Zuckerman concedes Vt. lieutenant governor’s race

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - An update in the Vermont lieutenant governor's race- incumbent Vermont Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman conceded on Thursday.

Republican John Rodgers beat Progressive-Democrat Zuckerman by about 6,000 votes, getting 49% of the vote to Zuckerman's 47%.

But according to the Vermont Constitution, a candidate for governor, lieutenant governor or treasurer needs to reach 50% of the vote to be declared the winner. If they don't reach that threshold, the Legislature needs to vote.

Thursday, Zuckerman told WCAX News he is conceding the race to Rodgers and won't lobby the Legislature to hand the office to him.

"I believe in majority rule, I believe in the majority of the public matters and that's why we need to change the system. But in the meantime, that's how the Legislature system was established, so the process will have to play itself out," Zuckerman said.

Zuckerman would like Vermont to adopt ranked choice voting which might have seen him reach a majority if his votes were combined with a third-party candidate.

But under current law, the Legislature will decide the outcome when the new session begins in January and with Zuckerman's concession, they are expected to choose Rodgers.