After witnessing the increasing political divide within the United States following Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Christine Hallquist made the decision to counteract the Republican movement and run for governor of Vermont as a member of the Democratic party.
On Aug. 14, Hallquist defeated her three fellow candidates and won Vermont’s Democratic gubernatorial primary election. This makes her the first openly transgender woman nominated by a major party. While campaigning, she tweeted, “I want to remind everyone, running for governor is not the greatest challenge I have ever faced.” She told Teen Vogue, “I was referencing my transition. After getting through that, a lot of challenges don’t feel nearly as impossible.” Despite her fear of rejection, Hallquist persevered and was welcomed by the state with open arms. Vermont’s history as a progressive community is part of the reason why Hallquist loves it so much and doesn’t want to see it fall victim to the political inequality that she feels is present in the rest of the country.
Courtesy: Independent
Her nomination did come along with backlash and death threats as she expected. “I think it’s a natural outcome of where our country is today. We are a divided country – I land that squarely at the administration in Washington,” she stated in an interview with Hill TV. However, the harassment has had no effect on her. With only a few changes to her privacy and campaigning techniques, Hallquist strives to continue influencing her community in whichever ways she can. “I’m not scared, and I will not be slowed down or intimidated by these threats,” she says.
Her 13 years of experience as the CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative guided her towards topics she is passionate about and has emphasized during her campaign. These issues of interest include finding renewable energy sources and addressing climate change. Christine’s website provides an outline of her other main areas of concern – economic development, inclusion for all Vermonters, collaborative leadership and climate change leadership. She hopes to “connect every home and business in Vermont with fiber optic cable utilizing proven rural cooperative models” and “raise the minimum hourly wage to $15 while providing increased employment to young people and growing our rural job market,” for example. Her opponent for the upcoming election disagrees with this increase in minimum wage, stating that it would hurt small businesses.
Courtesy: Hornet
This nomination is an important one for more than just the LGBQT+ community as it opens doors for the minority and may inspire those who have hesitated to voice their opinions in the past to stand up and utilize their rights. The general election will take place in November where Hallquist will run against incumbent Republican Governor Phil Scott. If victorious, Christine Hallquist will have changed the world of politics forever.