MA)
* Bernie Sanders, US senator (I-VT)
* Patrick Leahy, US senator (D-VT)
US representatives
* Joe Kennedy III, US representative (D-MA-4)
* Peter Welch, US representative (D-VT)
Statewide and local politicians
* Martin O'Malley, former governor of Maryland
* Claire Ayer, state senator
* Chris Bray, state senator
* Joey Donovan, state representative
* Alice Emmons, state representative
* Helen Head, state representative
* Matt Hill, state representative
* Warren Kitzmiller, state representative
* Gabe Lucke, state representative
* Curt McCormack, state representative
* Dick McCormack, state senator
* Mary Sullivan, state representative
Individuals
* Misha Collins, actor and former White House intern
* Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, educator and political activist; Democratic nominee for NY-14 in 2018
Labor unions
* Vermont-NEA
Organizations
* Human Rights Campaign
* Justice Democrats
* LGBTQ Victory Fund
* LPAC
Statewide and local politicians
* Rep. David Ainsworth
* Rep. Bob Bancroft
* Rep. Fred Baser
* Rep. Lynn Batchelor
* Rep. Scott Beck
* Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning
* Sen. Carolyn Branagan
* Rep. Pat Brennan
* Sen. Randy Brock
* Rep. Tom Burditt
* Rep. Bill Canfield
* Sen. Brian Collamore
* Rep. Larry Cupoli
* Rep. Dennis Devereux
* Rep. Lynn Dickinson
* Rep. Anne Donahue
* Gov. Jim Douglas (former)
* Lt gov. Brian Dubie (former)
* Rep. Peter Fagan
* Rep. Marty Feltus
* Sen. Peg Flory
* Rep. Bob Frenier
* Rep. Marianna Gamache
* Rep. Rodney Graham
* Rep. Jim Harrison
* Rep. Bob Helm
* Rep. Mark Higley
* Rep. Bernie Juskiewicz
* Rep. Brian Keefe
* Rep. Rob LaClair
* Rep. Richard Lawrence
* Rep. Paul Lefebvre
* Rep. Patti Lewis
* Rep. Michael Marcotte
* Rep. Marcia Martel
* Rep. Chris Mattos
* Rep. Pattie McCoy
* Rep. Topper McFaun
* Rep. Mary Morrissey
* Rep. Linda Myers
* Rep. Gary Nolan
* Rep. Corey Parent
* Rep. Chuck Pearce
* Rep. Connie Quimby
* Rep. Carl Rosenquist
* Rep. Brian Savage
* Rep. Heidi Scheuermann
* Rep. Butch Shaw
* Rep. Brian Smith
* Rep. Harvey Smith
* Sen. David Soucy
* Rep. Vicki Strong
* Rep. Tom Terenzini
* House Minority Leader Don Turner
* Rep. Warren Van Wyck
* Rep. Gary Viens
* Sen. Richie Westman
* Rep. Janssen Willhoit
* Rep. Kurt Wright
Organizations
* National Federation of Independent Business
* Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Phil Scott (R) | Christine Hallquist (D) | Other | Undecided |
| Gravis Marketing | October 30 – November 1, 2018 | 885 | ± 3.3% | 49% | 39% | – | 12% |
| Braun Research | October 5–14, 2018 | 495 | ± 4.4% | 42% | 28% | 7% | 22% |
| Tulchin Research (D-Vermont Democratic Party) | September 23–26, 2018 | 406 | ± 4.9% | 50% | 42% | – | – |

### Results

2018 Vermont gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Phil Scott (incumbent) | 151,261 | 55.19% | +2.28% |
| | Democratic | Christine Hallquist | 110,335 | 40.25% | −3.91% |
| | Independent | Trevor Barlow | 3,266 | 1.19% | N/A |
| | Independent | Charles Laramie | 2,287 | 0.83% | N/A |
| | Marijuana | Cris Ericson | 2,129 | 0.78% | N/A |
| | Earth Rights | Stephen Marx | 1,855 | 0.68% | N/A |
| | Liberty Union | Emily Peyton | 1,839 | 0.66% | −2.17% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1,115 | 0.41% | -0.31% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 274,087 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Chittenden (largest municipality: Burlington)
* Windsor (largest municipality: Hartford)