Gray Wins Lieutenant Governor Race, Taking 62 Percent

Molly Gray captured 62.1% of the vote in Tuesday's race for lieutenant governor, defeating incumbent John Rodgers with 65% of ballots counted, according to the Associated Press. Rodgers conceded at 9:29 p.m. as the returns showed him with 37.6%.

Incumbents rarely lose reelection in Vermont. When Rodgers narrowly beat David Zuckerman in 2024, no lieutenant governor had failed to win a second term in nearly half a century. Rodgers, 61, is a farmer and mason from Glover. He had served as a Democrat in the state Legislature before switching parties.

Gray, 42, is a Burlington Democrat who held the office from 2021 to 2023 before running unsuccessfully for Vermont's seat in the U.S. House. She most recently led the Vermont Afghan Alliance, a Burlington nonprofit that serves recent immigrants. She said that watching the "cruelty and inhumanity of the Trump administration up close" drove her to enter the race.

Rodgers, who has publicly criticized President Trump, including at a "No Kings" rally, said his record of speaking out was sufficient. "I have spoken out against the Trump administration when I thought they were wrong, which has been plenty," he said at a Vermont Public debate, noting he had worked with the advocacy group Migrant Justice after farmworker raids. Gray argued that was not enough and pointed to his tie-breaking vote to send former federal prosecutor Michael Drescher to the Vermont Supreme Court, citing controversy over Drescher's role in immigration cases.

Gov. Phil Scott endorsed Rodgers and appeared in a television ad for him, and Rodgers positioned himself as a bipartisan dealmaker. He also promoted his office's constituent services work and his role in organizing opposition to a land-use overhaul. Rodgers criticized Gray's departure from the office in 2023 to run for Congress, saying he used the position "to help Vermonters" while she used it "to run for Congress."

Rodgers's campaign compiled hundreds of records on investigations into farmworker housing at a Newbury fruit and vegetable farm run by Gray's parents and brother, releasing them during a Vermont Public debate. He asked Gray, "Why did you not speak out against the mistreatment of migrant workers on your family farm, and did you use your influence to direct the investigation?" Gray called the line of questioning "a new low" and declined to answer at first. When pressed, she called Rodgers a "self-serving, self-interested bully" and cited his dispute with his hometown over a road bypassing his property and a fine he paid to the Cannabis Control Board.

Beverly Newton, 77, of Barre City, said Rodgers' road dispute changed her vote. "He had this thing going about his road or something, and there was a big deal about it, and I said, 'OK, I don't think I like that.' So, that's what changed my mind," she said.

The lieutenant governor breaks ties in the state Senate, helps assign senators to legislative committees, and is first in line of succession if the governor dies or is incapacitated. Carly Berlin contributed reporting.