Although unofficial results show that you lost In Vermont’s Tuesday election, Progressive/Democratic incumbent David Zuckerman had yet to concede the race as of Wednesday evening, despite his opponent, Republican John Rodgers, nearly claiming victory.

“Vermont, we have a new lieutenant governor,” Rodgers wrote on his campaign Facebook page Wednesday morning, but added that he predicted the race would be recounted.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, with unofficial results coming in from all Vermont cities and towns, the gap between the candidates was narrow, but Rodgers appeared to be ahead with 46.2% of the vote to Zuckerman’s 44.6%. About 6,020 votes separated them.

But there is a problem; Because no candidate won 50 percent or more of the vote, the Vermont Constitution requires the Legislature to have the final say when it meets in January. This is assuming the State Department will confirm the current vote percentages next week.

According to unofficial results, the Constitution does not require lawmakers to elect the candidate with the most votes, in this case Rodgers.

Inside An interview on WCAX On Wednesday morning, Zuckerman noted this constitutional process, saying he planned to “really analyze the data” in the coming days.

“The Constitution has a process to understand what will happen next. I have other thoughts; Are you doing a recount? “It’s too early to say he won,” the incumbent said. “But there’s no question he has more votes at this point.”

In an interview with VTDigger later that morning, Zuckerman did not say whether he would challenge the result in the House in January.

“I’m currently operating on two hours of sleep and need to evaluate what the results are,” he said.

Zuckerman struck a somber note in an email to campaign supporters later that day: “Last night did not deliver the results we were hoping for.” But he appeared to have given up on officially acknowledging the race.

He declined to provide detailed information in a text message sent to VTVDigger around 16:30.

“I think I made that clear earlier today,” Zuckerman wrote. “I won’t make the final decision about two hours of sleep.”

Rodgers, meanwhile, had all but officially declared victory, but said in an interview Wednesday afternoon that he was waiting for the Secretary of State’s Office to formally certify this week’s results; This is a process that usually takes a week.

Paul Heintz contributed reporting.