Vermont Primary Results LIVE: John MacGovern Wins GOP Primary, Will Face Bernie Sanders

Impact

12:10am: As expected, it doesn't appear that Donovan is going to concede to Sorrell tonight. Well, that does it for this live blog.

11:44pm: With 95% of precincts reporting, Sorrell has a 614 vote lead over Donovan, or a 51% to 49% lead. Sorrell has all but won. The Burlington Free Press is reporting that a concession from Donovan is unlikely to come as soon as tonight. 

11:11pm: With 65% of the precincts reporting, Sorrell maintains a 182 vote lead out of 31,290 votes cast.

11:04pm: Maybe I should take a nice walk to Montpelier to see what the hold-up is. 

10:47pm: We're still here, Vermont. But it really does look as if Jim Condos' office is going to release the returns one vote at a time. Sorrell appears to be "pulling away," but he's still just 176 votes ahead with 65% of the precincts reporting.

10:30pm: AG Sorrell leads by 96 votes with 63% reporting and 29,399 votes cast. Obviously still way too close to call.

10:23pm: Given how close the AG's race has been, where it currently stands seems like a blowout, but of course, it's not, especially with only 63% reporting.

10:12pm: Still only 62% of precincts have reported. Either dairy cows are counting the votes, or the Secretary of State's office is releasing the results one vote at a time. 

9:58pm: With 61% of the precincts reporting, PolicyMic is calling the Progressive Party primary for Martha Abbott, who successfully fended off a write-in challenge from Annette Smith. 

9:50pm: The AG's race on the Democratic side is getting absurd. With 60% of precincts in and out of 26,581 votes cast, Sorrell leads by 35 votes.

9:32pm: With 56% of precincts reporting, Sorrell leads Donovan by 122 votes out of 23,072 cast. 

9:20pm: Out of nearly 19,000 votes cast less than 200 votes separate Donovan and Sorrell:

9:12pm: Just for funsies, it looks like Annette Smith's write-in insurgency against Martha Abbott for the Progressive Party nomination might actually work. Even though we can't know for sure who the write-ins are yet, Abbott could be in some trouble. With 44% of precincts reporting:

 

9:05pm: It's getting even tighter in the Democratic primary for Attorney General:

8:56pm: PolicyMic is calling the Republican senate primary for John MacGovern with 39% of the precincts reporting:

8:52pm: With 36% of precincts in, less than 200 votes separate Sorrell and Donovan

8:48pm: Results are trickling in.

8:30pm: Sorrell leads Donovan 51% to 48% with 31% of precincts reporting.

8:27pm: Incumbent Attorney General Bill Sorrell trails challenger T.J. Donovan 50% to 48% in the Democratic with less than 10% of precints reporting. 

8:16pm: Republican senate candidate John MacGovern is the president of the Hanover Institute, and served four terms as a Massachusetts state representative. His opponent, Brooke Paige is in marketing and management. He has not run for public office before. 

7:54pm: While there aren't any results yet, PolicyMic is calling November's U.S. Senate election in Vermont for Benie Sanders. 

7:51pm: Hey, Vermont Secretary of State! How about some results?

7:39pm: Bernie Sanders is one of those guys that people on both sides of the aisle can appreciate. In one of his finer moments on television, he mocked the "capitalist" Larry Kudlow of CNBC for his support of the 2008 bank bailout:

7:36pm: According to Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, only 8 10 percent of registered voters showed up to vote in this primary. But PolicyMic is still going to cover it!

7:33pm: Vermont Republicans went for Mitt Romney on Super Tuesday in March, but Ron Paul also had a strong second place finish ahead of Rick Santoru and Newt Gingrich, reflecting a robust libertarian tradition in the Green Mountain State

Aug. 28 7:31pm: Polls have been closed in Vermont since 7pm. We don't have any definitive results, but we're not expecting any surprises here.

The big race with national implications is the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. John MacGovern and Brooke Paige battle it out in the GOP primary to take on popular independent U.S. Senator and self-described "democratic socialist" Bernie Sanders. Regardless of who wins on the Republican side, Sanders is expected to coast to victory in the November general election. 

According to Paige's website,

"For years Vermonters have sent radical Socialist and "Liberals" to Washington, embarrassing our great state with plans and schemes designed to bankrupt Vermont and America. I hope to convince my fellow Vermonters that it is time for a new direction for our nation..." 

Meanwhile, Congressman Peter Welch, the state's at-large representative is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, and will face Republican Mark Donka in November because Donka is also running unopposed in his primary. Like Sanders, Welch is expected to handily defeat his GOP challenger in November in this bluest of blue states. 

At the local level, Governor Peter Shumlin is running for reelection and is unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face state Senator and former state Auditor Randy Brock in November, as Brock is also lacking an opponent in his primary. The Progressive Party is fielding Martha Abbott; however, Annette Smith is challenging her in a write-in campaign in the primary for the party nomination. Abbott is expected to withstand the intra-party insurgency. 

Most polls in Vermont will close at 7pm Eastern time.