Vermont Progressive Party Sees 18 Legislative Candidates Elected Through Fusion Voting

The Vermont Progressive Party saw the election of 18 candidates appearing with its nomination in legislative races this month, expanding upon the number of lawmakers who won with its label in both the state House and Senate during the 2024 election cycle.

Official results published by the Vermont Secretary of State show that 12 candidates for the State House and six for the State Senate were elected with the Progressive Party’s nomination. Every candidate was elected through fusion, having also secured the nomination of the Vermont Democratic Party.

Under Vermont law, candidates may accept nominations from multiple political parties, with those affiliations appearing together next to their names on the general election ballot. Candidates can select which party nominations they wish to appear under and the order in which those parties are listed. Unlike in some other states, a candidate nominated by multiple parties appears only once on the ballot.

Independent Political Report identified a total of 14 candidates running for the State House and seven for the State Senate this year appearing with the Progressive Party label, including the group of fusion candidates and a single candidate appearing solely with the party’s nomination. Of those 21 legislative candidates, five were incumbents seeking reelection to their existing seats.

Notably, not every successful candidate running with the party’s nomination earlier this month appeared on its official list of endorsed and nominated candidates. The party also backed several candidates who appeared solely as Democrats.

When compared to results from the 2024 general election, the party saw a net increase of five successful legislative candidates. During that cycle, nine candidates for the State House and four for the State Senate were elected with the Progressive nomination, for a combined total of 13.

While the party hasn’t confirmed which elected members will caucus as Progressives in the Vermont Legislature, it has said in the past that the order in which a candidate’s party designations appear on the ballot indicates which caucus that candidate will join. If that remains true moving forward, eight of the 18 successful candidates would caucus as Progressives, including seven state representatives and one state senator.

The party was also involved in several statewide races, cross-nominating Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amanda Janoo, who lost to incumbent Republican Gov. Phil Scott, and nominating Rachel Shaw for secretary of state, who finished third in a three-way race. The party also endorsed Democratic candidate Tim Ashe, who won the election for state auditor, though he did not appear with the Progressive Party designation. It did not, however, endorse Zachary Hampl, who appeared with the Progressive designation for state treasurer after winning its primary, over questions about whether his political views aligned with its platform.

The full list of elected legislators based on current state figures is provided below:

Successful State House Candidates

Successful State Senate Candidates