MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – John Rogers won the Republican primary for Vermont lieutenant governor Tuesday night.
With about 30% of the votes counted, the Associated Press reported that Rogers was leading Republican opponent Gregory Thayer by about 60%.
Rogers, who was born and raised on a dairy farm in the Northeast Kingdom, previously served in the House and Senate as a moderate Democrat but recently switched parties, arguing the party had moved too far to the left, leaving him and other moderates behind. A former member of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, he says state bills, especially those related to the environment and energy, are written by lobbyists and special interests. He says taxes and fees passed by the state Legislature increasingly burden Vermont's working class and rural residents.
Thayer is a conservative Republican and ardent supporter of former President Trump, while Rogers has the endorsement of Gov. Phil Scott, and the race was seen by many as a key gauge of the strength of the MAGA movement in the Green Mountains.
Rogers will face progressive Democrat David Zuckerman in November.
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