The Vermont Progressive Party is supporting Amanda Janoo’s campaign for governor, backing a candidate who is also seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Phil Scott this cycle.
While Independent Political Report was unable to determine the exact date when the party formally endorsed Janoo, the party said last month that it had been approached by seven statewide candidates seeking its support. Those candidates were set to appear at the party’s May 17 State Committee meeting in Barre for a question-and-answer session, suggesting the endorsement followed that meeting.
The party more recently publicized its support of Janoo as its endorsed candidate in a post promoting her appearance at a Democratic primary candidate forum held at the Vergennes Opera House. Janoo is running in the August 11 Democratic primary against Aly Richards, the former CEO of Let’s Grow Kids.
Janoo, who the party states on its website is an economist and community advocate, grew up in Strafford and now lives in Burlington. She studied development economics at the University of Cambridge and later worked with various governments and international institutions. In 2018, she co-founded the Wellbeing Economy Alliance of Vermont, a coalition focused on building a more sustainable and inclusive state economy. She has also served on the board of the ACLU of Vermont and as a steering committee member of the Fund Vermont’s Future Initiative.
The Vermont Progressive Party is no stranger to supporting Democrats and independent candidates who are consistent with its platform, allowing some candidates to also appear with the Progressive label. However, it has also strictly fielded its own nominees in certain circumstances and, as has been the case for several of the state’s gubernatorial elections, skipped some races altogether.
Most recently, during the 2024 cycle, the party supported Esther Charlestin, who appeared on the ballot under both the Democratic and Progressive Party lines. Charlestin ultimately lost in the general election to Scott, who won a fifth term with 266,439 votes, or 73.4 percent, to her 79,217 votes.
The party has also listed Janoo on its website alongside other candidates it is supporting this cycle. The list of statewide candidates includes Tim Ashe for state auditor and Rachel Shaw for secretary of state. Ashe, a Democrat, is seeking his party’s nomination for auditor in a three-way race, while Shaw is running as a Progressive candidate for secretary of state.
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