Democrat Christine Hallquist made history in August when she won her primary race for governor of Vermont and became the first openly transgender gubernatorial nominee in the country. The former CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative is fairly liberal — her campaign focused on providing broadband internet access across the state, as well as environmental energy policies.
However, she wasn’t ultimately able to win a tough race against incumbent Republican Gov. Phil Scott. Although his popularity has dropped over the past year (in part due to his support for new gun control laws), he is popular among Democrats and a favorite in the race. He won with 55 percent of the vote.
Nevertheless, Hallquist’s candidacy was historic. She told the Guardian that she was motivated to run for office by the election of Donald Trump in 2016, which led her to attend the Women’s March and eventually quit her job and run for office.
The first openly transgender gubernatorial nominee from a major party is getting death threats
Christine Hallquist, the Democratic candidate for governor of Vermont. Hillary Swift/Getty ImagesChristine Hallquist expected the death threats.
“Early on when our team assembled I said, ‘the more successful we are, the more vitriol and threats we are going to receive,’” the Democratic candidate for governor of Vermont told the Associated Press last week. Hallquist, who could be the first openly transgender governor of a US state, said her campaign had received about a dozen death threats by phone and social media.
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