Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, went into election night expecting to coast to an easy win against Republican Scott Milne.
But an hour after midnight Shumlin appeared likely to win but far less comfortably than before. As of 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday Shumlin was leading Milne by just 2,400 votes, according to The Burlington Free Press.
But the really important fact about the race is that per Vermont’s constitution, if no candidate for governor gets a majority of the vote, the election goes to the state legislature to decide when it convenes in January. Democrats are likely to keep control of both houses of the state Legislature so Shumlin is likely to remain as governor. The last time the Legislature did not choose the winner of the plurality was in 1853, according to the Free Press.
That fact seems to be Shumlin’s saving grace as the Associated Press projected that Shumlin would not be able to make 50 percent.
With 90 percent of precincts reporting early on Wednesday Shumlin was leading Milne by a slim 46.8 percentage points. The Libertarian candidate in the race, Dan Feliciano, was getting just 4.3 percent.
Almost a Republican Governor in VERMONT.
We just missed the Apocalypse, friends.