The 2010 Vermont gubernatorial general election took place on November 2. Vermont and

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

are the only two states where the governor serves a two-year term instead of four. Primary elections took place on August 24. Incumbent Republican governor

Jim Douglas James Holley Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician from the U.S. state, state of Vermont. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served as the List of governors of Vermont, 80th governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011. ...

was not a candidate for re-election.

Brian Dubie Brian E. Dubie (born 9 March 1959) is an American politician who was the 80th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011. He lost the 2010 election for governor of Vermont by fewer than 5,000 votes. He is a member of the Republican Party. ...

, the incumbent

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, was the Republican nominee. The Democratic nomination was won by

Peter Shumlin Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to ...

, the

President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate The president ''pro tempore'' of the Vermont Senate presides over the Senate of the U.S. state of Vermont in the absence of the lieutenant governor. The president ''pro tempore'' also sets the policy priorities and legislative agenda for the Senate ...

. The result was a 119,543 (49.5 percent) to 115,212 (47.7 percent) plurality for Shumlin. Several minor candidates got between 600 and 2,000 votes each. In accordance with the Vermont Constitution, if no candidate receives a majority, the contest is decided by the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

. In such races, the combined Vermont House and Senate almost always chooses the candidate who won a plurality. Dubie indicated on November 3 that he did not intend to ask for a recount or contest the election in the legislature, and conceded to Shumlin. On January 6, 2011, with 173 of 180 members voting, 87 votes were necessary for a choice. The General Assembly elected Shumlin on the first ballot, 145–28.

Republican primary

Candidate

Democratic primary

Candidates

Susan Bartlett Susan J. Bartlett (born December 18, 1946, in Fall River, Massachusetts) is an American politician from the State of Vermont. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Vermont in 2010 after having served 18 years in the ...

, state senator *

Matt Dunne Matt Dunne (born November 20, 1969) is an American politician and businessman from the U.S. state of Vermont. He served four terms in the Vermont House of Representatives, two terms in the Vermont State Senate, was the Democratic candidate in ...

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

executive and former state senator *

Deborah Markowitz Deborah Markowitz is the state director for The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts. Prior to this, she served from 2011-2017 as the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. She was appointed by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin. She h ...

Secretary of State of Vermont The secretary of state of Vermont is one of five cabinet-level constitutional officers in the U.S. state of Vermont which are elected every two years. The secretary of state is fourth (behind the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Repr ...

Doug Racine Douglas Alan Racine (born October 7, 1952) is an American politician and former Vermont Secretary of Human Services, a former Vermont State Senator and was the 79th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1997 to 2003. He is a Democrat. Racine was ...

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

, former

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and nominee for governor in 2002 *

, Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin won the Democratic primary according to the uncertified tabulation of statewide votes released by the Office of the Secretary of State on August 27, 2010, by 197 votes over Doug Racine, who requested a recount. The recount began September 8. Racine conceded on September 10.

Results

Progressive primary

Candidates

* Martha Abbott, state party chair; Abbott won the primary, then withdrew from the election, so the party did not have a candidate on the ballot. The Party had promised not to play a "spoiler" role in the election if Shumlin supported single-payer health care, which he did.

Results

Independent and third-party candidates

* Cris Ericson, United States Marijuana Party * Dan Feliciano, Independent * Ben Mitchell,

Liberty Union Party The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party (GMPJP), formerly known as the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a socialist political party in Vermont, United States. LUP was formed in 1970 by progressives to contest the 1970 Senate election. ...

* Em Payton, Independent * Dennis Steele, Independent

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario, a community United States * Addison, Alabama, a town * Addison, Illinois, a village * Addison, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Addison, Maine, a town * Addison, Michigan, a villag ...

(largest municipality: Middlebury) *

Bennington Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

(largest municipality:

) * Chittenden (largest municipality: Burlington) *

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

(Largest city:

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated com ...

) *

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

(largest municipality: Barre) * Windham (largest municipality:

Brattleboro Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located about north of the Massachusetts state line at the confluence of Vermont's West River and the Connecticut River. With a 2022 Census populat ...

) *

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

(largest municipality:

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

)

General Assembly results

Vermont's Constitution requires the

to select if no candidate obtains a majority. The combined Vermont House and Senate almost always chooses the candidate who won a plurality. The legislature officially elected Peter Shumlin on January 6, 2011.

References

External links

Vermont Secretary of State – Elections & Campaign Finance DivisionVermont Governor Candidates
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

Campaign contributions for 2010 Vermont Governor
from ''Follow the Money''

from OurCampaigns.com
2010 Vermont Gubernatorial General Election
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
Election 2010: Vermont Governor
from ''

Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...

''
2010 Vermont Governor Race
from ''

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator. It was founded in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. It features selected politi ...

''
2010 Vermont Governor's Race
from ''

CQ Politics ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based The Economist Group, ...

''
Race Profile
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''
Vermont League of Conservation Voters 2010 candidates Q&A
from VT LCV Official campaign websites (Archived)
Brian Dubie for GovernorTrav Fryer for GovernorCris Ericson for GovernorEmily Peyton For GovernorPeter Shumlin for GovernorDennis Steele for Governor
{{2010 United States elections

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Contingent elections in the United States

Republican primary

Candidate

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Progressive primary

Candidates

Results

Independent and third-party candidates

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

General Assembly results

See also

References

External links