ADDISON COUNTY — Addison County voters turned out in record numbers on Tuesday to follow statewide trends in endorsing presidential candidate Joe Biden, Gov. Phil Scott and Lt. Gov.-elect Molly Gray.
Addison County’s turnout was 78.15%, according to the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office.
With one town left to report on Wednesday morning, Vermonters had cast 358,261 ballots on Nov. 3, which equates to a 70.1% statewide turnout. While a record in the number of votes cast, during the election of 2008 (when President Obama was elected to his first term), the state recorded 326,000 ballots cast, representing a 72 % turnout.
Biden, a Democrat and former vice president, topped incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican, in all 23 Addison County communities. The closest vote was in Orwell, where residents endorsed Biden by a relatively thin 367-351 margin. The final vote for president in Addison County: 14,963 for Biden, 6,292 for Trump.
While the margin of victory was wide for Biden in Addison County and Vermont in general, it was razor thin in other parts of the country — so much so that a winner had yet to be declared as the Independent went to press on Wednesday.
Vermonters flocked to Biden to the tune of 65.5% (242,658 tallies) compared to 30.37% (112,505) for Trump.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Gray defeated Republican Scott Milne by an 11,876 to 9,212 tally in Addison County, though Milne was the top vote-getter in 10 of this area’s 23 municipalities. Milne garnered particular support in the more conservative Addison County enclaves of Orwell (453-250), Bridport (415-288) and Addison (514-321).
But Gray vastly outdistanced her opponent in Democrat strongholds like Middlebury (2,774-1,266), Weybridge (421-159) and Cornwall (542-261).
Statewide, Gray won almost 50% of the vote (182,710 tallies) compared to around 42.5% (156,942 tallies) for Milne.
The vast majority of county voters agreed to give Scott another two years as the state’s top executive. All 23 municipalities here endorsed the Republican governor and collectively gave him a 15,032-6,278 victory over Democrat/Progressive David Zuckerman, Vermont’s outgoing lieutenant governor.
Statewide, Scott also scored a decisive victory, capturing 67% (248,243 tallies) of the vote, compared to 26.8% (99,158) for Zuckerman.
In other statewide races, the county mirrored the rest of Vermont in overwhelmingly supporting incumbent Democrat Beth Pearce for state treasurer; incumbent Democrat Doug Hoffer for auditor; incumbent Democrat T.J. Donovan for attorney general; and incumbent Democrat Jim Condos for secretary of state.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].