Democratic newcomer, ex-governor candidate to vie for No. 2

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A Democratic political newcomer and the Republican candidate who ran for governor in 2014 will face off in November's general election to be Vermont’s next lieutenant governor.

Democrat Molly Gray, an assistant Vermont attorney general, won her party’s primary Tuesday, defeating the president of the state Senate, Tim Ashe.

She said she was excited about the momentum her campaign has generated, including help from dozens of volunteers and hundreds of supports across the state.

“We have so much work to do to recover from COVID-19, to address a lot of inequities we have in the state, to address our generational needs in keeping our generation here,” she told WCAX-TV.

She will face Republican businessman Scott Milne, who topped six GOP candidates to win the nomination.

In 2014 Milne, a travel agency owner, came within a couple thousand votes of unseating former Gov. Peter Shumlin.

“I believe my experience — three decades of building a small business and growing jobs, and my promise to be a partner with Gov. Scott and helping us get through this health crisis and onto an economic recovery — has resonated with people and it’s what we’ll be talking a lot about between now and November,” Milne said.

The lieutenant governor’s office is an open seat because Democratic Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman is running for governor against the incumbent Republican Phil Scott.