Chances for three-way race for governor seen growing
MONTPELIER, Vt.—House Speaker Gaye Symington's comments that she is "seriously considering" a campaign for governor had tongues wagging at the Statehouse on Wednesday as lawmakers and others speculated how a three-way race for Vermont's top state office might shape up.
With Republican Gov. Jim Douglas saying he expects to seek a fourth two-year term and Progressive Anthony Pollina vowing he's in the race to stay, the Democratic speaker's possible entrance appeared to increase the chances that Vermont could see something like what happened in 2002 and 2003.
That's the election cycle in which no candidate for either governor or lieutenant governor got 50 percent of the statewide popular vote, throwing the election to the Legislature, as the Vermont Constitution calls for when no one wins a majority.
When lawmakers returned in January of 2003, Democrats, Progressives and Independents held a slight advantage in a joint assembly, holding a combined 92 seats versus 88 for the Republicans.
But they were a bit boxed in: All the previous fall, when Sen. Doug Racine had been leading Douglas in the polls, Democrats urged that if the race went to the Legislature, lawmakers should vote for the plurality winner. In the end, they followed their own urging, easily electing Douglas governor and Republican Brian Dubie as lieutenant governor.
Symington on Tuesday reiterated comments she made a day earlier to the Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus that she was weighing a race for governor, but she said she would wait until after the current legislative session is through before finalizing her decision.
The Jericho Democrat, a frequent Douglas critic, said she had begun to consider a run due to "an increasing sense that there is a hunger in the state for a different vision and a steady hand on the tiller."
She said she did not worry about a short length of time to do fundraising and organize a campaign. "Six months is plenty of time. Vermonters do not want and do not appreciate year-round electioneering."
Symington's comments follow months of uncertainty among Democrats about who from their party might step forward to challenge Douglas. A few have said they were considering it; Symington is the most senior party member to have said so thus far.
For his part, Douglas said Wednesday he believes that Vermonters appreciate his leadership and he expressed confidence about his prospects for re-election. But he said he didn't want to engage criticisms head-on from either Symington or Pollina, who called a news conference Wednesday to take Douglas to task for what he termed a lack of leadership in reforming Vermont's health care system.
"There will be a lot of time between now and November to talk about the political campaign," Douglas said.
Among others around the Statehouse, much of the chatter concerned the chances that the challenge from Pollina, combined with one from Symington or another Democrat, could keep Douglas from reaching the 50 percent threshold.
Democrats now have much larger majorities in both the House and Senate than they did in 2002, something widely expected to continue after the November elections. Even if Douglas won a plurality again, Democratic and Progressive lawmakers could be less willing to choose him this time, especially after six years of having some of their fondest goals delayed or thwarted by Douglas vetoes.
The governor's seat was open in 2002 and Douglas was less of a known quantity then, said Rep. David Zuckerman, P-Burlington. "What we would see if Douglas does not get 50 percent of the vote is that a majority of people do not want to return the incumbent governor (to office)," he said.
"Therefore the door should be open for the Legislature to push a minority consensus candidate," he added.
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