BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The Republican candidates for lieutenant governor of Vermont faced off in a debate on WCAX Monday.
John Rodgers and Gregory Thayer are both seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
Watch the debate:
Gregory Thayer, of Rutland, is an accountant and former city alderman. The self-proclaimed constitutional conservative is a staunch supporter of former president Donald Trump and was at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, but says he did not go inside or participate in the violence.
Thayer says he’ll fight rising taxes and government overreach, and will use the office to cut spending in state government and education.
John Rodgers, of West Glover, is a former Democratic lawmaker who was raised on a dairy farm in the Northeast Kingdom. Rodgers changed parties for this election, saying the Democratic Party is moving too far left, leaving him and other moderates behind.
Rodgers says property taxes are a top priority and he wants to rewrite the education funding formula and find savings by combining supervisory unions and reducing administrative costs. He wants to focus on affordability.
Watch our Primary Preview coverage of the two candidates in the player below.
The debate between Rodgers and Thayer was the first of the WCAX News primary debates this election season and the first of three debates planned for this week on WCAX.
On Wednesday, the Democrats for lieutenant governor will face off, followed by the Democrats for governor on Thursday.