Vermont Government Affairs Update November 19, 2024

On Tuesday, November 12^th, 2024, Vermont Secretary of State, Sarah Copeland Hanzas, certified the election results from the prior week’s election which point to a changing trajectory in Vermont.

Hanzas, while certifying her own reelection, was one of the six statewide candidates who won reelection.  Our Congressional delegation will remain the same as Vermonters sent Representative Becca Balint and Senator Bernie Sanders back to Washington DC. State Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Auditor Doug Hoffer and Governor Phil Scott also sailed into easy reelection.

The only surprise in the statewide candidate races was the Lieutenant Governor race which had Republican John Rogers of Orleans County beat incumbent Progressive/Democrat David Zuckerman. The race which Rogers won by only 6,000 votes represented the real shift in Vermont politics showing a resounding opposition to progressive policies and wild state spending. This race is likely to put an end to Zuckerman’s chances to run for governor in the future and the opposite for Rogers.

Governor Scott successfully spent most of the campaign season promoting 6 Senate districts Republicans were trying to win. 3 of the seats up for grabs were open due to retirements and Republicans won in Grand Isle, Orleans and Caledonia Counties. 3 seats were lost by Democrat incumbents in Addison, Orange and North Chittenden Counties to Republicans. Those seats including ones where Republican incumbents won gives Governor Scott the ability to have vetoes sustained by his party where he had not been able to during the Democrat supermajority. With the new Senate things will change, particularly because 3 major committee chair positions have opened in Transportation, Appropriations and Energy and Environment. Whoever takes over those chairs will drive Vermont policy for the near future.

The House followed the same trend as the Senate with Republicans flipping many seats from Democrats. The seats that were flipped were in traditionally conservative districts except for one. Representative Diane Lanphear of Vergennes, a very liberal district, lost her seat to a Republican. Lanphear was the chair of the powerful Appropriations committee and a long-time party stalwart. Another chair that was not reelected was Representative Mike McCarthy of St Albans who was a moderate Democrat in a conservative county. House leadership in the Democratic Party has taken note of the voters actions and we will likely see them attempt to cure Vermonters concerns with fiscal policy and public safety which were the two top priorities in Vermonters polled through the campaign season.

What does all this change mean for Vermonters and contractors? The voters spoke and their message to politicians was to spend less, protect our citizens and build housing. The reelection of Governor Phil Scott and end of the supermajority will require Democrats and Republicans to work towards more common-sense goals that align with Vermonters desires and slow the spending on non-critical projects. It creates an opportunity for housing advocates to push real change in development law and workforce advocates to get funding and attention where they had not in the past.

ABC NH/VT will be there working for its members and the community as a whole. We have begun our 2025 Government and Legislative Affairs Committee to gain a focus on our goals and would be happy if more would join us. If you are interested in participating, please reach out to Matt Musgrave (matt@abcnhvt.org) or Josh Reap (josh@abcnhvt.org).