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The Latest: Vermont Gov. Phil Scott wins Republican primary

Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 4 years, 9 months AGO
| August 11, 2020 6:03 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Tuesday's elections (all times local):

8:50 p.m.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has won the Republican nomination to seek his third, two-year term as the state’s top elected official.

Scott defeated four little-known Republican challengers on Tuesday to win his party’s nomination to run in the November election.

He didn’t hire staff or actively campaign during the primary, citing the coronavirus.

When announcing his reelection plans in May, Scott said, “Facing, fighting and defeating this virus — and rebuilding a stronger, more resilient economy — are my top priorities.”

On the Democratic side, there’s a competitive race for the nomination between Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman and former Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe, who has never run for office. There are also two lesser-known Democratic candidates.

Vermont and New Hampshire are the only two states in the country where governors serve two-year terms.

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8:20 p.m.

Joe Biden has won Connecticut’s Democratic presidential primary.

Biden defeated Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday’s ballot. Sanders and Gabbard dropped out of the race months ago but didn’t ask the secretary of the state’s office to remove their names from the ballot.

Biden visited Connecticut in October, when he appeared at a fundraiser hosted by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont and his wife, Annie, at their home in Greenwich.

Biden was expected to visit the state in March for another fundraising event at a private home, but that was scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden is set to be formally nominated as the Democratic presidential nominee at next week’s Democratic National Convention. On Tuesday, he announced California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate.

In 2016, Connecticut went for Democrat Hillary Clinton over the Republican Trump by about 13 percentage points.

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8:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump has won Connecticut’s Republican presidential primary.

Trump on Tuesday defeated California real estate developer and perennial candidate Rocky De La Fuente. Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld and former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh were also in the race at one point but later withdrew.

Connecticut Republican Party chair J.R. Romano had criticized Secretary of the State Denise Merrill for holding a GOP primary, saying it was a waste of money for communities because Trump faced no viable competition. Merrill argued that she was following state law.

De La Fuente was endorsed by the Alliance and Reform parties and has appeared on the ballot in at least a half dozen states as a Republican. He is the onetime owner of more than two dozen car dealerships.

In 2016, Connecticut went for Democrat Hillary Clinton over the Republican Trump by about 13 percentage points.

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10:40 a.m.

A Republican congressional candidate in Connecticut has abruptly ended his campaign on the day of his primary election following his arrest on a domestic assault charge.

The state Republican Party says Thomas Gilmer was arrested late Monday and dropped out of the race because of “the severity of the accusations." The party had endorsed Gilmer over his primary opponent.

Wethersfield police say Gilmer was charged on a warrant with first-degree unlawful restraint and second-degree strangulation and posted a $5,000 bond.

In a statement obtained by the Hartford Courant, Gilmer said, “I cannot in good conscience move forward in this campaign while I am simultaneously forced to clear my name. And clear my name I will."

The 29-year-old Gilmer, of Madison, was competing against Justin Anderson, of East Haddam, a lieutenant colonel in the Connecticut Army National Guard who served two combat tours in Afghanistan. The winner of the race in November will face U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democrat who is favored to win reelection to represent a district spanning eastern Connecticut.