Dem throws hat in ring against Scott

by Sam Douglass

The biennial onslaught of campaign season is nearly upon us, and political hopefuls have filed their first campaign finance report of 2026—revealing where political money is flowing and some significant disparities between candidates. While these numbers are often taken as an indicator of political success, the political season is still in its early days, and fundraising can change drastically before the November election. However, early fundraising totals favor Democratic candidates in several statewide races. 

As of the March 15 filing deadline, which covers the period since July 2025, several candidates for contested statewide races filed campaign finance reports. In the race for Lieutenant Governor, there are currently four candidates who have thrown their hats into the ring: Esther Charlestin, Molly Gray, Ryan McLaren, and incumbent John Rodgers. 

Molly Gray, former Lt. Governor and executive director for the Vermont Afghan Alliance, raised $154,527 and spent $16,407. This total exceeds the amount raised by her 2020 Lt. Governor campaign for the same filing deadline by about $50,000. Some of her notable donors in 2026 include a former Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources under the Scott administration, the current chair of the Cannabis Control Board, and the former chief of staff to US Senator Patrick Leahy. 

Gray’s 2020 campaign brought in a total of $435,400.80 and spent $403,615.37. When running for Congress in 2022, Gray raised and spent over $1.2 million. 

Fellow Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor and former aide to US Senator Peter Welch, Ryan McLaren, raised a nearly identical amount as his Democratic rival. McLaren’s campaign reported raising $151,251.79 and spending $35,590.80. Donors include a former Vermont Secretary of Administration, a former speaker of the Vermont House, a former editor-in-chief of VTDigger, two former Vermont Secretaries of State, former Governor Peter Shumlin, and media producer Ariel Wengroff. 

Both Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor raised a significant portion of their contributions from out-of-state donors or Chittenden County, and both utilize paid staff and rented office space. 

On the Republican ticket, incumbent Lt. Gov. John Rodgers has raised and spent $36,740 and $7,672.78 respectively for his re-election bid. The March 15 report indicates that only three percent of Rodgers’ fundraising came from small donors giving under $100. According to public records, the Rodgers campaign raised $217,968 and spent $284,588.01 in 2024 for his initial statewide race. 

Democratic gubernatorial challenger Amanda Janoo raised $80,281.38 and spent only $435.02. According to campaign filings, nearly 30% of Janoo’s donors list out-of-state residences.

Janoo began her campaign in her hometown of Strafford on Tuesday before heading to Burlington on Saturday, March 14 for a kickoff event. According to a campaign statement, her platform includes:

• Rejecting forced school consolidation by getting at the root driver of costs: healthcare.

• Free primary and preventative healthcare by bringing small-town doctors back to communities across Vermont, and laying the foundations for a universal healthcare system.

• Creating permanently affordable housing that keeps homes in Vermonters’ hands.

• Supporting small businesses, farmers, and cooperatives so more wealth stays local.

• Expanding and reinvesting in Vermont’s town meeting systems.

• Stewarding Vermont’s land and ecosystems for generations to come.

Her rival, incumbent Republican Governor Phil Scott, raised $2,370.00 and spent $7,404.73 out of his campaign war chest of around $200,000. 

Democratic incumbent Attorney General Charity Clark raised and spent $80,708.50 and $25,758.35 respectively during the July–March reporting period. According to campaign filings, over 50% of Clark’s donors list an out-of-state address. Notable donors include Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen.