MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — An unexpectedly strong challenge to Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin means the gubernatorial race will be decided by the state Legislature in January. 
 
 Democrat incumbent Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin calls it a night without declaring victory on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014 in Burlington, Vt. (AP Photo/Andy Duback) (Associated Press) 
 
 At the close of election night, Shumlin had about 46.7 percent of the vote while his Republican challenger Scott Milne has just over 45 percent. 
 
 Shumlin had been expected to cruise to re-election for his third-two-year term, but Milne apparently played on voter discontent with the governor. The race stayed close for most of the night. 
 
 Under the Vermont Constitution, candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and treasurer are required to win a minimum of 50 percent plus one to be elected directly. If not, the race is decided by the Legislature. 
 
 In the history of Vermont, 23 previous elections for governor have gone to the Legislature, which nearly always gives the election to the candidate who won the most votes. There have been three exceptions, the last one in 1853. 
 
 Shumlin was chosen by the Legislature for his first two-year-term in 2010. That year Shumlin won 49.5 percent of the vote while his Republican opponent had 47.7 percent. The most recent time the race involving an incumbent governor was decided by the Legislature was in 1986. 
 
 Experts say Shumlin's sub-50 percent showing could reduce momentum behind his signature agenda item, a universal health care system covering all Vermonters. ||||| Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is expressing confidence that he's won another term but Republican challenger Scott Milne isn't conceding. 
 
 Shumlin issued a statement late Wednesday morning saying it's clear he's ahead. An Associated Press tally at 11:20 a.m. had the governor up by nearly 2,200 votes over Milne. 
 
 The only town missing from the AP's count was Victory, which had a population in 2000 of just 97 people. 
 
 Milne says he's waiting for final figures from the secretary of state's office. 
 
 With neither candidate winning more than 50 percent of the vote, the election goes to the Legislature in January, where Shumlin's fellow Democrats control both houses. 
 
 
 
 Copyright Associated Press
– It's one of the stranger outcomes of election night: The race for Vermont governor is so close that the state legislature might have to decide the winner, reports AP. More precisely, the state constitution stipulates that if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, lawmakers must pick one. That applies here, with Democrat incumbent Peter Shumlin at 46.7% and Republican challenger Scott Milne at 45%, a difference of about 2,500 votes. NECN points that in in modern political history, the second-place finisher has generally conceded rather than send the vote to the Legislature, but Milne has shown no sign of doing so. Last time this happened? In 2010, when lawmakers picked Shumlin for his first term.