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Vermont attorney general election, 2012
 Vermont's 2012 elections: • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State Senate • State House |
The Vermont attorney general election will take place on November 6, 2012. Primaries are scheduled for August 28, 2012.
Incumbent William Sorrell will defend his seat in this year's election. The Democratic attorney general was first appointed by former Gov. Howard Dean in 1997. Sorrell, who served two terms as Chittenden County Attorney State's attorney prior to taking office as the Vermont's top law enforcement official, has won re-election, without serious contest, since his initial appointment. Sorrell is the longest-serving AG in the state's history.[1]
He will likely face two challengers, current Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan and Speaker of the House Shap Smith, in the August 28th Democratic primary election. The former has assembled a crack team of Vermont-native experts to guide his "grassroots" campaign, including veteran Governor and Lieutenant Governor campaigner and fundraising maven Sam Winship as his campaign manager.[2]
Donovan, whom Sorrell endorsed in his last election, is running on a platform of tackling the state's prescription drug addiction epidemic. He plans to "support a 'Good Samaritan' law that would permit friends and relatives of prescription drug addicts to get them into treatment, without fear of prosecution."[3] Donovan admits that Sorrell has "done a good job,"[1] but believes his priorities need to be rearranged. Sorrell recently cited cracking down on the proliferation of child porn as his chief priority.[4]
Donovan chose a sensitive time in Sorrell's tenure to make his bid. In the last year, the AG's office has suffered a handful of high-profile losses in federal courts and the Supreme Court while pursuing its progressive agenda, including cases concerning Vermont's campaign contribution limits, and most recently, on the issue of closing of Yankee, Vermont's lone nuclear power plant. Sorrell responded to comments about his floundering performance with reminders about the inherent difficulty of bringing these "progressive" issues before today's conservative-disposed U.S. Supreme Court, and about his office's record of winning "far, far more often" than not, earning $40 million in fees annually for the state treasurer.[1]
"When you're tired, when you have no energy, no passion. when you're just going through the motions. I'm far from that,"[1] said the 65 year old AG.
So far, no Republicans have entered the race, although state Sen. Vincent Illuzzi is rumored to be considering a run for the office as well.[5]
- Key dates
- August 28 Primary election
- Polls
- November 6 general election
- Campaign finance
- Campaign Sites/Media
- News
Key dates
- Administrative deadlines are at close of business (5:00) unless otherwise noted.
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| June 14 | Statewide candidate filing deadline |
| Aug. 22 | Voter registration for primary election |
| Aug. 27 | Requests for absentee primary ballots received |
| Aug. 28 | Primary election |
| Oct. 31 | Voter registration for general election |
| Nov. 5 | Requests for absentee general election ballots received |
| Nov. 6 | General election |
| Contents |
|---|
| 1 Results |
| 2 Candidates |
| 2.1 Democratic primary candidates |
| 2.2 Republican primary candidates |
| 2.3 Other |
| 3 Endorsements |
Results
Candidates
Democratic primary candidates
- Incumbent Bill Sorrell is running for reelection this year. He has served seven terms since his original appointment in 1997 by then-Gov. Howard Dean.
- Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan is challenging Sorrell for the Dem. nomination. Donovan plans to devote his campaign to raising awareness of issues like poverty and rampant prescription drug abuse, an area he claims Sorrell has shown inadequate leadership. Acknowledging his underdog status, he told reporters after announcing his candidacy "Although I want to win, I want to raise those issues, but let me say this, I'm in this race to win it."[1]
- Speaker of the House Shap Smith (unconfirmed)
Republican primary candidates
- state Sen. Vincent Illuzzi (unconfirmed)
Endorsements
Prior to officially launching his campaign on May 10, Donovan had already received endorsements from more than 100 Vermont lawyers[6] and several endorsements from the right, including a prominent boost from Republican Mayor of Rutland, Chris Louras, who issued her statement of "wholehearted"[7] support on May 9. In the statement, Mayor Louras said, "To me, T.J. represents an opportunity for new energy, new ideas, and greater engagement on the issues Rutland’s citizens care about most," citing her trust in his capability to reform the state's criminal justice system to focus more on prevention than arrests.[7] This endorsement was followed on May 12 by one from the Vermont Democratic Party State Committee. The Committee is allowed to endorse more than one candidate and may choose to give its stamp of support to Sorrell as well in the near future.[8]
As of May 21, four senators have formally endorsed Sorrell, citing his past successes in making Vermont “a national leader on public health matters” and environmental protection.[9]
Q: If the 2012 election for Vermont's attorney general were held today and the candidates were T.J. Donovan, the Democrat, and Vince Illuzzi, the Republican, would you vote for T.J. Donovan or Vince Illuzzi?
| T.J. Donovan vs. Vince Illuzzi | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response | WCAX Poll:Attorney General May 22, 2012 | ||||||||
| T.J. Donovan | 45.6% | ||||||||
| Vince Illuzzi | 23.9% | ||||||||
| Other | .8% | ||||||||
| Neither | 3.1% | ||||||||
| Not Sure | 25.5% | ||||||||
| Refused | 1.0% | ||||||||
| Number polled | 607 | ||||||||
| Margin of error | +/-4% | ||||||||
Q: If the 2012 election for Vermont's attorney general were held today and the candidates were Bill Sorrell, the Democrat, and Vince Illuzzi, the Republican, would you vote for Bill Sorrell or Vince Illuzzi?
| Bill Sorrell vs. Vince Illuzzi | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response | WCAX Poll:Attorney General May 22, 2012 | ||||||||
| Bill Sorrell | 23.2% | ||||||||
| Vince Illuzzi | 23.2% | ||||||||
| Other | .2% | ||||||||
| Neither | 2.0% | ||||||||
| Not Sure | 18.9% | ||||||||
| Refused | 1.3% | ||||||||
| Number polled | 607 | ||||||||
| Margin of error | +/-54.4 | ||||||||
Q: If the Democratic Primary were being held today, who would you support for the position of state attorney general: Bill Sorrell or T.J. Donovan?
| Bill Sorrell vs. T.J. Donovan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response | WCAX Poll:Attorney General May 22, 2012 | ||||||||
| Bill Sorrell | 49.3% | ||||||||
| T.J. Donovan | 23.2% | ||||||||
| Neither | 1.8% | ||||||||
| Not Sure/It Depends | 25.0% | ||||||||
| Refused | .7% | ||||||||
| Number polled | 607 | ||||||||
| Margin of error | +/-4% | ||||||||
- This survey was conducted for WCAX, WDEV and Vermont Business Magazine by the Castleton Polling Institute at Castleton College. A random sample of registered Vermont voters were interviewed statewide by telephone between May 7 and May 16.
Campaign sites
Democrats
Republicans
See also
Articles
- Vermont's attorney general likely to face two primary challengers March 30
- Vermont Attorney General files suit against 2010 GOP gubernatorial candidate February 15
- Vermont attorney general loses three high-profile cases January 31
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 WPTZ.com "Donovan v Sorrell for Vermont Attorney General," March 20, 2012
- ↑ Vt Digger "Donovan hires campaign staff for Attorney General primary race," April 3, 2012
- ↑ Burlington Free Press "T.J. Donovan announces bid for Attorney General," March 19, 2012
- ↑ Burlington Free Press "Attorney General Sorrell faces new, potential challenges from fellow Democrats," March 19, 2012
- ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Attorney General Sorrell faces new, potential challenges from fellow Democrats," March 19, 2012
- ↑ VT Digger, "In official campaign launch for AG Donovan says he'll 'be smart on crime'," May 11, 2012
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Democratic AG candidate picks up Republican mayor's endorsement," May 9, 2012
- ↑ The Burlington Free Press, "Donovan earns his party's endorsement, but his primary challenger will likely, too," May 14, 2012
- ↑ VTDigger, "Trail Tidbits: Poll shows Sorrell would beat Donovan two-to-one; Sorrell wins senatorial endorsements; Sears backs Donovan," May 22, 2012
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