Analysis: What was Vermont voters’ primary message?

Published: Aug. 11, 2022 at 5:55 PM EDT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Two days after Vermont’s primary election, many political observers are still trying to parse the results.

Political newcomer Gerald Malloy defeated former U.S. Attorney for Vermont Christina Nolan in the U.S. Senate race. From the start, Nolan, a centrist endorsed by Gov. Phil Scott was seen as the favorite. Now, Malloy -- who won by a four-point margin -- will be the GOP standard bearer against Rep. Peter Welch in November.

Meanwhile, 34% of Democrats didn’t cast a ballot for the governor’s race and about 4,400 wrote in Republican Phil Scott instead of Democrat Brenda Siegel, who was running unopposed.

Darren Perron spoke with Chris Graff, a longtime former Vermont AP bureau chief and author, to get some of his takeaways from Tuesday.

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