On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Vermonters are voting on who will represent them in Montpelier and in Washington D.C., and on a variety of local ballot initiatives. In recent months, reporters and editors at VTDigger have been focused on making sure voters have the information they need to make informed decisions.
We’ve provided in-depth reporting on all of the big races. Find out what’s motivating sitting Republican Gov. Phil Scott to run for his fifth consecutive term — and his Democratic and Progressive opponent, Esther Charlestin, to take on her David and Goliath quest.
Learn why John Rodgers, a former Democratic state senator running for lieutenant governor, became a Republican and what incumbent Progressive/Democratic Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman thinks that means. That race is seen as one of the most competitive statewide this year.
Read about why Scott has been campaigning harder for Republican state Senate candidates than he has for himself, particularly in five districts: Caledonia, Chittenden North, Grand Isle, Orange and Orleans. Those races look particularly competitive — and could be opportunities for the governor to break the Democrats’ supermajority. In the Bennington district, there will be two new state senators, no matter who wins.
House races are up for grabs in Barre’s Washington-3 district, as well as several other corners of the state, including in Bennington, Caledonia and Grand Isle counties.
Learn more about legislative races in your neck of the woods and read about candidates’ views in their own words in VTDigger’s General Election Guide.
See how property taxes and public school funding have become a centerpiece of Republicans’ arguments against the Democratic supermajority; how major donors are super-charging that narrative; and how supporters and opponents of the clean heat standard have spent big this election in legislative races.
Watch the two gubernatorial candidates debate for the first time at an online event hosted by VTDigger last month, or read our story about it. The lieutenant governor debate, as well as one between U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat, and her Republican opponent, Westminster logger and small business owner Mark Coerster, can be found here.
VTDigger teamed up with Vermont Public to provide a forum for independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and his rival, Republican consultant and U.S. Army veteran Gerald Malloy. That debate is recapped here.
Sanders is favored to win reelection to his fourth term handily. But after decades as a political outsider, his future depends more than ever on national political forces, particularly in his powerful new role as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
To find out how it all goes down, be sure to visit VTDigger throughout the evening on Election Day. Results will be available starting as soon as the polls close at 7 p.m.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Getting ready to vote? Read VTDigger’s Vermont election coverage to get up to speed..