Vermont primary: Christine Hallquist makes history as transgender candidate becomes Democrat governor nominee as Bernie Sanders is also victorious
The state boasts a number of unique — many of them progressive — candidates
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Your support makes all the difference.Christine Hallquist has become the first transgender candidate to win a major political party's nomination for governor.
As part of the primaries in Vermont, Ms Hallquist beat three other Democrats to secure the victory.
The 62-year-old Ms Hallquist is part of a wave of LGBTQ candidates seeking higher office across the US. Ms Hallquist is being supported by The Victory Fund, a political action committee that backs LGBTQ candidates across the country. The committed labelled her a “game changer.”
Before Vermont's election, only four transgender candidates had won primaries in 2018, all for house and senate seats in state legislatures, and have a general election ahead. Seventeen have lost primary or general elections and 21 have yet to face voters
Elsewhere, Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic Senate beating Folasade Adeluola as he seeks a third term in office.
With 98 per cent of precincts reporting, Mr Sanders had 94 per cent of the vote. It was not immediately clear which Republican he will face in the general election in November, given a close race between Brooke Paige and Lawrence Zupan that had just hundreds of votes in it.
Mr Sanders' win does not come as a surprise. The self-described Democratic Socialist won re-election in 2012 with about 71 per cent of the vote. Before that, in 2006, he carried about 65 per cent of the vote.
While Mr Sanders won the Democratic nomination, he is widely expected to reject it. Doing so has become a regular move for the notably independent senator over the years.
Phil Scott, the Republican governor in the reliably Democratic state, has won the GOP primary as he seeks re-election and will face Ms Hallquist.
Ethan Sonneborn is another candidate worth mentioning. He’s a 14-year-old progressive who decided to launch his campaign after violence erupted last year during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, North Carolina. State law allows anyone who has lived in Vermont for four years to run for governor after securing enough signatures to get on the ballot, making Mr Sonneborn legally qualified despite his age. He secured more than 4,000 votes for an eight per cent share of the ballots.
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Vermont isn’t the only state that held a primary on Tuesday — Minnesota, Wisconsin and Connecticut also had elections to determine which candidates will face off come November.
Wisconsin midterm 2018 will be a big test for Republicans and whether Gov. Scott Walker is unbeatable
The winner of the Democratic primary is expected to face Scott Walker as he campaigns for third timer – first elected in 2010.
A black firefighter and union president Mahlon Mitchell is vying for the Democratic party nomination in Wisconsin on Tuesday – and with the backing of Sen. Kamala Harris.
It is significant that Mitchell is a union president – Scott Walker notably stripped public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights.
Scott Walker campaigned in the Wisconsin Republican primary in 2016 but announced he was dropping out in September of 2015. He notably called for Republicans to join forces against Donald Trump.
US rep Keith Ellison is running for Attorney General in Minnesota. He’s also the Democratic National Committee vice chair, the first Muslim ever elected to Congress, and a progressive ‘star’.
With some of the most extensive voting rights in the country, Vermont is one of just two states that allow convicted felons to cast votes behind bars. The state also has begun implementing automatic voter registration when residents apply for ID cards at the DMV.
Wisconsin’s Seventh Congressional District is an opening for Democrats in the north. The seat is currently occupied by Sean Duffy (of reality show 'fame').
While a “pink wave” has seen record amounts of women running for office across the country, Vermont has held steady with just 32 per cent of women running for all public offices in 2018. Still, Vermont’s General Assembly is ranked first in the country in terms of female representation.
Democrat Tammy Baldwin is running in her first re-election bid for Senate in Wisconsin. Republicans are hoping to oust the Democratic seat. Early polls show her leading Nicholson and Vukmir by more than 10 points.
In other US political news, Donald Trump has shared his support for a boycott of Harley-Davidson.
As America’s most favourite politician according to polling, Bernie Sanders has used his sway to endorse a host of progressive local candidates across the country — including in his home state of Vermont...
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