VT Insights: Progressive slate limited to Sanders, Zuckerman, Hoffer

Aki Soga | Burlington Free Press

The Progressive Party slate for statewide office in the November election will be limited to just three candidates -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman and State Auditor Doug Hoffer.

Sanders, Zuckerman and Hoffer each won the Progressive nomination through write-in votes in the Aug. 14, primary after receiving the party's endorsement in June.

All three candidates were on the Democratic ballot and won their respective races.

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"The decision the state committee made was validated by the what the rank-and-file voters did," Progressive Party Executive Director Josh Wronski said.

Major parties had until Monday, Aug. 20, to nominate candidates for offices that were left open after the primary. Progressives had no names on the ballot for any of the statewide offices in the primary, and no one else received enough write-in votes to secure the nomination.

That left open an opportunity for the Progressives to choose by committee candidates to fill out their statewide ballot, a route the party decided against.

As a small grassroots party, the Progressives tend to focus on a few races rather than try to field a full slate each election, he said.

Among the contests in which the party will not field or endorse a candidate is the gubernatorial race in which Republican incumbent Phil Scott, who faces Democratic nominee Christine Hallquist.

"We're not interested in having a fight with the more centrist candidate and a Progressive," Wronski said. Instead, the party will work to defeat Scott, he said.

The party is also focused on the lieutenant governor's race, in which Zuckerman, who as a legislator has run as a Progressive, faces Republican challenger Don Turner, Wronski said.

In some cases, Progressive-leaning candidates for legislative seats chose to run in the Democratic race, he said. "Many of our candidates have thought to reach out to Democratic primary voters and a really good way to do that is to run in the Democratic primary."

Sanders, who is running for his third term, is expected to turn down the party nomination to maintain his status as an independent, Wronski said.

Sanders is also expected turn down the Democratic nomination, which he won in the primary.

Aki Soga is engagement editor for The Burlington Free Press. Email him at asoga@freepressmedia.com or chat with him on Twitter: @asoga