Vermont held its statewide primaries on Tuesday and most were for Democrats. North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley is here to help break down the results.
All state offices are up for election this year, including the top seats. The gubernatorial primary appeared to mirror some national trends?
Yes. Middlebury College political scientist Bert Johnson had noted that the race reflected national trends.
“The battles have not been as intense in Vermont between the left and the moderates in the Democratic party, but they are there and they do reflect that national trend,” says Johnson. “But it’s sort of interesting this morning to observe is that nationally that trend is not at all consistent. We saw a progressive lose in Wisconsin just yesterday. So we may not be exactly on line with the national trend, but certainly the divisions and the dynamics are definitely similar.”
Amanda Janoo was the Democrat in the gubernatorial race who won 44 to 42 percent over Aly Richards. Janoo is considered to be more progressive while Richards has been more center of the road on issues for Democrats. Richards issued a statement Tuesday evening saying “Now that the primary is behind us, it’s time for Vermonters to come together and rally behind Amanda Janoo.”
Now, it was a three-way democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor, right?
Yes and Molly Gray trounced her other opponents. She got more than 18,000 votes more than the other candidates.Now, Molly Gray had served as Lieutenant Governor from 2021 to 2023. She left office to run for the U.S. House but she lost the Democratic primary to Becca Balint, who is now the U.S. House representative.Molly Gray then led the Vermont Afghan Alliance until she announced her candidacy to run again for Lieutenant Governor this year.
The person who came in second, Ryan McLaren, is a former aide to Senator Peter Welch. He had never run for a statewide office.
And Esther Charlestin came in third.She was the Democratic candidate for Governor in 2024 and she lost to Republican Phil Scott in that race 73 to 21 percent.
In the Republican primary for governor and lieutenant governor, current Governor Phil Scott and Lt. Gov. John Rodgers were unopposed.
A more local race caught some attention: the democratic primary for Chittenden County State’s Attorney. What was happening there?
This race was watched because of the philosophical and ideological differences regarding prosecuting crime between the candidates.
Sarah George is the incumbent state’s attorney and she’s been criticized sometimes for her support of restorative justice and diversion programs.
Bram Kranichfeld once worked in the Chittenden County State’s Attorney office and he is the current Franklin County State’s Attorney and he takes a harder line on prosecuting offenders. But he lost to Sarah George.
There was one Republican primary Vermonters were watching and that was for a U.S. House seat.
Yes. Vermont has one U.S. House seat and in this Republican primary Gerald Malloy won with 68% of the vote. Now, he had run for the U.S. Senate against Bernie Sanders in 2024, losing to Bernie Sanders. Malloy is a West Point graduate and he served 22 years in the Army.
On the eve of this primary, he issued a statement that “Vermont is more politically competitive than its reputation suggests and... Republicans have an opportunity to put the state's House seat in play this November.”
Mark Coester was his primary challenger. Coester criticized “woke” policies that he says are threatening ‘real’ Vermonters and Americans with high taxes, green policies, and open borders.
Malloy will go up against Democrat Becca Balint in the general election. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
One note of interest, Vermont’s sole U.S. House seat has been held by Democrats for about 25 years.
Our neighboring state of Connecticut also had a statewide primary on Tuesday.What are some of the key results there?
According to the Connecticut Mirror “The Democratic primary for governor is the only statewide primary this year and the first challenge to a governor for their party’s nomination since 1978...”
Gov. Ned Lamont won the challenge from state Representative Josh Elliot 67 to 32%
In another race of interest in Connecticut, the 1st Congressional District House race there, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin defeated incumbent John Larson 54 to 32 percent.
That’s our North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley.
