BURLINGTON — Amanda Janoo narrowly won Vermont’s Democratic primary for governor Tuesday, after a campaign that called for sweeping progressive policy changes and limiting how much the state relies on federal funding.
Janoo, an economist, has never run for office before and was virtually unknown before announcing her campaign. She beat out Aly Richards, the former head of a prominent childcare lobbying and advocacy group who also had the backing of a well-endowed political action committee.
In a victory speech at her campaign’s election night watch party in Burlington, Janoo said that when she decided to run for governor, she knew “it was going to be a long shot.”
“We didn’t have the establishment for support, or big political kingmakers on our side,” she told a crowd of at least 250 people. “But we had something so much more powerful. We had you.”
Janoo’s comments echoed how she framed herself on the campaign trail this year: the race’s anti-establishment choice. She was openly critical of the power and influence of large technology companies, calling for a new tax on advertising revenue they earn and new state regulations on large data centers used for artificial intelligence.
She also made the case that the federal government could not be trusted to fully fund key human services programs and proposed finding new revenue at home instead. That includes using a surcharge on personal income over $500,000 to pay for free primary care for every person in the state, her campaign has said.
In a statement issued around 11:30 p.m., Richards conceded the race, calling it “the honor of a lifetime to run for governor of this amazing state.” She said she would do everything she could to help Janoo beat Republican Gov. Phil Scott this fall. Scott did not have an opponent in Tuesday’s GOP primary for governor.
“Now that the primary is behind us, it’s time for Vermonters to come together and rally behind Amanda,” Richards said.
Janoo’s win means Democrats will again have a gubernatorial nominee who has never held state-level office before. Janoo, who grew up in Strafford but now lives in Burlington, has made the case that her experience working with think tanks and international development organizations, both in the U.S. and abroad, gives her the know-how to tackle the state’s biggest economic and social challenges.
Her challenge now will be to sell her ideas to voters across the political spectrum, many of whom — including Democrats — have for years supported Scott in general elections. Scott remains the most popular governor in the country, according to the firm Morning Consult, though another poll from the University of New Hampshire showed his job approval rating slouching in recent months.
This year’s Democratic primary was the most competitive in years. Janoo and Richards both raised more money for their primary campaigns than any Democratic candidate for governor since 2020.
Notably, Janoo’s support proved strong enough to overcome an eleventh-hour purchase of more than $200,000 worth of digital advertising by a PAC created to support Richards, but that was not affiliated with Richards’ campaign. Pro-Richards ads have blanketed websites and social media feeds in Vermont over the past week.
Several of Janoo’s supporters said at the watch party that they decided to vote for her because of her policy positions. Jackie Stanton, of Johnson, Vt., for one, cited Janoo’s views on healthcare, taxes and housing as what drew her to the campaign.
“She is by far the most progressive candidate for governor we’ve ever had,” Stanton said. “This is a people-powered movement, and so many everyday people have worked very hard to bring us to this moment.”
As live music played throughout the evening, people clapped and sang along to lyrics such as, “All these fascists got to lose” and “Out with the old and in with Janoo, that’s what Vermont has got to do.”
At the start of the event, attendees were instructed to go up to at least one stranger, introduce themselves and share their astrological sign and the first concert they attended.
Janoo told her supporters during her victory speech that, even with her uncertainty about the result, she’d only prepared one version of the address.
“In all honesty, I really only wrote one speech this evening because when I sat down and thought about what I wanted to say if we won or if we lost, I realized it was pretty much the same thing: Thank you,” she said.
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.