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Vermont Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | David Glidden |
| Senate President pro tempore | Philip Baruth |
| House Speaker | Jill Krowinski |
| Founded | 1830 |
| Headquarters | Montpelier, Vermont |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| U.S. Senate Seats[a] | 1 / 2 |
| U.S. House Seats | 1 / 1 |
| Statewide Offices | 4 / 6 |
| State Senate | 16 / 30 |
| State House | 87 / 150 |
| Elected County Judges | 33 / 42 |
| Countywide Offices | 34 / 42 |
| Mayoralties | 2 / 8 |
| Seats on the Burlington City Council | 5 / 12 |
| Website | |
www | |
TheVermont Democratic Party is the affiliate of theDemocratic Party in theU.S. state ofVermont.
Since the founding of theRepublican Party until the 1960s, Vermont was almost exclusively a Republican state, with Republicans dominating Vermont politics, especially the governorship, from 1854 to 1960.[1] But Democrats have since staged a resurgence in state politics, perhaps inspired by the election ofJohn F. Kennedy aspresident in 1960.[2]
It is now the dominant party in the state, controlling Vermont's at-largeU.S. House seat, one of itsU.S. Senate seats, and majorities in both houses of thestate legislature. Vermont's other U.S. Senate seat is held byBernie Sanders, anindependent who caucuses with the Democratic Party. The only statewide offices the party does not control is thegovernorship, held byRepublicanPhil Scott, and thelieutenant governorship, held by RepublicanJohn S. Rodgers.
The date the state party was formed is unknown because the state headquarters has not retained historical documents.[3] Until 1824, opponents of theFederalist Party were known as Republicans orDemocratic-Republicans. After the demise of the Federalists left only one major party, supporters of Democratic-RepublicansJohn Quincy Adams andHenry Clay were largely responsible for founding theWhig Party in the early 1830s as the main opposition to Democratic-RepublicanAndrew Jackson. In 1830, Vermont newspaper articles still referred to supporters ofAndrew Jackson for presidentin 1832 as Democratic-Republican, or occasionally "Democratic". By 1831, the name Democratic was more often used as a way to distinguish Jackson and his supporters from the "old" Democratic-Republican Party ofThomas Jefferson. By the end of 1831, "Democratic" was used almost exclusively.
Since Republicans dominated Vermont for so long, the national Democratic Party paid little attention to the state.[4] Democrats usually contested statewide elections, but opposition to Republicans was generally desultory. Democrats filled appointed federal positions such as U.S. Attorney during the administrations of Democratic presidents, and were occasionally appointed to positions considered nonpartisan, such asSeneca Haselton's tenure as an associate justice of theVermont Supreme Court. Only in the 1960s did Democrats start to pull together an effective statewide organization.[4]
Democrats were effectively shut out of high office in Vermont from 1854 until 1958, when DemocratWilliam H. Meyer was narrowly elected to theUnited States House of Representatives. Until his election, no Democrat had represented Vermont in the House or Senate since the Republican Party was founded. Meyer served only one term, losing to RepublicanRobert Stafford in 1960.
In1962, DemocratPhilip H. Hoff was elected governor of Vermont, becoming the first Democrat to serve as governor sinceJohn S. Robinson. In 1964, Vermont Democrats had the best year in over a century. Hoff wasreelected in a landslide, and every other row office—lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor—was won by a Democrat. The party's success in 1964 was due in part toLyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory inthat year's presidential election, which included a66%–33% victory in Vermont, the first time the state ever went blue at the presidential level.
In1974,Patrick Leahy became the first Democrat to represent Vermont in the U.S. Senate, narrowly defeating RepublicanRichard W. Mallary. Leahy was reelected in a similarly close race in1980, but never again had a close race; he served six terms before retiring in 2022.
Democrats gained a majority in the State Senate in 1984, followed by a one-seat State House majority in 1986. With GovernorMadeleine Kunin, Democrats had atrifecta for the first time in party history. Except for a brief period from 2000 to 2004, Democrats retained the governing majority in the House to this day.
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Today, the Vermont Democratic Party is rooted inprogressivism andAmerican liberalism. The state is considered a breeding ground forProgressives andIndependents, many of whom have close ties to the Vermont Democratic Party. Most Progressives run under the Democratic Party banner in Vermont.
The Vermont Democratic Party advocatesuniversal health care, equality for all, andsocial justice.[5] Many of its proposals have been adopted, including universal health care (Green Mountain Care),same-sex marriage, and the closing and decommissioning of theVermont Yankee nuclear power station in 2015. The party tends towardsenvironmentalism, favoring measures to protect Vermont's natural resources and ecosystems. State Democrats have called for Vermont to be the first state to use onlyrenewable energy sources. The party also favors campaign finance reform, but aligns with the national party in supporting some liberalization of campaign finance regulations so that it may better remain competitive with the Republicans.
On September 12, 2020, the Vermont Democratic Party approved documents representing its platform.[5] It conforms very closely to theUnited States Democratic Party platform, addressing issues such as the economy, the environment, foreign policy, and civil rights.
The Vermont Democratic Party's economic platform primarily focuses on keeping businesses owned and operated in Vermont. There should be heavy focus onentrepreneurship and job creation. The party supports a strong and vibrantmiddle class that encourages youth to pursue careers within the state.[5] Its main focus is economic growth and job creation. The party believes that the state government should make Vermont a desirable place for people to bring or start businesses. The party plans to do this by giving financial incentives to businesses that are energy-efficient, are in Vermont's developing areas, and provide workers with a livable wage.[clarification needed] The party wants to reverse[clarification needed] theBush tax cuts.[5] It supports agraduated income tax based on ability to pay.[clarification needed] Under such a system, the wealthy are taxed at a higher rate than the middle class, and the very poor pay little or no income tax.
The party believes a healthy environment is essential toquality of life and recognizesglobal climate change as a major problem. The party believes we have moral and ethical obligations to protect and conserve the environment. It is committed to the rigorous and consistent enforcement of environmental laws and regulations. It supportsalternative energy, including investments and research, and favors rapid implementation of "cleaner" alternatives to oil and other fossil fuels. Vermont Democrats support laws that cap, or limit, the carbon emissions of both public transportation and personal vehicles.[5]
The party opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It believes the decision to go to war was ill-advised and led to the deaths of thousands of innocent people. The party strongly supported PresidentBarack Obama's decisions to withdraw troops from both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Vermont Democratic Party supportsequal rights amendments to theConstitution and the protection of all citizens, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, military service, or creed. It supported Vermont's pioneering initiatives in same-sex marriage and the preceding laws favoring civil unions. It supported the repeals ofDon't Ask, Don't Tell and theDefense of Marriage Act. The party denounces torture and believes all people havedue process rights that should never be violated. The party strongly supported Obama's decision to ban the torturous technique ofwaterboarding from being used on suspected terrorists.[5]
Howard Dean may be the most nationally renowned Democratic politician to come out of Vermont in recent years. He served as governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003. In 2004 he ran for the Democratic nomination for president. Dean chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009 and is credited with being instrumental in Obama's election as president in 2008. Hisfifty-state strategy is widely considered the reason Obama was able to win some typically Republican states.
As of late 2020, Democrats hold five of the six statewide offices in the executive branch—all butgovernor (Republican)—and firm majorities in Vermont's Senate and House of Representatives. At the federal level, Democrats hold one of the state's U.S. Senate seats and the state's single at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. SenatorPeter Welch, first elected to the U.S. House in 2006, was the first Democrat to represent Vermont in the lower chamber of Congress sinceWilliam H. Meyer in 1961, and the first House Democrat from Vermont to be reelected in more than 150 years.
| District | Member | Photo |
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| At-large | Becca Balint | .jpg) |
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