Charity Clark wins race to become Vermont’s attorney general

Charity Clark became the first woman elected to Vermont’s highest law enforcement office Tuesday, defeating Republican Mike Tagliavia to become the state’s next attorney general. 

With more than three-quarters of precincts reporting shortly after 11 p.m., Clark had received 61% of the vote to Tagliavia’s 34%. Clark declared victory at the Vermont Democratic Party’s election night gathering party at Hula in Burlington.

The roughly 150-employee attorney general’s office performs a range of legal duties, including representing state government agencies, prosecuting criminal cases and filing civil suits.

Susanne Young, the state’s current attorney general, was appointed to the post in June by Gov. Phil Scott after TJ Donovan stepped down to work for online gaming platform Roblox. 

The election pitted Clark, who has spent nearly two decades practicing law, against Mike Tagliavia, a retired Corinth business owner and non-attorney who was recruited by the GOP in August. 

Clark, a former assistant attorney general and chief of staff in the Attorney General’s Office, argued during her campaign for criminal justice reform, including more data collection on racial disparities and making it easier to expunge convictions or seal criminal records. 

She also announced plans to make Vermont a “safe harbor” for people seeking abortions after the June U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Tagliavia, meanwhile, based his campaign on public safety, arguing that Vermonters felt increasingly unsafe in the state. 
He supported increasing police funding and maintaining qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that protects law enforcement officials from civil lawsuits. On his campaign website, Tagliavia described himself as a “right-to-life supporter.”

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