Vermont primary - LIVE: Democrat Christine Hallquist vying to become America's first transgender governor
Numerous unique candidates are competing for power in Vermont's primaries ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, as voters head to the polls on Tuesday.
Phil Scott, the Republican governor in the reliably Democratic state, is running for re-election despite growing concerns from the right surrounding his stance on gun control. After passing a series of measures tightening gun restrictions in Vermont, guns rights groups like the Gun Owners of Vermont launched a campaign calling on voters to write-in other conservative candidates, including Keith Stern and John Rodgers.
If he loses the support of his base, Mr Scott’s seat could very well go to one of four Democrat candidates.
Ethan Sonneborn is one of those candidates. He’s a 14-year-old progressive who decided to launch his campaign after violence erupted last year during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, North Carolina. State law allows anyone who has lived in Vermont for four years to run for governor after securing enough signatures to get on the ballot, making Mr Sonneborn legally qualified despite his age.
While his campaign has only raised a reported $1,700, other progressive candidates appear to be viable contenders for the governor’s mansion. Christine Hallquist, a transgender woman and former executive of the Vermont Electric Co-Operative, would be the first transgender gubernatorial candidate from a major political party if she were to win the Democratic nomination.
She's ran on a platform of addressing local and state issues, from rural economic development to climate change, and has described her gender as just one of many defining traits.
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And, of course, there’s Bernie Sanders. Vermont’s current senator is also seeking re-election as an independent, and will reject the Democratic party’s nomination if he wins it — as he had done since 2006.
Vermont isn’t the only state holding a primary on Tuesday — Minnesota, Wisconsin and Connecticut also held elections to determine which candidates will face off come November.
