BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The race for lieutenant governor was expected to be a tight one and late Tuesday night it was still too close to call.
Incumbent Progressive Democrat David Zuckerman is fighting to keep his job. But as of 11 p.m., Republican challenger John Rodgers had pulled ahead by a few thousand votes with almost 90% of votes in.
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Originally from Massachusetts, Zuckerman attended the University of Vermont in the 1990s and was inspired by Bernie Sanders before serving in the Legislature for a number of years. He’s currently in his second stint as lieutenant governor after an unsuccessful run for governor four years ago.
Born and raised on a dairy farm in the Northeast Kingdom, Rodgers previously served in the House and Senate as a moderate Democrat but recently swapped his party affiliation, saying the Democratic Party has moved too far left, leaving him and other moderates behind. The former member of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources says bills at the Statehouse, especially dealing with the environment and energy, are being written by lobbyists and special interests. He says that taxes and fees passed by state lawmakers are increasingly falling on working-class and rural Vermonters.