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.
The polls have now closed in Vermont. They are currently still open in Wisconsin, Connecticut and Minnesota.
Despite being a historically blue state, Republicans are trying to take both the governor's mansion and Connecticut's open Fifth Congressional District. These races could prove to be closer than previous years due to the unpopularity of current Democrat Governor Dannel Malloy.
Polls in Minnesota and Wisconsin will close at 9pm local time. Connecticut will be 8pm.
In Vermont, where polls have now closed, Republican Gov. Phil Scott is facing a challenge from Springfield businessman Keith Stern.
Four Democrats are seeking the party's nomination to run for governor. They include a former utility executive who, if elected, would become the nation's first transgender governor, and a 14-year-old boy who is taking advantage of a quirk in state law that does not require gubernatorial candidates to be registered voters.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is appearing on the Democratic ballot, even though he's already registered to run in November as an independent.
Democratic US Rep. Peter Welch is also facing a primary challenge.
Early figures show voter turnout in Connecticut's primaries, according to Associated Press.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill says turnout was around 15 to 16 per cent with 153 of Connecticut's 169 towns reporting as of about 3 p.m. Tuesday. That figure doesn't include the major cities.
Republican Keith Ellison, running for Minnesota attorney general, recently denied allegations of domestic abuse made by his ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan.
The accusation surfaced days before the election when the son of Ms Monahan posted online that he had seen angry text messages from Mr Ellison to his mother and a video that showed him dragging Monahan off a bed.
Senator Chris Murphy is advancing to the November election after sailing through the primaries without facing a challenger from his Democratic Party.
Bernie Sanders has won Vermont's Democratic Senate primary but is expected to turn down the nomination
Bernie Sanders defeated little-known candidate Folasade Adeluola. Mr Sanders is thought to be considering a presidential run in 2020 and is already on Vermont's November ballot as an independent.
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