by Guy Page
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, a former Progressive who won election as a Democrat, took heat this week from Democrat lawmakers over his practice of dispensing menstrual products from his State House office.
“Offering feminine hygiene products in an office and seeking out women to let them know about availability is not acceptable,” House Speaker Jill Krowinski told Zuckerman in a letter that came to light in a VTDigger news story published Tuesday.
Incumbent Gov. Phil Scott, unchallenged in next Tuesday’s primary, leads all gubernatorial candidates on the statewide ballot with $128,700 in 2024 campaign contributions. Unlike the other candidates for governor, Scott also has a ‘war chest’ of contributions from previous campaigns, totalling $332,359.
All campaign contributions listed below are through August 1, as reported on the Vermont Secretary of State’s campaign finance page.
In the Democratic race for lieutenant governor, Zuckerman holds a comfortable 3-1 fundraising lead over challenger Thomas Renner of Winooski. Last month the fundraising gap was closer to 8-1.
Many if not most of Zuckerman’s donors are traditional Progressives, showing his strength and roots with Vermont’s large left-of-Democrat electorate. Renner has drawn strong support from former and current Progressive candidates like Martha Abbott and Marielle Blais and Tiffany Bluemle, but very little from Democrats. The VT NEA contributed $4,850.
Renner, however, has received cash from former sitting Democrat elected officials including Maida Townsend, Kitty Toll, Joan Shannon, Democrat-affiliated activists Maggie Lenz and Jake Perkinson, and no less than four 2024 Vermont senators: Chris Bray, Jane Kitchell, Brian Campion, and Kesha Ram Hinsdale. Several Republicans, including Alex Farrell, members of the Tarrant family, and former top aide to Gov. James Douglas Neal Lunderville also have contributed to Renner.
Renner may also have received a boost from media coverage. Democrat House member Heather Chase of Chester told VTDigger this week that Zuckerman had offered her a menstrual product in a meeting in Zuckerman’s State House office.
The VTDigger report, published Tuesday August 6, exactly a week before Primary Day, includes a February, 2023 letter [see below] from House Speaker Jill Krowinski urging Zuckerman – an unceasing supporter of virtually every reproductive and gay rights legislation in the last 30 years – to review sexual harassment policies, hand over the menstrual products to the Sgt. of Arms, and not meeting with women alone.
Zuckerman told Digger he was just trying to be a “very inclusive, welcoming lieutenant governor.” With his office located across the hall from the main floor restrooms, “a number of folks found it very helpful to come into the office to get those products when they needed,” he reportedly said.
But according to Digger, Krowinski, and Rep. Chase, that wasn’t the vibe some women were getting. “I was totally creeped out,” Chase reportedly told Digger Bureau Chief Sara Mearhoff.
According to her House bio, Chase was born in Canada, grew up in Wyoming and has lived in Vermont since 2002. A Registered Nurse, with a Master’s degree in community health, she is a lactation consultant and CEO of her business, Corporation Lactation Services, Inc.
Zuckerman has not responded to VDC inquiries about the news story.
In the Republican primary for lieutenant governor, former Democrat state senator John Rodgers has a 10-1 fundraising lead over conservative grassroots activist Greg Thayer of Rutland, who says his platform and campaign history show he’s the only true Republican in the race. Rodgers’ campaign advertising has touted his endorsement by Gov. Phil Scott, his history of farming and work as a tradesman, and his centrist voting record as a legislator.
2024 Campaign Contributions through August 1 [Source: VT SoS Campaign Finance System page]
| Name | Office | Party | July | Total |
| Phil Scott | Governor | Republican | $22,860.00 | $128,700.00 |
| Peter Duval | Governor | Democrat | $6.00 | $153.00 |
| Esther Charlestin | Governor | Democrat | $3,266.00 | $16,320.00 |
| David Zuckerman | Lt. Governor | Democrat | $40,344.00 | $151,432.00 |
| Thomas Renner | Lt. Governor | Democrat | $4,889.00 | $48,043.00 |
| John Rodgers | Lt. Governor | Republican | $44,950.00 | $44,950.00 |
| Greg Thayer | Lt. Governor | Republican | $2,450.00 | $4,700.00 |
| Stewart Ledbetter | Senate (Chit. Central | Democrat | $9,850.00 | $58,039.00 |
| Philip Baruth | Senate (Chit. Central | Democrat | $14,125.00 | $14,125.00 |
| Tanya Vyhovsky | Senate (Chit. Central | Democrat | $15,573.00 | $18,573.00 |
| Martine Gulick | Senate (Chit. Central | Democrat | $9,546.00 | $22,536.00 |
| Ginny Lyons | Senate (Chit. Southeast) | Democrat | $500.00 | $720.00 |
| Kesha Ram-Hinsdale | Senate (Chit. Southeast) | Democrat | $4,288.00 | $20,482.00 |
| Thomas Chittenden | Senate (Chit. Southeast) | Democrat | $880.00 | $5,883.00 |
| Louis Meyers | Senate (Chit. Southeast) | Democrat | $7,000.00 | $16,000.00 |
Up-to-date candidate filings and more information about the August 13 statewide primary are available on the Secretary of State’s website.
Visit the Election Division’s Campaign Finance System and click on “Search Filed Reports” to:
• Download a copy of any of disclosures,
• Find an updated list of filings,
• Search filings from other entities or reporting periods.
Visit the Election Division’s Candidates page to:
• See major party candidates who have filed for the Statewide Primary,
• See an updated list of minor party and independent candidates who have filed for the General Election (deadline: August 8, 2024 at 5pm),
• Find instructions and signature requirements to run for office.
