If the presidential primary election were held today, which candidate would you support? What about the governor’s race? Would you favor or oppose state taxes to reduce carbon emissions? Is it a problem Vermont has never elected a woman to Congress?
The VPR–Vermont PBS 2020 Poll asked hundreds of Vermonters these questions and more. Find out where your neighbors stand on the candidates and the issues.
Coverage & Analysis
Tune in to VPR and Vermont PBS for coverage of the poll and the related issues:
- VPR – Vermont PBS 2020 Poll Finds Big Support For Scott, Sanders
- Poll Shows Voters Support Downtown Development In Midst Of Controversial Act 250 Overhaul
- Poll Shows Respondents Split Over Vermont’s Response To Climate Change
- Why Has Vermont Never Sent A Woman To Congress?
- Vermont This Week on Vermont PBS
- On Vermont Edition: Poll: Registered Vermont Voters Divided Over State’s Response To Climate Change
Note: This is the first of three polls conducted in 2020 by VPR and Vermont PBS.
The Poll Results: At-A-Glance
Q1. For each name, please state if you have a favorable opinion, unfavorable opinion, or have not heard of the person.
603 Total Respondents
The full survey has a sampling error of 4%; this varies with the total respondents. See the Appendix below for the details on the sample and methods.
Q2. Are you most likely to vote in the Republican or Democratic presidential primary on Town Meeting Day?
54% Democratic primary
28% Republican primary
10% Neither
8% Not sure
1% Refused
603 Total Respondents
Q3a. If the primary were held today, which Democratic candidate would you support?
51% Bernie Sanders
13% Pete Buttigieg
9% Elizabeth Warren
7% Michael Bloomberg
5% Joe Biden
4% Amy Klobuchar
2% Andrew Yang
1% Tulsi Gabbard
7% Not sure
0% Other
0% Refused
327 Total Respondents
Q3b. If the primary were held today, which Republican candidate would you support?
85% Donald Trump
6% Bill Weld
1% Rocky De La Fuente
7% Not Sure
2% Other
0% Refused
166 Total Respondents
Q3c. How certain are you that you will vote for your candidate in the presidential primary?
54% Absolutely certain
34% Fairly certain
11% Not too certain
2% Not at all certain
459 Total Respondents
Q4. Did you support or oppose the impeachment of President Trump by the House of Representatives?
59% Support
36% Oppose
5% Not sure
603 Total Respondents
Q5. If the Vermont governor’s election were held today and the candidates were Phil Scott and David Zuckerman, who would you vote for?
52% Phil Scott
29% David Zuckerman
15% Don’t know
4% Somebody else
603 Total Respondents
Q6. If the Vermont governor’s election were held today and the candidates were Phil Scott and Rebecca Holcombe, who would you vote for?
55% Phil Scott
20% Rebecca Holcombe
22% Don’t know
4% Somebody else
603 Total Respondents
Q7. What is the most important problem facing Vermont today?
30% The economy/Jobs/Cost of living
10% Property taxes 10% Climate change/Environmental issues/Renewable energy
10% Drugs/Opioid addiction
9% Health care
4% Education costs/School consolidation
4% Wages/Leave/Workplace issues
3% Troubled politics/Leadership
2% Guns/Gun control
2% National politics
13% Other
4% Refused
603 Total Respondents
Q8. Some changes are being proposed for Act 250, the law that regulates development in Vermont. One of those changes makes it easier to develop projects in downtown areas. Would you say that this is the right direction or the wrong direction for Act 250?
66% Right direction
17% Wrong direction
15% Not sure
2% Neither
603 Total Respondents
Q9. Do you think Vermont state officials are doing too much to address climate change, not enough to address climate change, or about the right amount to address climate change?
39% About right
39% Too little
18% Too much
3% Not sure
1% No opinion
603 Total Respondents
Q10. Would you favor or oppose an increase in taxes to support efforts to reduce carbon emissions?
51% Oppose
44% Favor
5% Don’t know
603 Total Respondents
Q11. If taxes were raised to support efforts to reduce carbon emissions and you had a choice between higher taxes for the wealthy or more taxes for everyone at the gas pump, which would you choose?
60% Income tax on wealthy
26% Gas tax
10% Neither
4% Don’t know
603 Total Respondents
Q12. Over the next two years, should the Vermont Legislature raise the minimum wage from $10.96 to $12.55, leave it where it is, or raise it higher than $12.55?
41% Raise it to $12.55
33% Raise it beyond $12.55
23% Leave it
2% Not sure
603 Total Respondents
Q13. Under existing laws, Vermont currently allows unpaid family medical leave. Would you favor or oppose a paid family leave plan, even if it would mean higher taxes?
56% Favor
35% Oppose
9% Not sure
603 Total Respondents
Q14. Vermont is the only state that has never elected a woman to the U.S. House or U.S. Senate. In your opinion, is this a major problem, a minor problem or not a problem at all?
46% Not a problem
35% Minor problem
17% Major problem
2% Refused
603 Total Respondents
Q15. To what extent do you think racism is a problem in Vermont today? Would you say it is a big problem, somewhat of a problem, a small problem or no problem at all?
34% Somewhat problem
22% Small problem
22% Big problem
19% No problem
2% Not sure
1% Refused
603 Total Respondents
Full Results, Method, Sampling Error & Survey
Download the Poll Data, Methodology, Sampling Error, Weighted Data & Survey Instrument
- Full Results XLS: By Region (1st tab), Party (2nd tab), Gender & Age (3rd tab) and Education & Household Income (4th tab)
- Appendix A: MethodologyTable 1: Sampling ErrorAppendix B: Survey Instrument
Attribution & Credit
Attribution
You are free to use and share this poll data, provided you:
- Maintain the integrity of the data and results
- Provide credit/attribution to the “VPR – Vermont PBS 2020 Poll” everywhere the data is used, e.g. broadcast, web, social media
- Link directly to this page, when possible, e.g. on web and social media
Credit
The VPR – Vermont PBS 2020 Poll is a collaboration between Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS and was made possible by our supporters. Braun Research conducted the poll under the direction of Dr. Richard Clark.