BURLINGTON — “What a ride!” said Molly Gray in a speech to applauding supporters Tuesday evening. “Tomorrow, we’re going to get back to work.”

Gray had just prevailed in a closely watched Democratic primary for Vermont lieutenant governor. She will face Republican Lt. Gov. John Rodgers in November’s general election.

Gray, who previously held the position from 2021 to 2023, weathered challenges from Ryan McLaren, a former top aide to U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Esther Charlestin, who was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2024.

In her words after Tuesday’s result, Gray leaned into previous promises to support Vermont officials in resisting overreach from their federal counterparts, and warned that national interests could exert influence over the general election in November.

“If we’re not holding the line in Vermont, who is holding the line?” she said.

McLaren, who lives in Essex Junction, Vt., emphasized housing development in his campaign, creating a plan to repurpose the large sums lawmakers have recently used to “buy down” property taxes into a tax credit scheme for communities that allow new homes to be built.

Gray, who hails from Newbury, Vt., and previously worked as an assistant Vermont attorney general, also prioritized housing, advocating for land-use reforms that relax regulations on development. She, like McLaren, supports universal primary medical care for the state.

“What I am most proud of is the coalition we built,” she told supporters Tuesday evening, referring to endorsements from labor and legislative leaders, as well as a broad volunteer base.

Charlestin, a Burlington-based consultant who previously worked at Middlebury Union Middle School, shared her opponents’ focus on housing and healthcare. As a daughter of immigrant parents, she told VtDigger, she has also been focused on supporting Vermont’s immigrant communities amid growing federal policy challenges.

Gray’s and McLaren’s campaigns have each drawn substantial contributions in recent months, with the candidates reporting about $339,000 and $409,000 respectively on Aug. 1. Charlestin was at a clear financial disadvantage with only $39,000 in the bank, though a June poll from the University of New Hampshire placed her as Vermonters’ second choice for the job.

“Most of what I’m feeling is this, like, intense sense of gratitude,” said McLaren in an interview just before polls closed on Tuesday. “I love this place, I love its people.”

He jumped into the race, he said, because he understood the urgency and frustration Vermonters felt in relation to the state’s housing, education and healthcare systems.

“My opponent in this race is not a person,” McLaren said, repeating a much-used campaign mantra. “It’s nihilism.”

In an interview after Tuesday’s result, Charlestin thanked voters who turned out “for exercising your voice,” and said she hoped for a “blue wave” in November.

“I hope we continue to build Vermont to be a more affordable place,” she said.

McLaren told VtDigger last month that both of his opponents were falling back on the lieutenant governor role after failing to achieve a higher office (referring, in Gray’s case, to an unsuccessful U.S. House run in 2022). His work in Welch’s office gives him the strongest track record of results, he said.

Gray, for her part, underlined her work supporting new Vermonters while leading the Vermont Afghan Alliance, working to ensure independence for her clients in the face of increasingly unfriendly federal policy toward humanitarian entrants.

All three candidates had also vowed to increase the influence of the lieutenant governor role, a chiefly ceremonial position which presides over Senate operations and breaks the body’s ties when required. Gray has been critical of Rodgers, a former Democrat, for his close political alignment with Gov. Phil Scott.

“I know this job — I know what the office can be,” Gray said Tuesday. “We deserve a lieutenant governor who has a plan for healthcare and housing and supporting working families.”

Theo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VtDigger. This story was republished with permission from VtDigger, which offers its reporting at no cost to local news organizations through its Community News Sharing Project. To learn more, visit vtdigger.org/community-news-sharing-project.