‘I want to be a bridge’: John Rodgers on his political rebound, switching parties and priorities
The lieutenant governor-elect sits down with the Winooski News to talk about his upset victory, path in politics and what he wants to prioritize come January.
December 23, 2024 | By Ekaterina Raikhovski | Community News Service
At the Tunbridge World's Fair in September, John Rodgers (center) and Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman (right) meet for a WDEV Radio Vermont candidate's debate. Photo courtesy of John Rodgers
Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Winooski News
Grandchildren running around his 1840s farmhouse isn’t the only thing keeping John Rodgers’ hands full these days. There’s the masonry business the West Glover 59-year-old has helmed for the last two decades, the hemp farm he’s managed for the last few years and he even works plowing snow from driveways.
Now the former Northeast Kingdom legislator has added another commitment to the list: serving as Vermont’s next lieutenant governor.
Following a race this fall decided by about 6,000 votes, according to state records, incumbent Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman conceded to Rodgers on Nov. 7 and paved the way for the Democrat-turned-Republican to re-enter politics after losing his Statehouse seat in 2020.
Rodgers spoke to the Winooski News ahead of his Jan. 8, 2025, start date about his plans for the role and his path toward it.
Rodgers’ election as lieutenant governor was something of a surprising achievement for someone who, early in his career, was hesitant about getting involved in politics.
“I had young kids, my own business, and it’s just really hard to justify taking the amount of time off my business during construction season to campaign because it’s a money losing proposition,” he said. “But they convinced me that there was no time like the present, and I went for it.”
As a Democrat, Rodgers first sought a seat in the Orleans-Caledonia 1 House district in 2000 and lost by about 130 votes. But two years later he edged out one of the incumbents by 16 votes and won a seat in the Vermont House. He’d keep his spot in office until 2010 — when he lost by fewer than five votes — before serving eight years as a senator for the Essex-Orleans district.
The 2020 election threw a wrench into his winning streak. Rodgers missed the deadline to file his paperwork for the Democratic primary, forcing him to run as an independent instead after nearly two decades representing the party. He’d ultimately finish fifth out of five candidates that year.
“I think there’s too many people who vote for a D and R and don’t really know who the candidate is,” Rodgers told the Winooski News. “I really underestimated how badly that hurt me.”
John Rodgers. Photo courtesy Frank Janik
These days, he is hopeful his political ambiguity and past experience will help him navigate his new role. “I’m a Vermonter first, and you are part of a party, but you shouldn’t let it dictate who you are and who you work with,” he said. “I see my role as lieutenant governor as being nonpartisan. I’m elected to work for all Vermonters.”
While Rodgers grew up in a Democratic family and had consistent electoral success running as a Democrat in the Kingdom, he switched parties ahead of the 2024 election and ran on the Republican ticket.
“The Democratic Party had shifted way too far to the left, and they don’t appear to understand blue collar Vermonters,” he said.
A self-proclaimed Yankee, Rodgers said he felt the party had moved away from him and other working class Vermonters, finding that many moderate Republicans still represented the communities he hails from.
The role of lieutenant governor is one that may be inconspicuous to many Vermonters. The official duties of the position entail running the Senate, voting only as a tiebreaker and sitting on the three-person panel that decides committee assignments in the chamber.
But the statewide platform of the position has Rodgers excited to jump into the role.
“I want to be a bridge between Vermonters and the building, (the Statehouse), because I feel that Vermonters’ voices aren’t being heard enough in the building,” he said. “We want to get out in the communities and have town hall meetings where people can say these are the issues we’re facing and these are the ideas we have. This is what we would like to see and be able to bring that back to the Legislature.”
Former gubernatorial candidate James Ehlers, an outspoken water activist who Rodgers recently tapped to serve as his special advisor, emphasized the hands-on effort with Vermonters taken on by Rodgers during his campaign.
“John worked to get every single one of those votes, and when I say work, that means he spent the hours in the car and on the phone. He didn’t have to work at who he is,” said Ehlers, adding that the “dirt under his fingernails is real, and that willingness to get hands dirty is absolutely what is going to be necessary to ensure that the voice of working Vermonters and those downstream is heard.”
Gov. Phil Scott endorsed Rodgers during the campaign. Amanda Wheeler, his press secretary, said in a statement that Scott hopes to have a good working relationship with his future counterpart, even if the role is mostly ceremonial.
“The governor and lieutenant governor-elect have known each other for many years during their time serving as legislators,” Wheeler said, adding that Scott is “always open and willing to work with others to make Vermont more affordable, protect the most vulnerable and grow the economy.”
Rodgers came into the race feeling the odds this election season were stacked against him.
He was a Republican in a year when Vermonters would reject the party’s presidential candidate by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. It was his first time running as a statewide candidate as well — and against a Progressive/Democratic incumbent in Zuckerman. The last time someone became lieutenant governor by defeating the incumbent in a general election was 1815, according to VTDigger.
“It gives me hope that there are still enough people out there that are willing to think about the person, and that’s what I’ve always tried to get people to do when there’s good people in both parties,” he said.
Rodgers said he is hopeful that once in office, he will be able to show Vermonters that he’s the right man for the job no matter what letter sits beside his name on the ballot.
“That really provides me with a huge amount of excitement to do that, go out and do the work on the ground and meet people, discuss issues and do everything I can to help Vermont be a place where everybody can afford to live,” he said.
The position has always been attractive to Rodgers, but he felt he couldn’t take the jump from senator to lieutenant. governor due to financial constraints. That’s too large a factor affecting who serves in Montpelier, he said.
“We need a better cross section of the Vermont population in that building if we want a true representative government,” he said.
Why’d he decide to run this year?
“I just felt like the stakes were different, with what happened over the last two years and the cost of living here,” Rodgers said. “I felt like it was time to step up and give it a shot for the big stage and see if I could help turn things around.”
Looking forward to the Legislature convening early in January, Rodgers spoke about how he plans to manage his new role alongside his existing responsibilities.
“You grow up on a farm, and there’s just always something to do,” he said, “so you just put one foot in front of the other and just keep getting things done.”