VT-Gov: Vermont’s Democratic gubernatorial primary is on Tuesday, and the final days of the contest have been dominated by a nasty controversy over, of all things, wind energy. On Friday, ex-state Sen. Matt Dunne came out in favor of allowing towns to hold referendums to veto “large industrial wind project[s].” Bill McKibben, a prominent local environmentalist and supporter of wind power, was not happy, and he proceeded to switch his endorsement from Dunne to ex-state Secretary of Transportation Sue Minter. Days later, the Vermont Conservation Voters, which had been neutral, also backed Minter. But things started to get weird on Monday, when outgoing Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin got involved.
Dunne had argued that his stance would be the same as Shumlin’s own. However, the governor quickly rejecting that assertion, saying that “[a]nyone who says they are in line with my position on renewables, and who then comes out for a veto on renewables, is not telling the truth.” Dunne was, predictably, not happy with Shumlin and suggested that “maybe he has flip-flopped or gone someplace else on that particular position.”
At the same time, Minter blasted Dunne as the real flip-flopper, but the third candidate in the race, ex-state Sen. Peter Galbraith, actually praised Dunne’s stance on wind energy. That was such an unusual move—why would you boost a rival when he’s taking on water?—that it prompted immediate speculation that Dunne had struck some sort of deal to shift his position on wind to accommodate Galbraith’s views and thereby encourage Galbraith to get out of the race.
Dunne did nothing to quash that line of thought when he deflected questions about whether he was trying to get Galbraith to leave the contest, and Galbraith later added, “Well, I guess you could say that Matt made an effort not to have me in the race.” Obviously Dunne’s ploy didn’t work, since Galbraith is still running, but while his campaign was busy attacking Minter and Shumlin as members of some sort of “establishment” out to get him, it’s Dunne who's come off looking like a typical politician.
Amid all this mishugas, outside groups are taking to the airwaves as the contest winds down. Vermonters for Strong Leadership, which says it’s funded in part by EMILY’s List, has bought at least $72,000 in airtime to support Minter; the group’s leader says it’ll spend “probably more than $100,000” but likely less than $200,000. The ad is not online yet, but the script praises Minter for helping the state recover from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. In Dunne’s corner, Silicon Valley businessman Reid Hoffman has spent at least $154,000 on TV ads to support Dunne, a former Google manager. Dunne himself is also up with one more ad. Galbraith has been badly outspent and does not have any major outside allies.
The GOP also has its primary on Tuesday. Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, the favorite of the Republican establishment, faces wealthy former Wall Street executive Bruce Lisman. Lisman has run ads attacking Scott, and he got some extra help from the American Future Fund, which has purchased $27,000 in TV and radio ads. The group, which is part of the Koch brothers’ network, is mainly funded by former Lisman colleagues from the defunct investment bank Bear Stearns. There have been no reliable polls of either primary. Vermont is a very blue state, but both sides acknowledge that Scott can put this seat in play in November.