Vermont state Sen. Peter Shumlin claims victory in 5-way Democratic primary for governor

A top Vt. senator claims victory in governor race

MONTPELIER, Vt. — One of the Vermont Senate’s highest-ranking members appeared Wednesday to have eked out a narrow victory for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination during a second day of vote-counting, but his two closest rivals had not yet conceded.

With all precincts reporting following Tuesday’s primary, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin led Sen. Doug Racine and said he believed he had won. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz appeared to be headed to a close third-place finish, 684 votes behind Shumlin. Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.

“It appears that we’ve won. We believe that we’ve won,” Shumlin said in an interview Wednesday as Democrats gathered for a unity rally. “Obviously, we’re going to move forward on the basis that we’re going to take on Brian and we’re going to get the job done.”

The winner in November will replace Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, who is stepping down after four two-year terms.

A recount was possible. That could delay resolution of the primary into September — after the Legislature this year moved the vote from September to August to give more time between the primary and the general election.

Racine did not rule out seeking a recount, saying there was room for error in votes being tabulated.

“This is a very close election,” he said. “I think my supporters and Sen. Shumlin’s supporters would all benefit by taking a deep breath and waiting until we have an official tally from the secretary of state.”

With all precincts reporting, Shumlin had had 18,183 votes; Racine had 17,993; and Markowitz had 17,499. Google executive Matt Dunne had 15,034, and State Sen. Susan Bartlett was a distant fifth with 3,773.

Dunne conceded at midday, but Markowitz had not done so.

“We want to wait until every single vote is counted and make sure the nominee is strong to take on Brian Dubie,” said her campaign manager, Paul Tencher.

Shumlin, in a phone interview, called the primary “an embarrassment of riches for Democrats, and we have so much to be proud of.”

“It appears that we have won, and I’m going to focus on reaching out to Vermonters so that we can win in November and get Vermonters back to work,” he said.

Under state law, a candidate who trails the leader by less than 2 percent of total votes cast — both Racine and Markowitz appeared fell into that category — can petition for a recount, a complicated procedure that would be carried out by special teams gathered at the Washington Superior Court in Montpelier.

A recount would be “bad for the Democrats,” said Garrison Nelson, a political science professor at the University of Vermont, because they need to gear up as quickly as possible for the fall campaign against Dubie.

But Paul Gronke, professor of political science at Reed College, said a recount “should not harm the Democrat’s chances if it is completed in a timely fashion.”

“The general election season for most voters does not start until Labor Day,” he said. “True, campaigns need to be gearing up before then, but a few weeks’ delay should not be too harmful. It could even be helpful by continuing to focus media attention on the Democratic race.”

The last statewide recount in Vermont was in an election for auditor of accounts in 2006, when incumbent Republican Randy Brock appeared to have won the November election over Tom Salmon. Salmon, who has since switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party, ended up winning after a recount by 137 votes.

That swing of 239 votes in a recount was larger than the margin Shumlin appeared to have over Racine.

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Associated Press writer John Curran in Burlington, Vt., condtributed to this report.