By Guy Page

A former Vermont lieutenant governor seeking to regain her seat is taking heat from both ends of the political spectrum after she apparently answered hot button policy questions with different answers to different audiences.

Democrat candidate Molly Gray leads Republican incumbent John Rodgers in the race for lieutenant governor in the November 3 general election, according to two recent polls. Both polls show a wide lead. But now, Gray’s commitment and transparency are being questioned because Gray answered yes to every question on the Green Mountain Democrat Socialists of America candidate questionnaire before the August 11, but last week appeared to backtrack on, or at least moderate, those answers when questioned on a popular WVMT morning talk show hosted by former GOP lawmaker Kurt Wright.

In particular – before the contested August 11 primary against Esther Charlestin, Gray said she would support a wealth tax. But just last week on the Morning Drive, she said she doesn’t. 

According to a DSA statement, on July 26, Green Mountain DSA published its August 2026 Primary Guide “to give Vermonters a clear record of candidates’ positions on issues affecting working people. Our Electoral Committee sent a ten-question survey to candidates, offered space for additional comments, and published their responses. The guide is separate from our endorsement process. Molly Gray answered yes to all ten questions.”

On September 30, GMDSA flagged the response Gray gave Wright:

“During her September 22 appearance on WVMT’s The Morning Drive, the hosts questioned Gray about several of those answers. Her responses provided additional information that readers of our guide deserve to see. On taxing the rich, our questionnaire asked whether candidates supported increasing income taxes on Vermonters making over $250,000 per year AND a wealth-proceeds tax. Gray answered yes. During the interview, however, Gray said she did not agree with a wealth-proceeds tax and would need to review her questionnaire response. Because our question explicitly included both policies, this represents a material difference between her written answer and her subsequent public statement.”

Gray also appeared to waffle on her commitment to abolish ICE, which GMDSA regards as non-negotiable. 

“On abolishing ICE, our questionnaire asked whether candidates supported abolishing ICE. Gray answered yes. During the interview, she criticized ICE’s current operations but described both abolition and reform as possible approaches. That response leaves her precise position less clear than the affirmative answer published in our guide. It is the position of the chapter that ICE should be completely and wholly abolished and ICE agents who have regularly targeted, harassed, injured and murdered innocent people with impunity be held responsible.” 

Would Gray fully implement universal single-payer healthcare? She told the DSA yes. To Wright and the Morning Drive’s conservative-leaning audience, she said it’s “an eventual goal.” Here’s how GMDSA framed the two responses:

“On universal single-payer healthcare, Gray answered yes to fully implementing Act 48 to provide universal single-payer healthcare. On WVMT, she reaffirmed Act 48 as an eventual goal while clarifying universal primary care would be the more immediate step she would pursue. This is an important distinction in policy priorities and timing, but should not be characterized as a rejection of her original support for Act 48.” 

GMDSA conceded the difficulty of facing tough and (it said) inaccurate questions from a host and callers on live radio.

“We also recognize the difficult circumstances Gray faced on the program. Several callers challenged her integrity or motives. One caller had no policy question for Gray, instead asking why she wanted to “hide what she represents” and what she was “afraid of,” before hanging up when Gray asked him to identify a specific issue he wanted to discuss. Meanwhile, the hosts repeatedly returned to political labels and presented Proposal 3 through an inaccurate and misleading description of its effects…..We sympathize with Gray’s experience of that confrontational exchange. We also question an interview framing that placed so much emphasis on whether a candidate could be associated with DSA, rather than consistently examining the wording and implications of the policies themselves.”

But in the end, GMDSA implied that Gray is trying to play both sides: “However, what separates elected leaders who fight for working class issues and those who don’t are those who attempt to play both sides on issues that materially affect working class people and those who proudly refuse to budge on issues they have agreed to fight for.” 

Rodgers, in a campaign statement, said Gray owes Vermonters an answer on where she stands, and who she stands with. 

“Four years ago, Molly Gray asked Vermonters whether they wanted another member of ‘The Squad’ or a pragmatic Democrat. Today, Green Mountain DSA’s own voter guide records her agreeing with every question on its survey,” said Rodgers. “Molly says she’s done with labels, but this isn’t about labels. It’s about positions. Vermonters deserve an explanation for what changed between the Molly Gray who ran for Congress in 2022 and the Molly Gray running for Lieutenant Governor today, who is aligning herself with the most radical fringes of her party.”

Rodgers noted that some of the positions Gray took in the DSA questionnaire. According to the organization’s published guide, Gray answered “yes” to questions asking whether she supports statewide Just Cause eviction and termination protections; fully implementing Act 48 for universal single-payer health care; a $20 statewide minimum wage; divesting state investments from fossil fuels; boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel; a moratorium on AI data-center construction; rejecting corporate and Super PAC money; statewide rent stabilization; abolishing ICE; and increasing income taxes on Vermonters earning more than $250,000 together with a wealth-proceeds tax.