Doug Hoffer’s victory in Tuesday’s state auditor’s race wasn’t just surprising. It was historic.
For the first time, Vermont voters elected a statewide candidate with the Progressive Party label. Hoffer ran as a fusion candidate with endorsements from both the Democrats and Progressives.
But many see Hoffer as a Prog at heart, pointing out that he came to Vermont 30 years ago to work for Bernie Sanders when the latter was mayor of Burlington, and later worked for Progressive mayor Peter Clavelle. Hoffer also provided paid staff assistance to Progressive city councilors and research for the Peace & Justice Center.
On election night, Hoffer stopped by the Progressive Party gathering at Magnolia’s Bistro in Burlington before joining the Democratic victory party at the Hilton.
“This is my family,” Hoffer told the assembled Progs.
Unlike lieutenant governor candidate Cass Gekas, who ran as a Progressive/Democrat, Hoffer elected to run as a Democrat/Progressive. No doubt, Hoffer’s Democratic label helped him enormously in a year when President Barack Obama topped the party’s ticket.
But Progressive stalwarts such as state Rep. Chris Pearson (P-Burlington) view Hoffer’s 51-to-45 win over Republican state Sen. Vince Illuzzi as an “extremely significant” victory for the Progs. Combined with wins by fusion state Senate candidates Tim Ashe and David Zuckerman — and a strong showing by Gekas — Pearson says the Hoffer victory “sort of suggests that the Progressive label is something voters are pretty comfortable with.”
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