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Justin Schoville

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Justin Schoville
Image of Justin Schoville

Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party of Vermont

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

The George Washington University, 2011

Graduate

The George Washington University, 2013

Law

Vermont Law and Graduate School, 2022

Personal
Birthplace
New Orleans, La.
Religion
Atheist
Profession
Attorney and small business owner
Contact

Justin Schoville (Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party of Vermont) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Vermont. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Schoville completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Justin Schoville was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He earned a bachelor's degree from The George Washington University in 2011 and a graduate degree from The George Washington University in 2013. He earned a law degree from Vermont Law and Graduate School in 2022. His career experience includes working as an attorney and small business owner. He has been affiliated with Young Ecosocialists.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: United States Senate election in Vermont, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Vermont

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Vermont on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders (Independent)
 
63.2
 
229,429
Image of Gerald Malloy
Gerald Malloy (R) Candidate Connection
 
32.1
 
116,512
Image of Steve Berry
Steve Berry (Independent)
 
2.2
 
7,941
Image of Matthew Hill
Matthew Hill (L)
 
1.2
 
4,530
Image of Justin Schoville
Justin Schoville (Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party of Vermont) Candidate Connection
 
0.9
 
3,339
Image of Mark Stewart Greenstein
Mark Stewart Greenstein (Epic Party)
 
0.3
 
1,104
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
398

Total votes: 363,253
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Vermont

Incumbent Bernie Sanders advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Vermont on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders
 
98.8
 
48,189
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.2
 
583

Total votes: 48,772
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Vermont

Gerald Malloy advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Vermont on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Gerald Malloy
Gerald Malloy Candidate Connection
 
96.4
 
20,383
 Other/Write-in votes
 
3.6
 
772

Total votes: 21,155
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Schoville in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Justin Schoville completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Schoville's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am an attorney. I graduated Vermont Law School, and now I run my own law firm using principles from worker cooperatives. I am also the current state chair of the Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party.
  • All Vermonters should have their basic needs met. We should provide all our citizens free healthcare, housing, education, childcare, internet, and eldercare.
  • The poor and working class need a political party of their own to fight for their interests. The Democrats and Republicans are incapable of this because they are bought and paid or by millionaires and billionaires and will always represent the interests of their donors.
  • I would use my position as a third-party Senator to work with both Democrats and Republicans. My main goal would be to steer as much federal tax dollars to our state as possible. We need federal support to provide everyone in our state basic services as human rights.
I am passionate about democracy in the workplace. Currently, workers work for tyrannical bosses who hide what employees make and prevent input of how their workplaces are run. All workplaces should be directly run and managed by workers, with open books to prevent unfair hiring and firing practices.
I look up to my parents, Bernie Sanders (oddly enough), Kshama Sawant, Ralph Nader, Jill Stein, Cornel West.

I would probably follow in the footsteps of Kshama Sawant. She used her position in Seattle City Council to build her political party, effectively defend her position from corporate attacks, and mobilize people for goals larger than themselves. She used her office not for personal gain, but to further her movement. This is what I would also attempt to do.
"Facing the Anthropocene: Fossil Capitalism and the crisis of the earth system" by Ian Angus.

We must understand the world system we live in if we want to fight for justice. Currently, we live in a world governed by carbon fueled capitalism. The ecosystem is rapidly changing. Our mission is to change this world system. Our end goal should be eco-socialism and anti-imperialism. If we fail, eco-fascism and barbarism will be compelled on the world population.
To be open-minded to accepting new information and incorporating it into their worldview. New developments and new information should always adjust your way of thinking and how you approach policies.
I am an attorney, which means I have to frequently represent people and interests that are not my own. However, I also view myself as a problem-solver, because sometimes coming to a negotiated settlement is better than dragging a conflict out, and clients need to know that. I also have to learn new information all the time and incorporate it into my analysis.
The core responsibility is to represent the interests of your state. For me, this means I would represent the interests of the people of this state, not the business interests, not the wealthy few. I would represent the vast majority of the poor and working class people who are struggling to get by, and who have little to no representation in policy outcomes.
I would want to be known as someone that fought against concentrated wealth and power, no matter what, and as a result inspired regular people to stand up for their interests. I would want people to look
I worked to lift and move furniture at my high school. I had the job for probably a month or so as they prepared for summer school.
The Count of Monte Cristo. I loved the tension whenever the Count put someone in a trap of their own making.
I see two main challenges. The first is adapting to climate change- both to reduce carbon emissions globally and respond to climate disasters as they occur.

Second, is mitigating conflict abroad, with an eye to prevent nuclear catastrophe. Currently, the US is attempting to prepare for a 2 front war with Russia and China. I would reverse this trajectory, and push the US to work with Russia and China to manage their regions in the interest of maintaining global security. I would also rejoin Cold-War era nuclear arms control agreements that lapsed, and make new agreements to limit the use of smaller, more mobile, nuclear weapons. We must make it harder to use nukes, and reduce tensions abroad.
I would support term limits.
The Senate gives outsized influence to small states, and effectively blocks the interests of larger population states. This means that small states like ours can get outsized federal support for legislation that needs to be passed. I would use that advantage to help the people of Vermont as best I can.
Not necessarily. Democracy means having a diversity of experiences and backgrounds. Having previous experience in government or politics might help you in one respect, but you may also be blind to other experiences that would be obvious to people with other backgrounds.
The filibuster is a rule set by Senate rules. It is an arbitrary rule that can be changed by majority vote of the Senate. I would support eliminating the filibuster for all legislation and appointments.
Joe Manchin and Mitch McConnell. Though I disagree with almost all their positions, I think they have been very effective Senators. They used the institution of the Senate to pass policies that represented their states and caucus. They made legislation and appointments hinge on their demands. In short, they understand how to use their power as Senators for leverage. I would emulate those tactics- not for personal gain, but to support my state and to support the policies I care about.
Basically any Simpsons lawyer jokes. I like the one with Lionel Hutz when he says: If there's one thing America Needs is more lawyers. Could you imagine a world without Lawyers? [Hutz imagines world peace and everyone dancing] [Hutz cringes]
I would evaluate Supreme Court nominees differently from other nominees. I believe Trump's appointments got on the Supreme Court by misleading the Senate about their respect for precedent, including Roe v. Wade. Therefore, I would want to know Supreme Court nominees views about judicial precedents and if they were "wrong when initially decided" as Trumps nominees said about Roe v. Wade.

I respect conservative judicial philosophy and textualism, however, I tend to agree with jurists like Kagan and Sotomayor, who carefully weigh the facts underlying the legal battles in court cases and how they apply to the law. Therefore, I would probably tend to support so-called "liberal" justices.
My goal would be to constantly use my position as an independent and third party senator to advance Vermont's interests and the interests of the poor and working class.

I would try to have a personally cordial but professionally antagonistic relationship with other senators. It's important for other senators to never assume I am on their side. Therefore, they will always reach out and request my views and opinions on policy and legislation, and keep me at the top of their mind if they want something passed. This way, I can maximize my leverage as senator for the causes and policies I care about.
Compromise is necessary in all policymaking. The question is who you compromise with and how. I would promote compromise with both the Democratic and Republican caucuses to maximize my goals for the people of Vermont. I would not strictly caucus with one party or the other.
The US Senate should use its investigative powers to fight waste, fraud, and abuse in government agencies. It should also investigate wrongdoing by appointments that may justify impeachment and removal. Finally, the Senate should use their powers to investigate big picture policy changes.

I think they currently use investigations as largely political theatre. This should not be the goal of congressional investigations.
I would take a holistic approach to the appointment. I would see how much they would rely on career officials in the department, but also ask how they would with the President and Vice President to manage the department and effectively communicate the goals of the Executive down to the agency.
Energy and Natural Resources, Foreign Relations, and Judiciary.
I believe in increasing the size of the government. Therefore, we need as much government transparency as possible to reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse. If there are so-called inefficiencies in government spending, they should be to promote policy goals, (like eliminating poverty and homelessness) and not to line the pockets of bureaucrats.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Schoville's campaign website stated the following:

Justin is running for Senate so working class and poor Vermonters can vote their values. The poor need the resources and time to fully engage in civic life, both on Election Day and in the workplace.

Our Federal government should provide this!

Giving Vermonters the Resources to Engage in Civic Life

  • A Living Wage for All: The government should provide a Living Wage for all workers- not a minimum wage. Pass a Living Wage for all workers!
  • A Universal Basic Income for All: The government should provide a monthly check to all citizens as an allowance to engage in our democracy – Pass a Universal Basic Income for all!
  • A Medicare-for-All System: The government should take healthcare out of the hands of private insurers, and those dependent on workplace health plans. Pass a Medicare-for-All healthcare system!
  • Decrease Working Hours: The government should lower the hours worked as part of the “work week”- we cannot be an informed citizenry if our bosses demand all our time!
  • Support Children and Families: We must support families and children. Expand the child tax credit, provide free, government sponsored childcare services, and provide federal support to our teachers.
  • Make Election Days Federal Holidays: The government should encourage democratic participation by making all election days federal holidays.

Take from those with Resources to Provide for our Poorest

  • Take Hoarded Wealth from the Rich: We must pay for these programs through aggressive taxation both on income and on consolidated wealth. The federal government must use their resources to find and appropriately tax the hoarded wealth of the millionaires and billionaires.
  • Cut bloated Military Spending: Over half of the federal budget goes to national security. It must be cut drastically so we can spend it on social programs.

Democracy in both our Political and Economic Lives

  • Workplace Democracy: The government must demand that all businesses adopt Workplace Democracy- workplaces run by and for the workers. Workers should have democratic meetings- paid for by the bosses – to discuss workplace practices, worker and management pay, compensation, benefits. Layoffs are to be decided democratically, not at the whims of tyrannical bosses. And all accounting – including pay – must be transparent to everyone in the workplace.
  • Worker’s Right of First Refusal: Before selling or dissolving a business the workers should get the option to buy all workplaces and run them themselves.
  • End Big Money in Politics: The federal government must pass a constitutional amendment overturning the Citizens United Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited big money in politics. It must ban private money influencing elections, and instead replace it with a limited pool of public money for all candidates.[2]
—Justin Schoville’s campaign website (2024)[3]

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Justin Schoville campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* U.S. Senate VermontLost general$0 N/A**
Grand total$0 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 29, 2024
  2. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  3. Justin Schoville’s campaign website, “Justin Schoville for Senate,” accessed October 16, 2024


Senators
Representatives
Democratic Party (2)
Independent (1)