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LiberalMind endorses John S
Election Day is November 3. Vermont elects its lieutenant governor separately from its governor, on a two-year term, and this race is a straight rematch of history: Republican incumbent John S. Rodgers, who flipped the seat in 2024, against Democrat Molly Gray, who held this exact office from 2021 to 2023. No polling and no campaign-finance figures for this race were located in this research. LiberalMind endorses John S. Rodgers. Read the research, and see why.
How Vermont got here
Rodgers was unopposed for renomination in the August 11, 2026 primary. Gray won the Democratic primary against a three-candidate field that included 2024 gubernatorial nominee Esther Charlestin (270toWin primary reporting; South Burlington Voter Guide nominee summary). The roster — Rodgers (R) vs. Gray (D) — is confirmed by the Seven Days 2026 General Election Voters' Guide, the South Burlington Voter Guide, and The Green Papers' Vermont page, all rendering the Vermont Secretary of State's qualified-candidate list. Split governor/lieutenant-governor outcomes are a documented Vermont pattern (270toWin) — this office is genuinely its own race. No race-specific money or polling evidence was located this pass; we print that absence rather than a forecast.
John S. Rodgers (Republican) — the incumbent
Background and service: Lieutenant Governor since January 2025, having flipped the seat in 2024 (270toWin). He carries Gov. Phil Scott's endorsement (St. Albans Messenger candidate Q&A).
Pros: The sitting officeholder, endorsed by the state's Republican governor, running for the office he already performs.
Cons: A short tenure — in office since January 2025 — against an opponent who held the same job for a full term before him. No deeper in-office record for Rodgers was located in this research, and we do not invent one.
The flaw, plainly: No flaw proven in service was located. His record in this file is short because his tenure is short — a watch item, not a demerit.
Molly Gray (Democratic) — the former officeholder
Background and service: Gray held this exact office 2021–2023, then made an unsuccessful bid for Congress (Seven Days). She carries the Vermont NEA and Vermont State Employees' Association endorsements (St. Albans Messenger Q&A).
The debate attack, printed at its documented strength: At the October 6, 2026 Vermont Public debate, Rodgers questioned Gray about worker-housing investigations at her family's farm (Four Corners Farm, Newbury). A records check against Agency documents and VTDigger/Vermont Public/Seven Days reporting found: real citations, a reduced penalty that was paid, and repairs made; no official finding of "mistreatment," and nothing tying Gray personally to running the farm or to the investigations. That summary rests on an aggregator's rendering of the underlying reporting, and we print the episode on exactly those terms: a debate-stage claim, and a documented record that does not sustain it against Gray personally.
The Manchin test: Gray's documented record is service as a Democratic officeholder and a congressional bid; no break with her party toward our values — Constitution, capitalism and the free market, Christianity, freedom — in service was located in this research.
Pros: She has actually done this job for a full term. The major state employee and teachers' organizations back her return.
Cons: No Manchin-test break was located. Her return would restore the office to the party Vermont voters removed from it in 2024.
The flaw, plainly: Not a conduct flaw — the farm-housing attack does not sustain against her on the documents located. The priced item is alignment: a proven Democratic officeholder with no documented break toward our values.
OUR CALL
LiberalMind endorses John S. Rodgers.
Both candidates are proven in this exact office, which makes this the rare down-ballot race where the choice is purely about direction. Rodgers is the Republican incumbent, endorsed by Gov. Scott, with no flaw proven in service located. Gray is a capable former officeholder whose file contains no break with her party on our values. Under our doctrine, that decides it: endorse the in-tent incumbent, and print the farm-housing episode at its documented strength — which is to say, not as a charge against Gray.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- Seven Days 2026 General Election Voters' Guide — the Rodgers/Gray framing; Seven Days auditor-race history — Gray's 2021–2023 tenure and congressional bid
- 270toWin Vermont primary page — Rodgers unopposed for renomination; Gray's three-candidate primary field including Esther Charlestin; Rodgers flipped the seat in 2024; the split-outcome pattern
- South Burlington Voter Guide post-primary nominee summary; The Green Papers, Vermont page — the roster
- St. Albans Messenger candidate Q&A — Scott's endorsement of Rodgers; the Vermont NEA and VSEA endorsements of Gray
- Records summary of Agency documents and VTDigger/Vermont Public/Seven Days reporting (via Grokisi News aggregator, labeled as such) — the farm-housing citations, reduced paid penalty, repairs, and the absence of any mistreatment finding or personal tie to Gray; the underlying outlet items are named for re-sourcing before any further use
- Standing check: no pedophile-association material meeting the proven standard was located for any candidate on this ballot
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.