Vermont House veto-proof supermajorty on the line in Nov. 5 elections


Elections for the Vermont House of Representatives will take place in 2024. The general election is on Nov. 5, 2024. The primary was Aug. 13, 2024. The filing deadline was May 30, 2024.

All 150 seats are up for election. Democrats hold 107 seats and Republicans hold 37. 

Vermont is one of 29 states where one party has large enough majorities in both chambers of the state legislature to override gubernatorial vetoes without needing support from members of the other party. Democrats need 100 seats in the House in order to override gubernatorial vetoes. If Republicans gain more than eight seats, they will break the Democratic veto-proof majority. If Democrats lose fewer than eight seats or gain seats while also maintaining a 20-seat majority in the state senate, they will maintain their veto-proof majority.

Since his election in 2016, Gov. Phil Scott (R) has vetoed 52 bills, more than any other governor in state history, according to Seven Days. The majority-Democratic legislature has overridden six vetoes in 2024, surpassing the previous record of five vetoes set in 2023. The legislature’s 2024 overrides included vetoes of bills requiring state utilities to provide energy from renewable sources only by 2035, prohibiting the sale of seeds treated with certain pesticides, and increasing property taxes.

This election will also determine Vermont’s trifecta status. Vermont is one of 10 states without a state government trifecta because the governor is a Republican and Democrats have majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. The governorship and both chambers of the state legislature are all up for election this year. If one party wins the gubernatorial election and majorities in both chambers of the legislature, that party will gain a trifecta in Vermont. A mixed result would maintain the state’s divided government. 

Ballotpedia identified 17 districts with a combined 25 seats as battleground districts. Democrats hold 16 seats in battleground districts and Republicans hold nine. Eleven of the 17 battleground districts have at least one incumbent who is not running for re-election. As of Oct. 18, 2024, CNAlysis rated 20 of the seats in battleground districts as favoring Democrats and five as favoring Republicans.

The Vermont House of Representatives is one of 85 state legislative chambers with elections in 2024. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.