Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman will be taking on his boss, Gov. Phil Scott, in November.
In the unofficial vote tally at press time, as reported by the Secretary of State's office, Zuckerman won a decisive victory over former Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe in Tuesday's Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Zuckerman led Holcombe, 52 percent to 39 percent, with Bennington attorney Patrick Winburn finishing a distant third with 8 percent of the vote and Ralph Corbo of Wallingford getting less than 1.5 percent of the vote.
Zuckerman will challenge Scott, who easily won the Republican Party's gubernatorial nomination as the incumbent seeks his third term.
Scott defeated his main Republican primary rival, John Klar of Brookfield, with 73 percent of the vote to Klar's 22 percent. The three other candidates in the race - Douglas Cavitt of Milton, Bernard Peters of Irasburg, and Emily Peyton of Putney - each received less than 2 percent of the vote.
Klar's candidacy is not finished, however. He announced on Monday that he will run as an independent candidate for governor in the Nov. 3 general election.
Cris Ericson of Chester and Boots Wardinski of Newbury were vying for the Progressive Party's gubernatorial nomination, and the race was too close to call at press time.
Lieutenant governor
In the lieutenant governor contests, Assistant Attorney General Molly Gray easily defeated Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, 46 percent to 35 percent, in the Democratic contest. Newfane activist Brenda Siegel and Chittenden County State Sen. Debbie Ingram finished third and fourth, respectively, with each getting about 10 percent of the vote.
Scott Milne of Pomfret won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, defeating Meg Hansen of Manchester, 51 percent to 34 percent. Dwayne Tucker of Barre Town was third with 6 percent, Dana Colson Jr. of Sharon got 5 percent, and Jim Hogue of Calais finished at 4 percent.
Vermont House of Representatives
In the two contested Vermont House races in Windham County, there was one romp and one cliffhanger.
Windham-3 incumbent Carolyn Partridge of Windham and newcomer Leslie Goldman of Rockingham were the top two vote-getters in the Democratic primary for the two seats in the district, which encompasses Athens, Brookline, Grafton, Rockingham, Windham, and a sliver of North Westminster.
Goldman ended up with 804 votes. Partridge, who is seeking her 12th term in the House, got 771 votes.
Kelley Tully, who was appointed in March to filled the remainder of the term of Matthew Trieber after he resigned his seat, finished third with 689 votes in one of the closest races in the state.
Incumbent Mike Mrowicki of Putney and newcomer Michelle Bos-Lun of Westminster had much less drama as they were the top vote-getters in the Democratic primary for the two seats in Windham-4, the district that covers Dummerston, Putney, and Westminister.
Mrowicki received 1,633 votes and Bos-Lun picked up 1,515 votes. Matthew Ingram of Putney was third with 197 votes, David Ramos of Putney was fourth with 135 votes, and Robert DePino of Westminster got 71 votes.
Other races
In the other contested statewide races, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch had no problem winning the Democratic nomination for Congress, finishing with 95 percent of the vote over challenger Ralph Corbo.
Welch will face Miriam Berry in November. Berry won the Republican nomination with 38 percent of the vote, finishing well ahead of Justin Tuthill, Jimmy Rodriguez, and Anya Tynio.
He will also face Progressive Party nominee Chris Brimmer, who defeated Cris Ericson by garnering 67 percent of the vote.
Incumbent Auditor Doug Hoffer survived a challenge by Linda Joy Sullivan, winning the Democratic nomination with 59 percent of the vote to Sullivan's 41 percent.
Perennial candidate H. Brooke Paige of Washington edged Emily Peyton, 52-48, for the Republican nomination for attorney general. Paige will face incumbent T.J. Donovan, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary.