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Shumlin: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Milne: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Tie: 40–50% No votes | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Vermont |
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The 2014 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Vermont, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic governor Peter Shumlin ran for reelection to a third term in office against Republican businessman Scott Milne, Libertarian businessman Dan Feliciano and several other minor party and independent candidates.
Based on election polling, Shumlin's large financial advantage and the state's strong Democratic lean in presidential elections, Shumlin was expected to win easily, but he received only a plurality, not a majority, of the vote and polled only 2,434 votes more than Milne out of 193,087 cast. The Constitution of Vermont requires that the 180-member Vermont General Assembly choose the winner when no candidate receives over 50% of the popular vote.[1] As a result, on January 8, 2015,[2] the Assembly chose Shumlin over Milne by a vote of 110 to 69, with one abstention.[3]
The result of the election prompted much debate and analysis amongst commentators and the political parties. The 2014 U.S. elections saw Republicans make sweeping gains in federal, state, and local offices across the country, and Republicans won gubernatorial victories in the Democratic-leaning Northeastern states of Maryland and Massachusetts. With a margin of 1.3%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2014 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in Florida. As of 2024[update], this was also the last time a Democrat won the governorship of Vermont.