Following Tropical Storm Irene, Shumlin appointed Neale Lunderville to lead Vermont's recovery efforts, and four months later named Minter to replace him.

[4] She later served on President Barack Obama's Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, co-chaired the White House Task Force Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Resilience, and led a Vermont team which assisted with Colorado's response to major flooding in 2013.

[11] In response to an August workplace discrimination lawsuit against VTrans, she boosted employee training in harassment prevention and established an affirmative-action task force.

[9] Minter's former House colleagues described her as left-of-center and praised her as a "good Democrat" with a talent for understanding complicated budget issues, but questioned her preparedness for a gubernatorial run.

[16] Minter proposed job creation efforts involving strategic investments in infrastructure and housing, as well as industry-government collaboration to promote the technology, energy, and agricultural sectors.

"[20] After the 2015 Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting, she called for universal background checks on gun sales in Vermont, a position later taken up by her rivals.

[21][22] On August 9, Minter won the Democratic Party nomination for governor, defeating Dunne and Peter Galbraith in the primary election.