Vermont Democrat Racine to seek recount in gubernatorial primary versus Shumlin

Vt. Democrat Racine to seek recount in gov primary

RICHMOND, Vt. — Vermont Democratic gubernatorial candidate Doug Racine said Friday he will ask for a recount in the state’s primary election.

Racine, a state senator from Richmond, made the announcement Friday, about an hour after the Secretary of State’s office said its count of the Tuesday vote gave Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin a lead of 197 votes.

Racine said he felt there was room for error.

The unofficial election night tally done by The Associated Press gave Shumlin a 192-vote lead.

Under Vermont law, a losing candidate can seek a recount if the margin of victory is 2 percent of the total votes cast in the race. About 72,000 people voted in Tuesday’s five-way Democratic primary.

Republican candidate Brian Dubie was unopposed in the primary.

The results released by the Secretary of State on Friday were official but still must be certified, which will happen when a canvassing board made up of representatives of all three major parties meets to review them.

Shumlin didn’t immediately return telephone calls seeking comment on the results.

“It’s wait and see,” he said earlier in the day as the vote totals were still being tabulated.

Shumlin and Racine were the leading vote-getters in the five-way primary, which was to determine the Democrats’ nominee for the Nov. 2 general election. Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie is the Republican nominee.

Incumbent Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican, is stepping down after his fourth term.

Secretary of State Deb Markowitz, who finished third with 17,580 votes, said she would not seek a recount.

“We need to focus on beating Brian Dubie,” she said.