A political observer says the winner of the Republican Congressional primary in Vermont faces an uphill battle to defeat the Democratic incumbent in November.
Gerald Malloy won the primary 68 percent to 19 percent against his challenger Mark Coester. The West Point graduate and Army veteran now faces incumbent Democrat Becca Balint in the general election. Middlebury College professor of political science Bert Johnson believes it will be hard for Malloy to beat Balint.
“She’s a democratic incumbent. This is going to be a strong year for Democrats nationally and of course Vermont tends to elect Democrats and Progressives to office. So he’s got his work cut out for him. But you never know. As they say in sports, that’s why they play the game.”
A political consultant for Malloy issued a statement after his win saying he is a “Trump-backed Republican campaigning on the argument that Vermont needs greater political balance in Washington.”
Along with Balint, Vermont is represented in the U.S. Senate by Democrat Peter Welch and Independent Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with the chamber's Democrats.
