Molly Gray elected as Vermont’s next lieutenant governor, ousting John Rodgers

Updated 10:40 p.m.

Democrat Molly Gray is getting her old job back and will become Vermont’s next lieutenant governor. 

Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, a Republican, conceded the race around 9:30 p.m. As of 10:25 p.m., Gray had received 60.29% of the votes cast to Rodgers’s 37.50%. 

The mood was jubilant at the Vermont Democratic Party’s Burlington results watch party, which Gray shared with Democratic candidates across the ticket.

Gray took the stage moments after Rodgers conceded and opened her remarks by thanking the sitting lieutenant governor.

“I want to start by thanking him for his service to Vermont, his graciousness and also the tremendous work he’s done for rural Vermont,” Gray said at the Tuesday night event.

The race against Rodgers became more personal as Rodgers started to lag Gray in the polls. In an Oct. 5 debate hosted by Vermont Public, Rodgers asked Gray about labor violations on her family’s South Newbury farm and accused her family of the “mistreatment of migrant workers.” Rodgers had obtained records from the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration showing housing quality violations in 2024 and 2025 for the onsite accommodations for the farm’s seasonal workers on federal H-2A visas. 

The issue became a flashpoint in the race. Gray, who did not hold elected office during the investigation, insisted that Rodgers should keep the focus of the race on her rather than her family, while Rodgers continued to highlight the violations throughout the campaign. 

Through October, the polling gap between the two widened, with the most recent survey from the University of New Hampshire showing Gray earning 63% of the polled population’s support. 

In a statement conceding the race, Rodgers called serving as lieutenant governor “one of the greatest honors” of his life, adding, “The voters of Vermont have made their decision, and while this isn’t the outcome we had hoped for, I respect their choice and congratulate Molly Gray on a hard-fought campaign.” 

This election cycle, Gray’s campaign centered on lowering costs and “protect(ing) fundamental rights,” as she described on her campaign website. She advocated for a universal primary care program funded by recouping federal tax cuts on the wealthy and levying new state taxes on luxury second homes. She also touted a five-point plan to expand affordable housing.  

That work begins now, Gray said Tuesday.

“We’re still going to talk about universal primary. We’re still going to be laser focused on affordable housing. We’re still going to be fighting for working families,” she said.

Gray served one term as lieutenant governor starting in 2021, a role she relinquished after unsuccessfully running for Vermont’s U.S. House seat. She then worked as the executive director of the Vermont Afghan Alliance before leaving that post to run again for statewide office.

As fellow downballot Democrats won their races early in the evening and celebrated Democratic gains in Senate and House seats across the country, Gray said that Tuesday’s Democratic wins were not an excuse for a victory lap. 

“It is just a moment that comes with a massive amount of urgency, a moment that is going to allow us to do some extremely, extremely hard work,” she said, closing her remarks. “But the work starts tomorrow morning, without question.” 

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