Vermont Progressive Party
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The Vermont Progressive Party is a political party. As of September 2019, it was a ballot-qualified party in Vermont. It is a third party that advocates for social democratic and populist policies within the state of Vermont. As of the 2014 elections, the Vermont Progressive Party held the greatest number of third-party seats in the Vermont State Legislature.[1][2]
Background
Ballot access for political parties
As of November 2023, there were at least 53 distinct ballot-qualified political parties in the United States. There were 235 state-level parties.[3] Some parties are recognized in multiple states. For example, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are recognized in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. These two parties account for more than half of the 235 total state-level parties.[4][5][6]
Three minor parties were recognized in more than 10 states as of November 2023:
- Libertarian Party: 38 states
- Green Party: 22 states[7]
- Constitution Party: 21 states[8]
Although there are dozens of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.
The number of ballot-qualified political parties fluctuates as parties gain or lose qualified status. In addition, some states distinguish between major parties and minor parties. Specific differences between major and minor parties differ from state to state. For example, in all states, major parties are granted access to primary elections. Some states, however, do not permit minor parties to participate in primary elections. Consequently, minor party candidates in these states can run only in general elections.[4]
The table below lists all ballot-qualified political parties in each state as of November 2023. Click "[show]" to expand the table.[4]
Ballot-qualified parties by state, November 2023 | ||
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State | Political party | |
Alabama | Democratic Party of Alabama | |
Alabama | Republican Party of Alabama | |
Alaska | Alaskan Independence Party | |
Alaska | Democratic Party of Alaska | |
Alaska | Libertarian Party of Alaska | |
Alaska | Republican Party of Alaska | |
Arizona | Democratic Party of Arizona | |
Arizona | Green Party of Arizona | |
Arizona | Libertarian Party of Arizona | |
Arizona | No Labels Party of Arizona | |
Arizona | Republican Party of Arizona | |
Arkansas | Democratic Party of Arkansas | |
Arkansas | Libertarian Party of Arkansas | |
Arkansas | Republican Party of Arkansas | |
California | American Independent Party of California | |
California | Democratic Party of California | |
California | Green Party of California | |
California | Libertarian Party of California | |
California | Peace and Freedom Party of California | |
California | Republican Party of California | |
Colorado | American Constitution Party of Colorado | |
Colorado | Approval Voting Party of Colorado | |
Colorado | Colorado Center Party | |
Colorado | Democratic Party of Colorado | |
Colorado | Green Party of Colorado | |
Colorado | Libertarian Party of Colorado | |
Colorado | No Labels Party of Colorado | |
Colorado | Republican Party of Colorado | |
Colorado | Unity Party of Colorado | |
Connecticut | Democratic Party of Connecticut | |
Connecticut | Green Party of Connecticut | |
Connecticut | Independent Party of Connecticut | |
Connecticut | Libertarian Party of Connecticut | |
Connecticut | Republican Party of Connecticut | |
Connecticut | Working Families Party of Connecticut | |
D.C. | D.C. Statehood Green Party | |
D.C. | Democratic Party of Washington, D.C. | |
D.C. | Libertarian Party of Washington, D.C. | |
D.C. | Republican Party of Washington, D.C. | |
Delaware | Democratic Party of Delaware | |
Delaware | Green Party of Delaware | |
Delaware | Independent Party of Delaware | |
Delaware | Libertarian Party of Delaware | |
Delaware | Republican Party of Delaware | |
Florida | Boricua Party of Florida | |
Florida | Coalition with a Purpose Party of Florida | |
Florida | Conservative Party of Florida | |
Florida | Constitution Party of Florida | |
Florida | Democratic Party of Florida | |
Florida | Ecology Party of Florida | |
Florida | Florida Forward Party | |
Florida | Green Party of Florida | |
Florida | Independent Party of Florida | |
Florida | Libertarian Party of Florida | |
Florida | No Labels Party of Florida | |
Florida | Party for Socialism and Liberation of Florida | |
Florida | People's Party of Florida | |
Florida | Reform Party of Florida | |
Florida | Republican Party of Florida | |
Florida | Unity Party of Florida | |
Georgia | Democratic Party of Georgia | |
Georgia | Republican Party of Georgia | |
Hawaii | AlohaʻĀina Party | |
Hawaii | Constitution Party of Hawaii | |
Hawaii | Democratic Party of Hawaii | |
Hawaii | Green Party of Hawaii | |
Hawaii | Libertarian Party of Hawaii | |
Hawaii | Republican Party of Hawaii | |
Idaho | Constitution Party of Idaho | |
Idaho | Democratic Party of Idaho | |
Idaho | Libertarian Party of Idaho | |
Idaho | Republican Party of Idaho | |
Illinois | Democratic Party of Illinois | |
Illinois | Republican Party of Illinois | |
Indiana | Democratic Party of Indiana | |
Indiana | Libertarian Party of Indiana | |
Indiana | Republican Party of Indiana | |
Iowa | Democratic Party of Iowa | |
Iowa | Libertarian Party of Iowa | |
Iowa | Republican Party of Iowa | |
Kansas | Democratic Party of Kansas | |
Kansas | Libertarian Party of Kansas | |
Kansas | Republican Party of Kansas | |
Kentucky | Democratic Party of Kentucky | |
Kentucky | Republican Party of Kentucky | |
Louisiana | Democratic Party of Louisiana | |
Louisiana | Green Party of Louisiana | |
Louisiana | Independent Party of Louisiana | |
Louisiana | Libertarian Party of Louisiana | |
Louisiana | Republican Party of Louisiana | |
Maine | Democratic Party of Maine | |
Maine | Green Independent Party of Maine | |
Maine | Libertarian Party of Maine | |
Maine | No Labels Party of Maine | |
Maine | Republican Party of Maine | |
Maryland | Democratic Party of Maryland | |
Maryland | Green Party of Maryland | |
Maryland | Libertarian Party of Maryland | |
Maryland | Republican Party of Maryland | |
Maryland | Working Class Party of Maryland | |
Massachusetts | Democratic Party of Massachusetts | |
Massachusetts | Libertarian Party of Massachusetts | |
Massachusetts | Republican Party of Massachusetts | |
Michigan | Democratic Party of Michigan | |
Michigan | Green Party of Michigan | |
Michigan | Libertarian Party of Michigan | |
Michigan | Natural Law Party of Michigan | |
Michigan | Republican Party of Michigan | |
Michigan | U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan | |
Michigan | Working Class Party of Michigan | |
Minnesota | Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota | |
Minnesota | Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota | |
Minnesota | Green Party of Minnesota | |
Minnesota | Independence Party of Minnesota | |
Minnesota | Legal Marijuana Now Party of Minnesota | |
Minnesota | Libertarian Party of Minnesota | |
Minnesota | Republican Party of Minnesota | |
Mississippi | America First Party of Mississippi | |
Mississippi | Democratic Party of Mississippi | |
Mississippi | Justice Party of Mississippi | |
Mississippi | Libertarian Party of Mississippi | |
Mississippi | Reform Party of Mississippi | |
Mississippi | Republican Party of Mississippi | |
Missouri | Constitution Party of Missouri | |
Missouri | Democratic Party of Missouri | |
Missouri | Green Party of Missouri | |
Missouri | Libertarian Party of Missouri | |
Missouri | Republican Party of Missouri | |
Montana | Democratic Party of Montana | |
Montana | Green Party of Montana | |
Montana | Libertarian Party of Montana | |
Montana | Republican Party of Montana | |
Nebraska | Democratic Party of Nebraska | |
Nebraska | Legal Marijuana Now Party of Nebraska | |
Nebraska | Libertarian Party of Nebraska | |
Nebraska | Republican Party of Nebraska | |
Nevada | Democratic Party of Nevada | |
Nevada | Independent American Party of Nevada | |
Nevada | Libertarian Party of Nevada | |
Nevada | No Labels Party of Nevada | |
Nevada | Republican Party of Nevada | |
New Hampshire | Democratic Party of New Hampshire | |
New Hampshire | Republican Party of New Hampshire | |
New Jersey | Democratic Party of New Jersey | |
New Jersey | Republican Party of New Jersey | |
New Mexico | Democratic Party of New Mexico | |
New Mexico | Green Party of New Mexico | |
New Mexico | Libertarian Party of New Mexico | |
New Mexico | Republican Party of New Mexico | |
New Mexico | Working Families Party of New Mexico | |
New York | Conservative Party of New York | |
New York | Democratic Party of New York | |
New York | Republican Party of New York | |
New York | Working Families Party of New York | |
North Carolina | Democratic Party of North Carolina | |
North Carolina | Green Party of North Carolina | |
North Carolina | Libertarian Party of North Carolina | |
North Carolina | No Labels Party of North Carolina | |
North Carolina | Republican Party of North Carolina | |
North Dakota | Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party of North Dakota | |
North Dakota | Republican Party of North Dakota | |
Ohio | Democratic Party of Ohio | |
Ohio | Republican Party of Ohio | |
Oklahoma | Democratic Party of Oklahoma | |
Oklahoma | Libertarian Party of Oklahoma | |
Oklahoma | Republican Party of Oklahoma | |
Oregon | Constitution Party of Oregon | |
Oregon | Democratic Party of Oregon | |
Oregon | Green Party of Oregon | |
Oregon | Independent Party of Oregon | |
Oregon | Libertarian Party of Oregon | |
Oregon | No Labels Party of Oregon | |
Oregon | Pacific Green Party of Oregon | |
Oregon | Progressive Party of Oregon | |
Oregon | Republican Party of Oregon | |
Oregon | Working Families Party of Oregon | |
Pennsylvania | Democratic Party of Pennsylvania | |
Pennsylvania | Green Party of Pennsylvania | |
Pennsylvania | Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania | |
Pennsylvania | Republican Party of Pennsylvania | |
Rhode Island | Democratic Party of Rhode Island | |
Rhode Island | Republican Party of Rhode Island | |
South Carolina | Alliance Party of South Carolina | |
South Carolina | Constitution Party of South Carolina | |
South Carolina | Democratic Party of South Carolina | |
South Carolina | Forward Party of South Carolina | |
South Carolina | Green Party of South Carolina | |
South Carolina | Labor Party of South Carolina | |
South Carolina | Libertarian Party of South Carolina | |
South Carolina | Republican Party of South Carolina | |
South Carolina | United Citizens Party of South Carolina | |
South Carolina | Workers Party of South Carolina | |
South Dakota | Democratic Party of South Dakota | |
South Dakota | Libertarian Party of South Dakota | |
South Dakota | No Labels Party of South Dakota | |
South Dakota | Republican Party of South Dakota | |
Tennessee | Democratic Party of Tennessee | |
Tennessee | Republican Party of Tennessee | |
Texas | Democratic Party of Texas | |
Texas | Green Party of Texas | |
Texas | Libertarian Party of Texas | |
Texas | Republican Party of Texas | |
Utah | Constitution Party of Utah | |
Utah | Democratic Party of Utah | |
Utah | Independent American Party of Utah | |
Utah | Libertarian Party of Utah | |
Utah | Republican Party of Utah | |
Utah | United Utah Party | |
Vermont | Democratic Party of Vermont | |
Vermont | Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party of Vermont | |
Vermont | Libertarian Party of Vermont | |
Vermont | Progressive Party of Vermont | |
Vermont | Republican Party of Vermont | |
Virginia | Democratic Party of Virginia | |
Virginia | Republican Party of Virginia | |
Washington | Democratic Party of Washington | |
Washington | Republican Party of Washington | |
West Virginia | Democratic Party of West Virginia | |
West Virginia | Libertarian Party of West Virginia | |
West Virginia | Mountain Party of West Virginia | |
West Virginia | Republican Party of West Virginia | |
Wisconsin | Constitution Party of Wisconsin | |
Wisconsin | Democratic Party of Wisconsin | |
Wisconsin | Green Party of Wisconsin | |
Wisconsin | Libertarian Party of Wisconsin | |
Wisconsin | Republican Party of Wisconsin | |
Wyoming | Constitution Party of Wyoming | |
Wyoming | Democratic Party of Wyoming | |
Wyoming | Libertarian Party of Wyoming | |
Wyoming | Republican Party of Wyoming |
History
The Vermont Progressive Party ties its roots to Bernie Sanders' successful election as Mayor of Vermont in 1981. The party notes that Sanders brought with him many progressive individuals into the mayor's office. Following Sanders' election, progressive candidates began to win seats on the Burlington City Council, and have had a continual presence in that body ever since.[9]
In 1991, the first self-proclaimed "progressive" candidates were elected to the Vermont House of Representatives from the city of Burlington. Since that time, progressive candidates have continually been elected to the state legislature-a feat that few other third parties in the United States can boast.[9][10][11]
In 2000, the Vermont Progressive Party was formally founded as a third party. During their first statewide elections in 2002, the three Burlington-based incumbents in the Vermont House of Representatives won re-election, and the Party's first candidate outside of Burlington, Sarah Edwards, was also elected to that body. At the same time, the Party's candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Anthony Pollina received nearly 25% of the vote in a four-way race. Pollina was later elected to the Vermont Senate in 2011, endorsed by both the Democratic Party and the Vermont Progressive Party.[9]
As of 2015, the Vermont Progressive Party had six representatives in the Vermont House of Representatives, three representatives (also endorsed by the Democratic Party) in the Vermont Senate, and one endorsed candidate elected to statewide office.[9][10] On June 11, 2015, the party endorsed Bernie Sanders in his campaign for President in 2016.[12]
The Vermont Progressive Party created the following chart to illustrate their continued presence in Vermont politics:[10]
Party Platform
The Vermont Progressive Party has adopted the following as its official party platform: [13]
“ | Health Care
Progressives believe health care is a human right, and support universal, single-payer health care, birth to death, provided through a nonprofit, publicly financed system. We will work to: • Implement a comprehensive, full-spectrum single-payer health care system, including dental, vision, hearing, preventive and mental health care as well as providing coverage for proven alternatives to western medicine such as acupuncture, naturopathic, and chiropractic treatments.
• Promote a public education system, Pre-K through college that provides comprehensive opportunities for all ability levels.
• Invest in prevention and anti-violence programs.
• Ensure an individual's right to control their body and their medical choices with complete confidentiality.
• Establish and guarantee that all working age Vermonters are afforded the opportunity for full time employment, which provides a living wage.
• Protect our water, air, and biodiversity through strict enforcement of existing regulations, the creation of new regulations when necessary, and financial incentives that reward responsible stewardship.
• Support fair trade pricing for Vermont family farms, and develop farm and community based food hubs, processing centers, and other infrastructure needed to broaden the market for Vermont agricultural products, and to make locally produced food more readily available statewide.
• End homelessness by providing safe, stable, and affordable housing, rent subsidies and supportive services to all who desire and need them.
• Encourage events in our communities and at the State House to bring out the voices of the people.
• End the occupation of Iraq and the on-going military commitment in Afghanistan/Pakistan.
• Decommission Vermont Yankee safely with funds entirely provided by the plant owner (i.e., Entergy), and with a just transition for affected employees and communities.
• Place a moratorium on all new major highway construction and focus on repair backlogs and improving the resilience of our existing infrastructure.
• Eliminate Vermont’s capital gains tax exemption, and tax investment and unearned income at the same rate as low to moderately income households.
• Prohibit the use of any proprietary-code or paper-trail-less voting machines and ensure all elections are transparently audited to ensure accurate results. |
” |
Relationship with the Democratic Party
The Vermont Progressive Party shares a number of policy objectives with the Democratic Party. In ordinary circumstances, this can be cause for concern both for the major party and the third party. The major party is at risk of having elections "spoiled" by a third-party candidate who draws support away from the major party candidate. The minor party is at risk of simply being "co-opted" into the major party, making voters feel that the presence of the minor party is redundant.
Election results suggest that in 2002, the Democratic Party's candidate for lieutenant governor, Peter Shumlin, may have lost the race to Republican Brian Dubie because VPP candidate Anthony Pollina split the center-left vote. Shumlin earned 32 percent and Pollina earned 25 percent. Taken together, a majority of Vermont voters supported center-left candidates, while only 41 percent voted for Dubie. Nevertheless, this was a plurality and Dubie won the election.[15]
Since that election, the Vermont Progressive Party has agreed not to challenge other "progressive" candidates.[11] There are two main features of Vermont's political system that allow this agreement to work well. First, Vermont allows for "cross-endorsement" or "fusion voting." This means that a single candidate can be the official candidate of more than one party.[16] Notably all three of the Vermont Progressive Party's senate candidates, as well as its 2014 candidate for state auditor were also endorsed by the Democratic Party, thus preventing two center-left candidates from "stealing" votes from one another.[2]
The second useful feature in Vermont state elections that allows the two parties to peacefully coexist is that many Vermont districts select more than one candidate for the state legislature, allowing voters to be simultaneously represented by a Democrat and a member of the VPP.[17]
Current elected officials
Vermont State Executives
Vermont Senate
Vermont House of Representatives
- Mollie Burke
- Brian Cina
- Jubilee McGill
- Barbara Rachelson
- Elizabeth Burrows
- Emilie Kornheiser
- Heather Surprenant
- Kirk White
- Mari Cordes
- Taylor Small
- Mary-Katherine Stone
- Troy Headrick
- Kate Logan
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Vermont Progressive Party. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Ballot access requirements for political parties in Vermont
- List of political parties in the United States
Footnotes
- ↑ Vermont General Assembly, "Legislators: All Representatives," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Vermont General Assembly, "Legislators: All Senators," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ This total does not include parties that have attained ballot status at the municipal level. Only those parties with state-level ballot status are included here.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Jaime Healy-Plotkin, "Research of state election agency websites and email correspondence with state election agencies," November 2023
- ↑ As of November 2023, there were nine state-level parties that called themselves Independent or Independence parties. For the purposes of this article, these were not tallied when counting the number of distinct ballot-qualified parties in the United States because it is difficult to determine to what extent these various parties are affiliated with one another.
- ↑ Because Washington utilizes a top-two, nonpartisan primary system, the state does not officially recognize parties. Consequently, only the state's two largest parties, the Democratic and Republican parties, were included in this tally.
- ↑ This figure includes the D.C. Statehood Green Party, Maine's Green Independent Party, Oregon's Pacific Green Party, and West Virginia's Mountain Party.
- ↑ This figure includes Nevada's Independent American Party and Michigan's U.S. Taxpayers Party.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Vermont Progressive Party, "Our Story," accessed February 4, 2021
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Vermont Progressive Party, "A Legacy of Progressive Leadership," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The North Star, "Dare to Win: A Brief History of Vermont's Progressive Party," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ Vermont Progressive Party, "Progressive officials endorse Bernie Sanders for President: 'Give 'em Hell, Bernie'," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ Vermont Progressive Party, "VPP Platform," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ U.S. Election Atlas, "2002 Lt. Gubernatorial Election Results-Vermont," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ OLR Research Report, "Cross-Endorsing candidates,"
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Vermont State Senate elections, 2014," accessed July 23, 2015
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