Local, state Democrats back Sanders in primary

Eighty-five ballots were cast in the Town of Whiting, March 3, 2020, for the hotly contested Democratic Presidential Primary. The majority - forty-six votes (fifty-four percent) - went to Bernie Sanders, the U.S. senator from Vermont who is making his second run for President. Former Vice President Joseph Biden was supported by eighteen local votes (twenty-one percent).

Results are posted on the Vermont Secretary of State website.

Votes were also received by candidates Michael R. Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Andrew Yang, who had previously ended their campaigns.

The local percentage figures for the top two finishers were a close match for the statewide tallies. More than fifty percent of the 157,649 Vermont votes cast supported Sanders, while just under twenty-two percent backed Biden.

Statewide, Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator in the neighboring state of Massachusetts, received twelve and a half percent, and Bloomberg received about nine percent.

Vermont voted along with thirteen other states and American Samoa in the "Super Tuesday" primary that, at this moment, appears to have given the Biden the lead in Democratic convention delegates over former frontrunner Sanders.

Town, state Republicans stand with President Trump

On the Republican side, no real challenger has emerged to take the nomination from incumbent President Donald Trump. Nearly eighty-seven percent of the 39,049 Vermonters casting ballots in the Republican Presidential Primary supported Trump. About ten percent backed former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld. Less than one percent voted for Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente.

The Town of Whiting had twenty-seven ballots cast in the Republican primary, with twenty-two (eighty-one percent) backing Trump, four (about fifteen percent) supporting Weld and one vote a write-in.

Whiting votes for Obama, Sanders, Welch

Official results of the Nov. 6 elections won't be posted by the secretary of state for another few days, but unofficial tallies show that 133 of Whiting's 188 voters (70.74%) supported the reelection of U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. That is a slightly higher percentage than the 67.21% that supported the Democratic ticket across the State of Vermont. Republican challengers Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan earned only 31% of the popular vote in Vermont and had only 54 supporters in the Town of Whiting.

Nationally, the Democratic Obama-Ryan ticket secured at least 61.2 million votes and 50% of the popular vote, while gathering at least 303 electoral votes. The Republican challengers earned 58.2 million votes, 48% of the popular vote and 206 electoral votes. Florida's official election results and the fate of its 29 electoral votes remain uncertain, but the Democats appear to have won a narrow victory there, raising their electoral margin to 332-206.

Governor Peter Shumlin

Whiting voters supported the reelections of Democrat Peter Welch to the U.S. Congress by more than 81% (Welch won his race with 72.23% of the statewide vote and 150 Whiting votes) and Independent Bernie Sanders to the U.S. Senate by 77.4% (Sanders won with 71.25% of the statewide vote and earned 144 votes in Whiting). Just over 56% of Whiting voters backed the reelection bids of Governor Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, and Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, a Republican (Shumlin was returned to office with 58.1% of the statewide vote; Scott won with 56.8%).

William H. Sorrell, Democrat, won reelection to the position of Vermont attorney general. He secured just over 67% of the vote in Whiting. Also in the Nov. 6 elections, Democrat/Progressive Doug Hoffer was elected auditor (59% in Whiting, 51.5% statewide), Democrat Jim Condos was reelected secretary of state (89.8% in Whiting, 86.8% statewide) and appointed incumbent Democrat Beth Pearce won election as treasurer (51.6% in Whiting, 52.5% statewide).

Democrats Claire Ayer and Christopher Bray won seats in the State Senate representing Whiting and other Addison County towns. Independent Will Stevens was reelected to the Addison-Rutland seat in the State House of Representatives. He was running unopposed.