2010 Vermont gubernatorial election
The 2010 Vermont gubernatorial general election took place on November 2. Vermont and New Hampshire 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 was not a candidate for re-election. Brian Dubie, the incumbent Lieutenant Governor, was the Republican nominee. The Democratic nomination was won by Peter Shumlin, the President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate.
The result was a 119,543 to 115,212 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. 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, state senator
- Matt Dunne, Google executive and former state senator
- Deborah Markowitz, Secretary of State of Vermont
- Doug Racine, state senator, former lieutenant governor and nominee for governor in 2002
- Peter Shumlin, Senate President Pro Tempore
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.
Independent and third-party candidates
- Cris Ericson, United States Marijuana Party
- Dan Feliciano, Independent
- Ben Mitchell, Liberty Union Party
- Em Payton, Independent
- Dennis Steele, Independent