Vermont Conservation Voters (VCV) is pleased to announce that in its priority electoral races, pro-environment candidates won 28 out of 33 hotly contested seats in the 2018 elections. Further, an overwhelming majority of Vermont Conservation Voters-endorsed candidates won their races, including 5 statewide officers, 20 state senators, and 93 state representatives.
“On Election Day, Vermonters sent a clear and unmistakable message that climate change and clean water matter, and they expect to see progress on these issues in the upcoming legislative session,” said Lauren Hierl, executive director of Vermont Conservation Voters. “VCV’s priority candidates had a very strong night, and we’re excited to have a new slate of champions for whom environmental issues were a cornerstone of their campaigns.”
Environmentally-focused electoral campaigns* were run in a targeted list of tightly contested House and Senate races. Specific activities to help elect pro-environment candidates included: sending approximately 70,000 mail pieces, placing advertisements in five local newspapers, running digital advertising that reached nearly 63,000 Vermonters, and knocking on doors and calling more than 2,000 Vermonters.
VCV’s efforts helped contribute to flipping numerous open seats from anti-environment to pro-environment lawmakers, successfully defending vulnerable environmental allies, and unseating several incumbents with weak environmental voting records.
Further, a supermajority of Democrats and Progressives won seats in both the Vermont House and Senate, which could open up more opportunity for progress on a range of environmental priorities in the coming session. For instance, this past year a bill to reduce children’s exposure to toxic chemicals in kids’ products fell just four votes shy of overriding Governor Scott’s veto of the legislation and passing into law. In the coming year, this bill could garner enough votes to pass into law, whether or not the Governor supports the bill.
“We were excited to reach so many voters in a variety of ways this election season – especially in some very tight races where our efforts contributed to important victories for pro-environment candidates,” noted Hierl.
Hierl added, “As we face environmental crises that demand action, VCV is thrilled that Vermont voters gave our newly-elected lawmakers a clear mandate to tackle issues including climate change and clean water. VCV congratulates all the newly-elected lawmakers, and looks forward to working together in the coming legislative session for a healthy, thriving Vermont.”
For a full list of candidates VCV endorsed for the General Election, visit www.vermontconservationvoters.org/elections.
*Electoral activities were conducted by Vermont Conservation Voters Action Fund (an independent expenditure political action committee) and Vermont Conservation Voters PAC (a coordinated political action committee).
Since 1982, Vermont Conservation Voters has served as the political arm of the environmental community, working to elect environmental leaders, hold lawmakers accountable, and advocate for strong environmental laws.