BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The Republican candidates for lieutenant governor of Vermont will face off on WCAX Monday.
The debate between John Rodgers and Gregory Thayer starts at 6:30 p.m. You can watch it live on WCAX Channel 3 or in the player above when it begins, or click here for a direct link.
Gregory Thayer, of Rutland, is an accountant and former city alderman. The self-proclaimed constitutional conservative is a staunch supporter of former president Donald Trump and was at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, but says he did not go inside or participate in the violence.
Thayer says he’ll fight rising taxes and government overreach, and will use the office to cut spending in state government and education.
John Rodgers, of West Glover, is a former Democratic lawmaker who was raised on a dairy farm in the Northeast Kingdom. Rodgers changed parties for this election, saying the Democratic Party is moving too far left, leaving him and other moderates behind.
Rodgers says property taxes are a top priority and he wants to rewrite the education funding formula and find savings by combining supervisory unions and reducing administrative costs. He wants to focus on affordability.
Watch our Primary Preview coverage of the two candidates in the player below.
Rodgers and Thayer will face off from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday live on WCAX Channel 3 and on our website.
This will be the first of the WCAX News primary debates this election season, and it’s the first of three debates planned for this week on WCAX.
On Wednesday, the Democrats for lieutenant governor will face off, followed by the Democrats for governor on Thursday.