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.[1] Hallquist's 40.3% was also the worst performance for a Democratic Party candidate since 2008.
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Turnout | 55.6% | ||||||||||||||||
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Scott: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Hallquist: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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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 2022, this election marked the last time a Democratic candidate won a county in a gubernatorial election in Vermont.
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.[1]
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 | 36,060 | 100.0 | ||
Republican | Blank votes | 700 | ||
Republican | Overvotes | 20 |
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 | 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.[16][17]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Progressive | Brenda Siegel (write-in) | 35 | 8.75 | |
Progressive | Write-ins (other) | 365 | 91.2 | |
Total votes | 400 | 100.0 | ||
Progressive | Blank votes | 199 |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report[27] | Safe R | October 26, 2018 |
The Washington Post[28] | Lean R | November 5, 2018 |
FiveThirtyEight[29] | Safe R | November 5, 2018 |
Rothenberg Political Report[30] | Safe R | November 1, 2018 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball[31] | Safe R | November 5, 2018 |
RealClearPolitics[32] | Likely R | November 4, 2018 |
Daily Kos[33] | Likely R | November 5, 2018 |
Fox News[34][a] | Likely R | November 5, 2018 |
Politico[35] | Lean R | November 5, 2018 |
Governing[36] | Safe R | November 5, 2018 |
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%[53] | 22% |
Tulchin Research (D-Vermont Democratic Party) Archived 2018-10-02 at the Wayback Machine | September 23–26, 2018 | 406 | ± 4.9% | 50% | 42% | – | – |
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 | 1,115 | 0.41% | -0.31% | ||
Total votes | 274,087 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
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