The Vermont Progressive Party is declining to endorse Zachary Hampl, who won the party’s nomination for state treasurer during its primary last month, with party leaders questioning whether he has the progressive credentials they typically seek in candidates.
VTDigger reported in late August that Progressive leaders voted against formally endorsing Hampl at a State Committee meeting in May, months before he went on to win the party’s August 11 primary without opposition. According to the Secretary of State’s office, a total of 474 voters participated in the Progressive primary, with Hampl receiving 289 votes in the primary for treasurer and Rachel Shaw, the only other named Progressive candidate seeking statewide office, receiving 320 votes for secretary of state.
Then-chair Bill Hunsinger told the publication at the time that many of Hampl’s views remained unclear to party leaders and that he “certainly does not appear to have the progressive credentials” they were seeking. Despite his remarks, Hunsinger did not rule out the possibility of the party endorsing him later.
Hunsinger has since resigned as party chair, stepping down due to an overabundance of responsibilities in his personal and professional life. Independent Political Report has reached out to the Vermont Progressive Party to ask whether its current leadership would still consider endorsing Hampl and will update this article if a response is received.
In his own conversation with VTDigger, Hampl said his politics combine ideas from the left and right and do not fully align with the Progressive platform or those of the Republican and Democratic parties. He said he previously identified as a libertarian and conservative, founding a Young Americans for Liberty chapter while attending Castleton University and later supporting Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Hampl did note that some of his views later changed after working as an emergency medical technician during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading him to support treating housing and healthcare as human rights. He also acknowledged that appearing as the Progressive nominee without the party’s support could potentially confuse voters, telling the publication he considers himself “more independent than anything else,” but chose the Progressive primary as his path onto the ballot because he viewed the party as Vermont’s strongest alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties.
Notably, the party has made efforts in the past to prevent candidates it otherwise did not support from capturing its ballot line through Vermont’s open primary system. Under Vermont law, voters do not register by party and instead choose one of the major party ballots to vote in the primary. It is not clear why the party did not attempt to do so again this cycle.
In 2024, Progressives fielded five statewide candidates as placeholders, including Tim Maciel for state treasurer. Then-chair Josh Wronski said at the time that the candidates were intended to prevent others from utilizing the party line, with the placeholders planning to give up their nominations so the party could support other candidates in the general election. All five nominees eventually did exit the race.
Beyond Shaw’s bid for secretary of state and Hampl’s appearance on the treasurer line, the party is also active elsewhere on the ballot this November, including in the gubernatorial race, where it is backing Democratic nominee Amanda Janoo. Progressives are also supporting a mix of their own candidates and cross-endorsed candidates further down the ballot, with a full list maintained by the party.
Hampl is expected to appear on the November ballot against Democratic incumbent Mike Pieciak and Republican nominee Lynn LaFleur.
With thanks to Ballot Access News for bringing the VTDigger report to IPR’s attention.
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