Already a member?
Sign in
| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2 2008, 10:12 PM EDT | benawu | |
| Apr 2 2008, 10:11 PM EDT | benawu |
Changes
Key: Additions Deletions
| Incumbent | Jim Douglas |
| Party | Republican |
| Seeking Re-election? | Most Likely |
| Candidate Website | Governor Website Campaign Website |
| Potential Challenger | Vermont House Speaker Gaye Symington |
| Party | Democratic |
| Source of Information | The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus April 2 2008 |
| Candidate Website |
| Potential Challenger | Paul Millman |
| Party | Democratic |
| Source of Information | Blog Speculation/Rumor |
| Candidate Website | none Article at Chroma.com |
| Withdrawn Challenger | Matt Dunne |
| Party | Democratic |
| Source of Information | Candidate announcement |
| Candidate Website | Campaign Website |
| Challenger | Cris Ericson |
| Party | Marijuana Party |
| Source of Information | Candidate Announcement |
| Candidate Website | Campaign Website |
| Potential Challenger | Deb Markowitz - Current Sec. of State |
| Party | Democratic |
| Source of Information | Blog Speculation |
| Candidate Website | Candidate Website |
| Updates | run considered highly unlikely according to CW |
| Potential Challenger | Scudder Parker |
| Party | Democratic Nominee 2006 |
| Source of Information | Rumor / CW |
| Candidate Website | Campaign Website |
| Updates | Parker has expressed no desire to run again |
| Potential Challenger | Peter Shumlin |
| Party | Democratic |
| Source of Information | CW (highly unlikely according to CW) |
| Candidate Website | None, at this point, in January there'll be the website for the President Pro Tem of the VT Senate. |
| Updates | Despite CW, Shumlin has roundly dismissed the idea for this cycle. |
| Potential Challenger | Bill Sorrell - Current Attorney General |
| Party | Democratic |
| Source of Information | Blog speculation |
| Candidate Website | AG Campaign Site Official VT AG Site |
| Updates | Sorrell quoted as stating "I'm not saying no." |
Background Information
Vermont, a small mostly-rural north-eastern state, has traditionally had independent-minded voters which in recent years has come to favor Democrats.After Democratic Governor Howard Dean retired in 2002 (ultimately going on to an unsuccessful Presidential bid and becoming the Democratic National Committee Chair), Republican Jim Douglas was elected with a margin of 45%-42% over Democrat Doug Racine. Douglas won re-election in 2004 (59%-38% over Democrat Peter Clavelle), and again in 2006 over Democrat Scudder Parker (57%-41%). Democrats have had a difficult time unseating Douglas due to his moderate or non-committal stances on most issues, and despite being the Chair of the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign in Vermont. (Bush lost VT in 2000 and 2004 by significant margins).
Note: In Vermont politics, there are often several third party candidates running (such as Libertarian, Legalize Marijuana, Liberty Union, or Independent) alongside the Democratic and Republican opponents. Although they typically fail to garner more than 1% of the vote each, there are often several of them running in any given race, and need to be taken into account. In addition the state's largest third party, the Vermont Progressive Party, has in the past run a statewide candidate receiving nearly 25% of the vote (Anthony Pollina in the 2002 Lt. Gov race) and were they to run a strong candidate it could have a significant impact on the race. As of now it seems unlikely that they will field a candidate.
Resources
Below you will find more information about the 2008 Gubernatorial race in Vermont.General
Wikipedia: 2006 VT Gubernatorial electionNational Journal: 2006 VT Gubernatorial election
Green Mountain Daily initial analysis
Green Mountain Daily analysis of Dunne, Sorrell and Millman
