Vermont gubernatorial election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
Governor of Vermont
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: May 30, 2024
	Primary: August 13, 2024; General: November 5, 2024; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Phil Scott
How to vote
	Poll times: Open between 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.; close at 7 p.m.; Voting in Vermont
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2024; Impact of term limits in 2024; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
Vermont; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Auditor; Treasurer

Vermont 2024 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Local ballot measures • Municipal • How to run for office

Incumbent Gov. Phil Scott (R) defeated Esther Charlestin (D) and three other candidates in the Vermont gubernatorial election.^[1] Scott was first elected in 2016 and won re-election in 2018, 2020, and 2022. In 2022, he won with 71% of the vote in a field of five candidates. Heading into the 2024 general elections, Vermont had a divided government. Republicans controlled the governorship, and Democrats controlled both legislative chambers.

The primary was August 13, 2024. The filing deadline was May 30, 2024.

Incumbent Phil Scott won election in the general election for Governor of Vermont.

This was one of 11 gubernatorial elections that took place in 2024. The governor serves as a state's top executive official and is the only executive office elected in all 50 states. At the time of the 2024 elections, there were 27 Republican governors and 23 Democratic governors. Click here for an overview of all 11 gubernatorial elections that took place in 2024.

Heading into the 2024 elections, there were 23 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 10 divided governments where neither party held trifecta control. There were 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and five divided governments where neither party held triplex control.

A state government trifecta refers to a situation where one party controls a state's governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Governor of Vermont

Incumbent Phil Scott defeated Esther Charlestin, Kevin Hoyt, June Goodband, and Poa Mutino in the general election for Governor of Vermont on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Phil Scott (R)	73.4	266,439
	Esther Charlestin (D / Vermont Progressive Party)	21.8	79,217
	Kevin Hoyt (Independent)	2.6	9,368
	June Goodband (Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party)	1.2	4,512
	Poa Mutino (Independent)	0.7	2,414
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	891

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 362,841
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Marielle Blais (Vermont Progressive Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Vermont

Esther Charlestin defeated Peter Duval in the Democratic primary for Governor of Vermont on August 13, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Esther Charlestin	62.3	24,007
	Peter Duval	24.3	9,377
	Other/Write-in votes	13.4	5,159

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,543
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Vermont

Incumbent Phil Scott advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Vermont on August 13, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Phil Scott	98.1	23,173
	Other/Write-in votes	1.9	448

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,621
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Vermont Progressive Party primary election

Vermont Progressive Party primary for Governor of Vermont

Marielle Blais advanced from the Vermont Progressive Party primary for Governor of Vermont on August 13, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Marielle Blais	78.1	268
		Other/Write-in votes	21.9	75

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 343
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Esther Charlestin

Party: Democratic Party, Vermont Progressive Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "I am a Mother, an Educator, a Small Business owner, and a Public Servant. There are many reasons why I am running to be the next Governor of Vermont, but the biggest reason is to create a better, more livable state for my two children. After years of working in education, I ran and won a seat on the Middlebury Select board, and in 2023 received a Leahy award for exceptional leadership in the community. I was overwhelmingly re-elected to my seat, ranking as the top vote getter in the race. One of my great strengths as a prospective Governor is my lived experience. The empathy I have for those in our communities that often are with out voices or seats at the table I believe is an imperative in our leader. I have dealt with the struggles of a lack of affordable housing. I have seen first hand the damage of climate change disasters. I have spent years in education witnessing the issues of a system that is underfunded and yet still disproportionately expensive for working families. The other key strength I bring to this race is a passionate proactivity. We live in a world where the issues of tomorrow are not far in the distance. They are here. We need a governor who will proactively work with others to find comprehensive solutions, and fast. That is what I promise to do. Inaction is not a luxury we can afford."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

There are two undeniable truths about the way our education system is funded: 1) Our schools MUST be fully funded. Full Stop. 2) The burden of funding our schools at an adequate level falls disproportionately onto lower and middle income Vermonters. As governor, I would work to develop and implement innovative and viable funding models to ease the education tax burden on low and middle-income Vermonters while ensuring our schools are preserved.

Climate Change is costing Vermont residents money and pain right now, and it will only get worse going forward if we do not act. The bills passed by our hardworking legislature are the kinds of progress we need to be making in addressing climate change. Bills such as h.687 h.289 and the Climate Superfund act are comprehensive compromises that demand a better, more sustainable future for our state while acknowledging the need for a just energy transition. Additionally, we need to invest in local clean energy projects that ensure both equity for all residents as well as taking a local approach to our shift to clean energy and sustainability.

Vermont’s housing crisis is constantly on my mind, and it is an issue I feel must be attacked from multiple angles. First, we need to build more affordable homes. Plain and simple. And updating Act 250’s land use policy to allow for the construction of more affordable homes was the kind of bipartisan compromise I would champion if elected, rather than vetoing it as Gov. Scott did. Second, we need to increase aid for low and middle income residents to purchase, rent, and keep homes. This means looking at inclusionary zoning, supporting housing first models, implementing rental and second home taxes, and increasing urban density.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Governor of Vermont in 2024.

June Goodband

Party: Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "June Goodband has worked for over 30 years as a counselor, supporting people’s efforts to experience emotional wellbeing and live meaningful lives without addictive substances. She has seen how public policy affects people’s lives and witnessed how the strong influence of corporations on government has led to more and more people struggling to survive. She is not interested in helping people adjust to a system that treats people like commodities to be used and thrown away. She is seeking election as Governor of the state of Vermont because she believes that in this small state we can make substantial changes that will send ripples around the nation. June wants to shift the focus of state government toward investing in people and communities and protecting our natural environment. We can do this by abandoning expensive strategies that don’t work, and creating vibrant and resilient communities together."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

CORPORATIONS AND BIG MONEY SHOULD NOT ELECT CANDIDATES OR CONTROL GOVERNMENT. We need government by and for the people. The role of government is to promote the common good, which means that every person matters and government has an important role in protecting human rights and assuring that basic needs are met. In order to do this we need to restrict campaign spending and outlaw paid lobbying. If something is in the public interest members of the public will volunteer time to lobby for it. We also need to stop relying on the private sector to do the work of the public sector, since the explicit goal of the private sector is profit, which is rarely compatible with the public good.

EVERY PERSON MATTERS. We can find ways to meet people's basic needs. Basic needs include food, housing, health care, care for children and others who are not able to care for themselves, education, safety, and ways to make contributions to society at the level each person's ability. We can meet these needs through responsible regulation of employers and landlords, fair taxation, and changing our priorities. We need to stop helping businesses like insurance companies profit and pay excessive executive salaries, and instead use that money for actual health care. We can reduce spending on prisons that don't make us safer and invest in housing, social support, and mental health and addictions care that do make us safer.

THE CLIMATE CRISIS REQUIRES URGENT RESPONSE. We need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions of methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide. We also need to prepare for the changes that are inevitable by creating sustainable local food production and distribution systems that use the land that is currently open without reducing forests. This requires a shift towards plant based organic agriculture and would provide jobs at a wide range of ability levels. It would significantly reduce our output of greenhouse gases while helping us be more reliant on our own communities We also need to work to develop energy efficient transportation systems and increase the energy efficiency of all buildings in Vermont.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Governor of Vermont in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Vermont

Election information in Vermont: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Received by Nov. 5, 2024
Online: Nov. 5, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: N/A
By mail: N/A by N/A
Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Received by Nov. 4, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Sep. 21, 2024 to Nov. 4, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (EST)

Republican-held governorship in state Biden won

See also: Gubernatorial elections, 2024

This is one of two governorships Republicans were defending in states President Joe Biden (D) won in 2020: New Hampshire and Vermont.

Democrats were defending one governorship in a state that Donald Trump (R) won in 2020: North Carolina.

Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.