While the Presidential primary was back in March on Town Meeting Day, the primaries for state offices and US Congress will take place in August. There are three ballots to choose from: Democratic, Progressive, or Republican. I'm going to vote on the Democratic one, because there are no contested elections on the Progressive ballot, and only one contested election on the Republican ballot (for Lieutenant Governor).
The Progressive party will not have candidates for US Senator, US Rep, Secretary of State, State Senator, State Rep, or High Bailiff. The Republican party will not have candidates for State Senator, State Rep, or High Bailiff, so the election for my local reps in the Statehouse is the Dem primary. The Republican ballot also has the same guy, H. Brooke Paige, as the only candidate for Secretary of State, Auditor, and Attorney General. This is not a serious candidate.
Going down the Demoncratic party ballot:
US Senator has a single nominee, Bernie Sanders, who will win again in the general election.
US Rep has a single nominee, Becca Balint, who will win again in the general.
Governor has two nominees vying for the right to lose to Phil Scott in the general:
- Esther Charlestin, whose prior political experience is a a little over a year on the Middlebury selectboard.
- Peter Duval, who was kicked off the Underhill selectboard three years ago.
Lieutenant Governor has two nominees:
- Thomas Renner, who serves on the Winooski City Council. His platform focuses on climate action, housing for all, affordability, and social justice.
- David Zuckerman is the current Lt Governor, after taking a break in 2020 to let Molly Gray take the role for a term to improve her chances at gaining the US Rep seat that Peter Welch vacated in 2022. He doesn't have a platform page, but his About page notes, "He is particularly passionate about addressing the climate, healthcare, housing, and tax crises."
State Treasurer has a single nominee, Mike Pieciak, the current treasurer.
Secretary of State has a single nominee, Sarah Copeland Hanzas, the current secretary.
Auditor of Accounts has a single nominee, Doug Hoffer, who has been excellent in the position, but has served for 12 years now and is 72. I hope he is training a successor.
Attorney General has a single nominee, Charity Clark, who is the current AG.
- Phil Baruth, the current senate president pro tempore, advocate for gun control, paid sick leave, and education (personalized learning plans, which have seen spotty implementation).
- Martine Larocque Gulick, a current senator. Her top priorities are reforming education funding, housing, and healthcare.
- Stewart Ledbetter, who is new to running for office, but not to VT politics, having been a political journalist for 40 years. His top priorities are housing, supporting the middle class, community safety, and climate change.
- Tanya Vyhovsky, a current senator who previously served as a state rep. Her platform priorities are economic justice, social justice, environmental justice, and reproductive justice.
- Missa Aloisi, a small business owner with two children in Burlington School District. Missa's priorities are dignity & safety, equity, and affordability
- Abbey Duke, a small business owner with two children in Burlington School District. 😁 Abbey was appointed to Emma Mulvaney-Stanak's seat after she was elected Mayor of Burlington in March. Her priorities include housing, education funding reform, and climate action.
