Transgender Candidate Has Uphill Battle Against Vermont Incumbent
*By Christian Smith*
Christine Hallquist, the first transgender gubernatorial candidate to be nominated by a major party, faces an uphill battle in Vermont, where she is trying to unseat the popular Republican governor.
"It's possible, but not likely, that Vermont will have the first transgender governor because the incumbent there, Phil Scott, is very popular," said Jonathan Alter, a political reporter and the host of Sirius XM's Alter Family Politics.
Hallquist, the former CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative, won 48.3 percent in Tuesday's Democratic [primary](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/14/us/elections/results-vermont-primary-elections.html). She beat out three other candidates, including a 14-year-old boy who was allowed to run because the Vermont Constitution does not have an age requirement for gubernatorial candidates.
"As far as I'm concerned, these are nice breakthroughs," Alter said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar. "But they're not ultimately nearly as important as what happens between now and November. The big question is, whether Democrats ー progressives, in particular ー people who don't always vote very much, whether they get off their duffs, turn off their cable TV, go out there, and not actually vote, but work in flippable districts in their states."
Scott, who is popular even among Democrats in Vermont, is considered the favorite to win, though his poll numbers have taken a hit in recent months. His approval rating fell 18 points to 47 percent, and his disapproval rating doubled to 42 percent, according to Morning Consult's latest [quarterly governor approval rankings](https://morningconsult.com/2018/07/25/americas-most-and-least-popular-governors-2/).
The drop came after Scott [tightened](https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/09/us/florida-gov-scott-gun-bill/index.html) gun control laws in March. Despite Vermont's reputation as a liberal state, nearly a third of its residents own guns, according to [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/gun-ownership-rates-by-state/20/).
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/do-democrats-have-what-it-takes-to-take-back-congress-in-november).
About 678,000 jobs were created in February, hundreds of thousands more than predicted, according to the latest Labor Department report, showing a broad economic recovery despite inflation woes. Heather Boushey, member of the Council of Economic Advisers for President Biden, joined Cheddar News to talk about the employment figures. "This really shows that the economy is now more resilient because of the tools that we have in place," Boushey said. "So I'm optimistic that we'll be able to weather future storms."
Ramit Varma, Independent candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, joins Cheddar News to discuss the race and how he plans to tackle critical issues in the California city.
Tyler Pager, White House reporter at the Washington Post, and Reecie Colbert, founder of BlackWomenViews Media, join Cheddar Politics to discuss President Biden's Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. They break down how her nomination came to be and what comes next in her confirmation process.
Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant at Secretary of State & president of the Washington Strategy Group, joins Cheddar News to break down the latest between Russia and Ukraine.
Nicole Goodkind, business and politics reporter at Fortune Magazine, joins Cheddar Politics to break down President Biden's first State of the Union address.
Londoners are facing travel chaos after around 10,000 transport workers walked off their jobs for the second day this week, leaving almost all of the capital’s subway lines suspended or severely disrupted.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney joined Cheddar News after President Biden's State of the Union address to give her reaction and talk about the situation in Ukraine.
UN and Ukrainian officials say no radiation was released from a Russian attack at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and firefighters have extinguished a blaze at the facility..
Liz Landers Chief Political Correspondent at Vice News, breaks down the President's address including his stance on the Russian invasion and spotlights historic moments during his speech.
Markets opened higher on Thursday despite ongoing uncertainty amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. John Petrides, Portfolio Manager, Tocqueville Asset Management joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss early market activity.
