I think we should take a moment to commend Martha Abbott for taking one for the team; the "team" being Vermont's best interests. Today's Free Press carried a gracious "My Turn" by the withdrawn Progressive candidate for Governor, including the following comments:
I will decline the Progressive nomination for governor, a nomination I sought in order to ensure that the Progressive Party would not have a candidate in that race this year. Someday there will be a voting system that will give Vermonters a real choice between more than two candidates in the general election. But we are not there yet. We have a lot of work to do together.
As an unaffiliated, small "p" progressive, do I hear an "Amen" from anyone in the choir?
Deb Markowitz, Doug Racine, and Peter Shumlin have just released a joint letter announcing their plans to campaign together during the Democratic Gubernatorial Recount.
As we prepare for the recount process we wanted to share with you our united plan to ensure that no matter what the results of the recount are, we will beat Brian Dubie in November.
With the unofficial results showing Peter winning by 197 votes, we all agree that he should continue to campaign as the presumptive nominee. We've also agreed to campaign together while the recount takes place. Our vision for Vermont is dramatically different than Brian Dubie's and as this process unfolds, it is critical that Vermonters understand the contrast between Brian's vision and our own.
See the complete letter from the three highest vote getters in the primary below the fold.
I have been incredibly impressed by the Democratic candidates grace and unity throughout their campaigns, the primary election itself, the close vote, the unity rally, and now the decision to recount. Each of the five candidates honor the meaning of being a Democrat in Vermont. What's your take?
Paul Tencher
Markowitz Campaign Manager
(401) 965-3761
Burlington, Vt - Gubernatorial candidates, Peter Shumlin, Doug Racine and Deb Markowitz sent the following e-mail to their lists of supporters today.
Dear Vermonter,
As we prepare for the recount process we wanted to share with you our plan to ensure that no matter what the results of the recount are, we will beat Brian Dubie in November.
With the unofficial results showing Peter winning by 197 votes, we all agree that he should continue to campaign as the presumptive nominee. We've also agreed to campaign together while the recount takes place. Our vision for Vermont is dramatically different than Brian Dubie's and as this process unfolds, it is critical that Vermonters understand the contrast between Brian's vision and our own.
We will all be working together over the coming days to ensure that the recount process happens as quickly and effectively as possible so the nominee has as much time as possible to beat Brian. In addition, the three of us will continue to work together to ensure that fundraising, staffing and other efforts essential to the campaign continue.
In many ways, this may have been the most extraordinary primary in the history of Vermont. All five candidates articulated their vision for Vermont without disparaging each other. The reason that roughly 75,000 Vermonters turned out to vote is because they were energized by these positive visions. Whatever the results of the recount, the Democratic nominee will have this energy, passion, and excitement behind them as they take on Brian Dubie.
Thank you for all of your support.
Best,
Peter, Doug, Deb
Racine has requested a recount. At this juncture, there are several possible outcomes. This piece outlines my perspective on the possible outcomes, and what we need to do to maintain our best chance of Democratic victory come November.
First, regarding the recount itself:
It's easy to object to a recount and explain why it's a bad idea. It's easy to sow discord over it because some people truly do resent it. Others think it's a bad idea, politically, for a variety of reasons. They may or may not be wrong, but that's become irrelevant at this point.
Here's what's important to remember: the campaign for the Democratic nomination is over. The votes have been cast. The decision has been made. That decision will be known for certain in the not too distant future, but there's nothing we can do to change it in any form at this point.
So we have options. We can discuss whether or not the recount is a good idea. We can complain about it or praise it. We can argue over it. But that ship has sailed, and, honestly, come November 3rd, no one will care what we say now about it. Some of us will be able to say "see! I told you it was an awful idea" or "I was right! The recount helped us in the end."
Right here, right now, I, personally, would like to focus on the things that we can change, the things we can do, and where to go from here.
(I've said that recounts don't change these elections by three figures unless there was a clear screw-up somewhere... this diary breaks that throwaway line out into a real argument. - promoted by odum)
The chance that the recount of the 5-way primary election for the Democratic nomination will change the results is virtually nil unless systematic fraud was done by people trying to prevent Racine's election. Since nobody thinks that was the case, what the recount is going to to do is to clean up all the little random errors that creep into the process:
* hand counted ballots that are accidentally put into the wrong pile
* rejected ballots that clearly indicate a preference
* errors of transposition of numbers
* errors of transcription of numbers for one candidate into an other candidate
Republican congressional candidate Paul Beaudry tested positive for marijuana use while he was a member of the Vermont National Guard in 2000 and was ordered to undergo drug counseling but instead retired from the Guard.
So let's be clear; when the guy whose whole campaign is centered around being the gung-ho, arch-conservative super-military dude was told that, if he wanted to keep serving his country, he would just have to put down the bong - what does he choose?
Amid the turmoil and suspense surrounding an inconclusive primary outcome, we can turn to our Vermont delegation for a reminder of how good it feels to all be on the same progressive page. In a joint-press release, Senators Leahy and Sanders, and Rep. Welch announced yesterday that Vermont would be the beneficiary of an injection of federal funding to help some low-income Vermonters achieve energy savings through the use of "smart" metering and installation of thermal and solar hot water systems in their homes. Sen.Leahy is quoted as saying:
Vermont is a national leader in using the Weatherization Program’s stimulus funds for cost and energy savings for low-income households...With our older housing stock and longer winters, these investments are likely to save Vermont families far more than the national average of $400 a year in reduced energy costs.”
To which Sen. Sanders adds:
This federal support will be a major step forward in moving our state toward a greener economy.”
The Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, a non-profit better known to Vermonters as "Efficiency Vermont," will have charge of administering the $700,000. federal investment, which represents reinforcement for an earlier $69. million stimulus from the feds. It should be noted here that the Douglas/Dubie administration has consistently opposed funding of Efficiency Vermont. The projection is that, with the new funding, assistance can be provided to approximately 750 low income households to help them reduce and better utilize their energy consumption so that they can realize cost savings, while Vermont's greater economy and environment benefit at the same time. According to Peter Welch:
This additional $5.7 million award recognizes Vermont’s past successes, while paving the way for future savings.”
Well done, Gentlemen. I dare anyone to characterize this green investment in a cash-strapped population as "pork."
The official results for the top two are 18,276 for Peter Shumlin, 18,079 for Doug Racine - a difference of 194 197 in Shumlin's favor and representing a 12 vote increase in the margin as originally reported. Other numbers: Markowitz - 17,580, Dunne - 15,323, Bartlett - 3,759, for a D turnout of 74,634. Click here for more detail
The Racine campaign has announced a press conference for 3:30 pm at the Richmond Town Center to announce the Senator's "decision," as the press release says. Word parsers may consider the implications of using the word "decision" as opposed to something more open-ended, such as "next step." Senator Racine has indicated he will request a recount.
Other results as they become available.
Update: In other news Progressive Party gubernatorial candidate Martha Abbott has declared that she will withdraw her name from the November ballot, declining the party's nomination. Today at 5 p.m. is the deadline for such notifications to the Secretary of State's Elections Division Office.
Progressives had indicated earlier that they might well withdraw after the primary election if the Democrats nominated a candidate with whom they could agree on major issues. With several Progressive candidates for the legislature running as Democrats, there seems to be an increasing recognition that splitting the liberal vote is not a winning strategy.
update Markowitz's statement:
Although it was not my intention to initiate a recount, I respect Doug's right to do so under the law. I know this must have been a very difficult decision for him to make. Now the recount process must play itself out according to the law. The recount is overseen by the Washington County Superior Court. I know the courts will proceed as quickly as possible so that the general election campaign can begin in earnest. I know that both Peter and Doug share my values, and the values of most Vermonters, while Brian Dubie does not. Our focus must be to count the votes and move forward quickly so we can beat Brian Dubie and get Vermonters back to work.
update Shumlin's statement:
Burlington, Vt - "I am encouraged by the unofficial certified numbers released by the Secretary of State today, which show me receiving more votes than the other contenders. Doug is a great candidate who ran a great race. I understand that Doug is going to exercise his legal right to a recount and I respect his decision."
Update Racine's statement:
Just a short while ago, I announced that I will request a recount of the primary election results. I spoke with Peter Shumlin earlier today, and he said he would support my decision.
I have heard from hundreds of you in the past few days, and the overwhelming sentiment is that a recount is necessary. In the end, this is about our democratic process. Every Vermonter deserves to know that his or her vote was counted correctly.
With fewer than 200 votes separating Peter and me (that's less than one vote per town), I owe it to Vermonters to make sure this is the correct outcome.
I will do everything I can to expedite the recount process. In the meantime, I would urge you to get involved in the Vermont Democratic Party's coordinated campaign, the organization responsible for getting out the Democratic vote for candidates up and down the ballot in November. Thank you for your support.
There are valid concerns about a recount taking valuable time that could be spent fundraising and campaigning. I don't want to discount these fears, but I think there are benefits to a recount that may make it worthwhile, such as...
UNITY: a recount, if endorsed by Shumlin, Racine and Markowitz enhances party unity. If Shumlin wins, he comes across as a leader and gains the good will of other candidates' supporters by showing respect for their votes. If Racine wins, he shows himself to have the chops to win even when under serious pressure to withdraw. If Markowitz wins, it produces a very dramatic narrative to support her campaign. This brings us to...
DRAMA: a recount, if done with relative speed, adds drama and tension to the campaign. It produces a great deal of free publicity for the Democratic party for the cycle. If it were to go on for months, it would not be of value, but to have it timed so it can be completed by September 14th (three weeks after the election) would not cost a large amount of time and would give us momentum going into the Fall. In the meantime, we could be...
By odum
As things stand now, there's a historic reality: unless there's some kind of gross error (missing ballots, a town clerk that screwed something up, etc), recounts don't change elections by more than 100 votes. In Brock/Salmon, there was a screw-up, as evidenced by the discrepency in the early reports and the certified total.
And that should, in my opinion, be the standard. If the certified total is way off what we were told - in any direction (meaning, if Shumlin is suddenly winning by 300, or by only 80), there's something wrong and we have a responsibility to recount, as inconvenient as that may be. If the certified total is only marginally different - say, a dozen or two one way or the other - a recount becomes a foregone conclusion; an exercise in futility that serves no purpose but to drag out the "stages of grief" process for the supporters of the losers, give Dubie a leg up, and threaten the unity vibe already in the air (as nobody can say for sure how stable that really is).
