Vermont Attorney General election, 2016

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Vermont Attorney General Election

Primary Date: August 9, 2016

General Election Date: November 8, 2016

November Election Winner: T.J. Donovan (D)

Incumbent Prior to Election: Bill Sorrell (D)

State Executive Elections Top Ballot Governor • Lt. Governor Secretary of State • Attorney General Down Ballot Auditor • Treasurer

Key election dates

Filing deadline (party candidates): May 26, 2016

Filing deadline (independents): August 4, 2016

Primary date: August 9, 2016

General election date: November 8, 2016

Recount request deadline: November 23, 2016

Inauguration: January 5, 2017

Vermont held an election for attorney general on November 8, 2016, with a primary on August 9, 2016. T.J. Donovan (D) defeated Deborah Bucknam (R) and Liberty Union Party candidate Rosemarie Jackowski in the general election.

HIGHLIGHTS

Incumbent Attorney General Bill Sorrell (D), the longest-serving attorney general in the state's history, did not run for re-election in 2016.

T.J. Donovan (D) won the Democratic primary election on August 9 and competed with Republican Deborah Bucknam, unopposed in her party's primary election, and Liberty Union Party candidate Rosemarie Jackowski in the general election.

The November 2016 election was the first open race for the office of attorney general since 1982.

Donovan won the general election on November 8, 2016.

Overview

The attorney general of Vermont serves as the state's chief law enforcement officer and is responsible for representing the state in all legal matters.

In 2016, Vermont was under Democratic trifecta control: Democrats held the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature since Republican Governor Jim Douglas left office in 2011.

Prior to the appointment of incumbent Bill Sorrell (D) in 1997, Republicans had won election to the seat every two years since 1968. The 2016 election for attorney general is the first open race for the office since the 1982 election, which Republicans won by a margin of 20 percentage points.

Republican Deborah Bucknam was unopposed in the Republican primary election. Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan and news service owner H. Brooke Paige competed for the Democratic nomination. Donovan was the only Democratic candidate to earn key endorsements and report any significant fundraising activity as of July 2016. Donovan won the Democratic primary election on August 9, 2016. He competed with Bucknam and Liberty Union Party candidate Rosemarie Jackowski in the November general election.

Candidates

T.J. Donovan (D)
Chittenden County state's attorney since 2006

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Deborah Bucknam (R)
Private practice attorney specializing in civil litigation

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Rosemarie Jackowski (Liberty Union Party)
Educator, writer, activist

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Click [show] to view candidates who were defeated in the primary elections.
Other candidates H. Brooke Paige (D) Owner, Remmington News Service

Click [show] to view candidates who declined to run in this election
Bill Sorrell (D) - Incumbent

Results

General election

T.J. Donovan defeated Deborah Bucknam and Rosemarie Jackowski in the Vermont attorney general election.

Vermont Attorney General, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	T.J. Donovan	66.61%	200,020
	Republican	Deborah Bucknam	29.45%	88,431
	Liberty Union Party	Rosemarie Jackowski	3.94%	11,844
Total Votes				300,295
Source: Vermont Secretary of State

Primary elections

Democratic primary election

T.J. Donovan defeated H. Brooke Paige in the Democratic primary for attorney general.

Democratic primary for attorney general, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
T.J. Donovan	67.00%	49,017
H. Brooke Paige	16.29%	11,917
Write-in votes	16.71%	12,228
Total Votes (275 of 275 Precincts Reporting)		73,162
Source: Vermont Secretary of State

Republican primary election

Deborah Bucknam ran unopposed in the Republican primary for attorney general.

Republican primary for attorney general, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Deborah Bucknam  (unopposed)	67.19%	31,173
Write-in votes	32.81%	15,221
Total Votes (275 of 275 Precincts Reporting)		46,394
Source: Vermont Secretary of State

Context of the 2016 election

Primary elections

A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Vermont utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary. Vermont state law is unique in that it allows candidates to run in multiple primary elections at the same time, whether for multiple offices or for the same office under multiple parties. However, a candidate may only appear once on the general election ballot.

Vermont's primary elections took place on August 9, 2016.

Incumbent Bill Sorrell (D)

Attorney General Bill Sorrell was appointed to office in 1997 by then-Gov. Howard Dean. Sorrell then won election to his first full term when he ran unopposed in the 1998 attorney general race and has easily won re-election every two years since. Most recently, he defeated challenger Shane McCormack (R) in 2014 by over 20 percentage points. He served in office longer than any other attorney general in the state’s history.

Previously, Sorrell had served as Vermont’s Secretary of Administration from 1992 to 1997.

Party control in Vermont

At the time of the election, Vermont was under Democratic trifecta control: Democrats have held the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature since Republican Governor Jim Douglas left office in 2011. The state's electoral votes have gone to the Democratic presidential candidate since 1992, though Vermont went to Republicans for the six presidential elections prior. The state has been represented in the U.S. Senate by Democrat Patrick Leahy since 1975, and by Bernie Sanders since 2007, who won election as an independent candidate, but changed party affiliation in 2015 to seek the Democratic nomination for president.

Incumbent Bill Sorrell (D) was appointed in 1997 by then-Governor Howard Dean (D) to fill a vacancy left after Dean appointed Attorney General Jeffrey L. Amestoy (R) to the Vermont Supreme Court. Sorrell, who has won re-election nine times since, was the first Democrat to win election to the office of attorney general in Vermont since John P. Connarn, who left office in 1969. In 1982, incumbent A.G. John J. Easton, Jr., who was elected in 1980 on the Republican ticket, won both the Republican and Democratic primaries for the office. He represented both parties as attorney general from 1983 to 1985; it was the only time a dual-party candidate has won election to the office as of 2016. Vermont state law is unique in that it allows candidates to run in multiple primary elections at the same time, whether for multiple offices or for the same office under multiple parties. However, a candidate may only appear once on the general election ballot.

The 2016 election for attorney general was the first open race for the office since 1982, when Republican John. J. Eason won the seat by a margin of 20 percentage points.

Campaigns

Campaign finance

Note: Cash-on-hand figures were not available. If a candidate is not listed below, he or she did not meet or exceed minimum reporting requirements.

T.J. Donovan Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
First quarter	March 15, 2016	$27,042.82	$228,348.50	$(45,850.85)	$
Second quarter	July 15, 2016	$	$57,867.48	$(45,243.08)	$
			Running totals
			$286,215.98	$(91,093.93)

Deborah Bucknam Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Second quarter	July 14, 2016	$	$18,763.00	$(18,763.00)	$
			Running totals
			$18,763	$(18,763)

Endorsements

Key endorsements
T.J. Donovan (D)	Deborah Bucknam (R)
Former Governor Phil Hoff (D)	Gun Owners of Vermont
Former Governor Madeleine Kunin (D)
Vermont State Employees Association
Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Vermont Building and Construction Trades Council
State Senate Majority Leader Phil Baruth (D)
President Pro Tempore of the Senate John Campbell (D)
Former Governor Tom Salmon (D)
Professional Fire Fighters of Vermont
What is a key endorsement?

Campaign media

Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!

Democrats

T.J. Donovan (D)
H. Brooke Paige (D)

Republicans

Deborah Bucknam (R)

About the office

The Attorney General of Vermont is an elected executive position in the Vermont state government. The attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer in the state and is responsible for representing the state in all matters in which the state is a party or has an interest. Additionally, the attorney general will advise the elective and appointive state officers on questions of law relating to their official duties and can present opinions on legal matters.

Helpful Facts About U.S. State Attorneys General

Attorneys general are directly elected in 43 states. The remaining seven are appointed by the governor, the state legislature, or the state supreme court. Heading into the 2016 round of elections, there were 22 Democratic, 27 Republican, and one nonpartisan attorneys general. Ten states were scheduled to hold attorney general elections in 2016. In 2014 the annual salaries for state attorneys general ranged from $72,408 (Arkansas) to $176,988 (Tennessee). The office of attorney general exists in all 50 states; for 19 of them, the attorney general is not required to be licensed to practice law or even hold a law degree.

Incumbent

The incumbent was Democrat Bill Sorrell. Sorrell has served in office since January 1997 and has won re-election every two years since.

Authority

The office of Vermont Attorney General is established in Title 3, Chapter 7, § 151 of the Vermont State Code.

§ 151:

An attorney general shall be elected at the same time and in the same manner as provided for the election of other state officers. He or she shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of his duties. His or her term of office shall commence when his or her election is declared by the committee appointed by the senate and house of representatives to canvass the votes, agreeably with 17 V.S.A. { 2592, or when elected by the general assembly pursuant to said section, and continue for a term of two years.

Statutory provisions

The specific duties of the attorney general are outlined in Title 3, Chapter 7 of the Vermont State Code:

• may represent the state in all civil and criminal matters as at common law and as allowed by statute
• shall also have the same authority throughout the state as a state's attorney
• have the general supervision of criminal prosecutions
• consult with and advise the state's attorneys in matters relating to the duties of their office, and shall assist them by attending the grand jury in the examination of any cause or in the preparation of indictments and informations when, in his judgment, the interests of the state require it
• may appoint a deputy attorney general with the approval of the governor, remove him or her at pleasure and be responsible for his or her acts
• may appoint such assistant attorneys general and special assistant attorneys general as may be necessary for the proper and efficient performance of his department, and with the approval of the governor, fix their pay, remove them at pleasure and be responsible for their acts

Past elections

2014

See also: Vermont attorney general election, 2014

Democratic incumbent Bill Sorrell won re-election on November 4, 2014.

Attorney General of Vermont, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William Sorrell Incumbent	58.6%	109,305
	Republican	Shane McCormack	37.3%	69,489
	Liberty Union	Rosemarie Jackowski	3.9%	7,342
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	263
Total Votes				186,399
Election results via Vermont Secretary of State

2012

See also: Vermont attorney general election, 2012

Attorney General of Vermont General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bill Sorrell Incumbent	57.9%	164,441
	Republican	Jack McMullen	33.3%	94,588
	Progressive	Ed Stanak	5.5%	15,629
	Liberty Union	Rosemarie Jackowski	3%	8,533
	Independent	Write-in	0.2%	588
Total Votes				283,779
Election results via Vermont Secretary of State

2010

See also: Vermont Attorney General election, 2010

On November 2, 2010, William H. Sorrell won re-election to the office of Attorney General of Vermont. He defeated Aaron Michael Toscano (R) and 3 third-party candidates in the general election.

Attorney General of Vermont, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William H. Sorrell Incumbent	61.9%	143,031
	Republican	Aaron Michael Toscano	29.4%	67,900
	Progressive	Charlotte Dennett	4.4%	10,158
	Libertarian	Karen Kerin	2.7%	6,171
	Liberty Union	Rosemarie Jackowski	1.5%	3,576
	Write-In	Various	0.1%	137
Total Votes				230,973
Election results via Vermont Secretary of State.

2008

On November 4, 2008, William H. Sorrell won re-election to the office of Attorney General of Vermont. He defeated Karen Kerin (R/L) and two third-party candidates in the general election.

Attorney General of Vermont, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William H. Sorrell Incumbent	72.6%	214,980
	Republican/Libertarian	Karen Kerin	18.7%	55,268
	Progressive	Charlotte Dennett	6%	17,730
	Liberty Union	Rosemarie Jackowski	2.5%	7,505
	Write-In	Various	0.2%	544
Total Votes				296,027
Election results via Vermont Secretary of State.

2006

On November 7, 2006, William H. Sorrell won re-election to the office of Attorney General of Vermont. He defeated Dennis Carver (R) and Rosemarie Jackowski (Liberty Union) in the general election.

Attorney General of Vermont, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William H. Sorrell Incumbent	69.3%	173,467
	Republican	Dennis Carver	27.1%	67,721
	Liberty Union	Rosemarie Jackowski	3.5%	8,773
	Write-In	Various	0.1%	339
Total Votes				250,300
Election results via Vermont Secretary of State.

2004

On November 2, 2004, William H. Sorrell won re-election to the office of Attorney General of Vermont. He defeated Dennis Carver (R) and 4 third-party candidates in the general election.

Attorney General of Vermont, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William H. Sorrell Incumbent	58%	169,726
	Republican	Dennis Carver	30.8%	90,285
	Progressive	Susan A. Davis	4.9%	14,351
	Vermont Green	James Marc Leas	3%	8,769
	Libertarian	Karen A. Kerin	2.2%	6,357
	Liberty Union	Boots Wardinski	1%	2,944
	Write-In	Various	0.1%	267
Total Votes				292,699
Election results via Vermont Secretary of State.

2002

On November 5, 2002, William H. Sorrell won re-election to the office of Attorney General of Vermont. He defeated Larry Drown (R) and 4 third-party candidates in the general election.

Attorney General of Vermont, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William H. Sorrell Incumbent	56.6%	125,495
	Republican	Larry Drown	30.4%	67,360
	Progressive	Cindy Hill	7.3%	16,152
	Vermont Grassroots	Sandy Ward	2.8%	6,307
	Libertarian	Christopher Costanzo	1.8%	3,991
	Liberty Union	Boots Wardinski	1%	2,243
	Write-In	Various	0.1%	131
Total Votes				221,679
Election results via Vermont Secretary of State.

2000

On November 7, 2000, William H. Sorrell won re-election to the office of Attorney General of Vermont. He defeated Sandy "Wells" Ward (Vermont Grassroots) in the general election.

Attorney General of Vermont, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic/Republican	William H. Sorrell Incumbent	84%	226,668
	Vermont Grassroots	Sandy "Wells" Ward	14.7%	39,713
	Write-In	Various	1.3%	3,585
Total Votes				269,966
Election results via Vermont Secretary of State.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Vermont state attorney general election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Vermont Attorney General election, 2016 - Google News

State profile

Demographic data for Vermont
	Vermont	U.S.
Total population:	626,088	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	9,217	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	94.9%	73.6%
Black/African American:	1.1%	12.6%
Asian:	1.4%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	1.9%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	1.7%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	91.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	36%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$55,176	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	13.2%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Vermont. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Vermont

Vermont voted for the Democratic candidate in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Vermont, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Vermont had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Vermont coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Vermont
• United States congressional delegations from Vermont
• Public policy in Vermont
• Endorsers in Vermont
• Vermont fact checks
• More...

See also

Vermont government:

• Vermont state executive offices
• Vermont State Legislature
• Vermont courts

Previous elections:

• State executive official elections, 2015
• State executive official elections, 2014

Ballotpedia exclusives:

• State executives compensation
• State of the state addresses
• Who runs the states?

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Vermont Attorney General