Vermont Governor Jim Douglas has a 23-percentage point lead in his bid for re-election. The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Douglas earning 54% of the vote while former state Senator Scudder Parker attracts 31%.

Douglas had considered running for the Senate seat left vacant by the retirement of Jim Jeffords. Jeffords, a former Republican turned Independent, was best known for leaving the Republican Party in mid-2001 and temporarily turning control of the U.S. Senate over to the Democrats.

Had Douglas tried to become a Senator, it might have produced one of the nation's more interesting and important Senate races in 2006. Instead, Independent Bernie Sanders holds a huge lead in the Senate race and Douglas has a comfortable lead in the Governor's race.

In this partisan era of Red and Blue States lined up for each party, it is interesting to see a Republican Governor leading in the same state that produced Sanders and DNC Chairman Howard Dean

Crosstabs available for Premium Members. Data on the state's race for Governor will be released Monday.

Fifty-four percent (54%) of Vermont voters say that President Bush is doing a poor job managing the U.S. economy. Fifty-nine percent (59%) say he is doing a poor job handling the situation in Iraq.

Crosstabs of the Vermont survey and all Rasmussen Reports election polls are available for Premium Members