Sue Minter

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Scott vs. Minter: How the race played out

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MONTPELIER — After months of campaigning, millions of dollars spent and countless hours of plotting and strategizing from both campaigns, in the end, the gubernatorial race in Vermont was not a close contest. Republican Phil Scott, the state’s current lieutenant governor, and now governor-elect, beat Democratic gubernatorial nominee Sue Minter by a very comfortable margin — 52 percent to 43.5 percent. Public polls commissioned by Vermont Public Radio and WCAX released in mid-October showed a closer race, with Scott leading by 1 percent and 7 percent, respectively. There was plenty of speculation in the days before Election Day that the winner may only receive a plurality, and once again, the race would be tossed to the Legislature to finish. But it was not close. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Elections, Governor, News, Politics, State Government, Phil Scott, Sue Minter

Gov.-elect Scott begins transition, pledges to find common ground with Democrats

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MONTPELIER — Republican Gov.-elect Phil Scott claimed a mandate Wednesday for his incoming administration to focus on the economy while pledging to work with the Democratic-led Legislature to improve the fiscal lives of Vermonters. Scott, 58, defeated Democratic gubernatorial nominee Sue Minter Tuesday by a 52 percent to 43.5 percent margin. In January he will be sworn in as the state’s 82nd governor. But Vermonters send mixed signals at the voting booth. They opted for Progress and Democratic nominee David Zuckerman over Republican Randy Brock for lieutenant governor, and Senate Democrats expanded their dominance by two seats and now control 23 of the 30 total seats. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Elections, Governor, News, Politics, State Government, David Zuckerman, Donald Trump, Peter Shumlin

Scott wins gubernatorial race

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BURLINGTON — Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Scott won a decisive victory in Democratic leaning Vermont Tuesday and will become the state’s 82nd governor in January. With 224 of 275 voting districts reporting, Scott led Minter by a 54 percent to 42 percent margin with nearly 260,000 votes counted. Scott jumped out to an early lead on Minter, but the Democratic strong-hold of Burlington had yet to report results. Still, Scott bested Minter in other parts of Chittenden County — the state’s most populous. “For everyone that voted for me, your support means so much. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Elections, Governor, News, Politics, Peter Shumlin, Phil Scott, Sue Minter

Minter, Zuckerman see fundraising boost from Sanders plea

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MONTPELIER — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sue Minter continued to outpace Republican rival Phil Scott in fundraising during the critical period just ahead of Election Day, according to disclosure reports filed with the Secretary of State’s Office Friday. While the outcome of the gubernatorial election remains in question, one thing abundantly clear is that the candidates and their allies had plenty of money to ensure their messages were received by voters. Minter reported Friday that her campaign raised $446,312 in the 20-day reporting period between Oct. 13 and Nov. 1. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Bernie Sanders, David Zuckerman, Deb Bucknam, Phil Scott, Randy Brock, Sue Minter, T.J. Donovan

Governor-elect must decide on pension funding

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MONTPELIER — State Treasurer Beth Pearce has released the amount of money the state should set aside in next year’s budget for pension funds, leaving the winner of next Tuesday’s gubernatorial election to decide whether the state will provide 100 percent in their first recommended state budget. Pearce said the actuaries have recommended the state contribute $52,065,396 into the state employees’ pension fund. That amount would cover annual contributions and continue on a course to have the state employees’ pension system retire all of its unfunded liabilities by 2038. The payment in the pension, known as the actuarially required contribution, or ARC, was calculated by the state’s actuary, Buck Consultants, according to Pearce. She said the firm reviews census information to determine how much should be set aside. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Beth Pearce, Pensions, Peter Shumlin, Phil Scott, Sue Minter

WCAX poll gives Scott a 7-point lead

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MONTPELIER — A WCAX poll released Monday evening gives Republican gubernatorial nominee Phil Scott a 7-point advantage over his Democratic rival, a significant change from a Vermont Public Radio poll released a week earlier. The WCAX poll, conducted by New Jersey-based Braun Research, Inc., pegged Scott’s support at 47 percent. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Sue Minter received 40 percent. Liberty Union candidate Bill Lee received 4 percent support and 7 percent remain undecided. The VPR poll, released on Oct. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Braun Research, Castleton Polling Institute, Paul Braun, Phil Scott, Rich Clark, Sue Minter, VPR

Sanders rallies for Minter, Democrats

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MONTPELIER — Sen. Bernie Sanders brought his political revolution home to Vermont Friday night, rallying Vermont Democrats in support of the party’s statewide candidates and boosting the campaign of gubernatorial nominee Sue Minter who is locked in a tie race. Sanders, whose presidential campaign soared high enough to provide Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton with a serious challenge in the primary, played the roll of emcee, introducing each statewide candidate at the podium. He also shared an abridged version of the stump speech he bellowed out across the country during his presidential campaign. “Nationally, democracy is, in fact, being threatened by Citizen’s United and by billionaires all over this country who intend to do everything they can to buy elections. In Vermont, we are saying you are not going to buy this election. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Bernie Sanders, Elections, News, Politics, Bernie Sanders, David Zuckerman, Doug Hoffer, Jim Condos

Biden pushes progress on cancer research at UVM

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BURLINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden capped off an overnight visit to the Green Mountain State Friday with a discussion of the Cancer Moonshot task force he is heading at the request of the president. Biden’s 45-minute remarks at the University of Vermont Friday morning highlighted the Cancer Moonshot initiative President Barack Obama called for in his January State of the Union Address. He tapped Biden, whose own son Beau died of brain cancer last year, to head the effort aimed at achieving 10 years of progress on cancer research in the next five years. The university hosts the University of Vermont Cancer Center, which conducts research and more than 300 clinical trials each year in addition to treating cancer patients from around the state. Biden is visiting several similar centers to highlight the work of the task force. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Joe Biden, Patrick Leahy, Peter Shumlin, Peter Welch, Sue Minter, University of Vermont

VPR poll shows tied gubernatorial race

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MONTPELIER — Republican Phil Scott and Democrat Sue Minter are locked in a tie race for governor with three weeks to go and 14 percent of voters undecided, according to a Vermont Public Radio poll conducted by the Castleton Polling Institute released Wednesday. According to the poll results, Scott, the incumbent lieutenant governor, has a 1 percentage point lead over Sue Minter, a former secretary of the Agency of Transportation — 39 percent to 38 percent. Liberty Union candidate Bill Lee, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos, received 2 percent support. But 14 percent of the likely voters polled said they have yet to make up their mind. The poll of 650 likely voters has a 3.8 percent margin of error and includes live interviews from a mix of cell and land line phones. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Elections, Governor, News, Politics, Bernie Sanders, David Zuckerman, Deb Bucknam, Patrick Leahy

Sanders hitting the trail for Dems in Vermont

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MONTPELIER — Sen. Bernie Sanders will begin putting his star power to work on behalf of gubernatorial nominee Sue Minter and other Democratic candidates this weekend with six events around the state. Sanders, Vermont’s independent U.S. senator who won the state’s Democratic presidential primary over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in March with 86 percent of the vote, has been slow to help Vermont Democrats. But after issuing a news release Thursday in which he endorsed the Democratic slate of statewide candidates, he is finally hitting the campaign trail with them, according to Minter’s campaign. Sanders will hold the first of six planned events on Friday at 5 p.m. at Vermont College of Fine Arts’ Alumni Hall in Montpelier. On Saturday, Sanders will take part in a 9 a.m. get out the vote event somewhere in Addison County and rallies in Bennington and Rutland. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Bernie Sanders, Elections, News, Politics, Bernie Sanders, David Zuckerman, Sue Minter, T.J. Donovan