State Rep. Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero), chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, survived a strong challenge on a primary day that saw most incumbent legislators coast to victory.

Johnson secured 772 votes to Andrew Julow’s 560 and Ben Joseph’s 550 in the two-seat Grand Isle County district. Johnson had been criticized for failing to bring back enough state resources to Grand Isle during the campaign.

Johnson’s former partner in district representation, Rep. Bob Krebs (D-South Hero), did not seek reelection.

With results still being tallied, it appeared that the only incumbent senator to lose a seat on Tuesday was state Sen. Norm McAllister (R-Franklin), who is awaiting a sex assault trial scheduled for December. Results were still coming in early Wednesday.

With 14 of 15 Franklin County precincts reporting, McAllister had only 771 votes in the GOP primary, well behind incumbent Dustin Degree, who had 2,741 votes, and Carolyn Branagan, who had 2,458 votes. The district has two seats.
The Senate had suspended McAllister in January. Despite intense public backlash after charges were leveled against him, McAllister, a farmer, sought a third term representing the county. 

In other races Seven Days has been following, Chittenden County incumbent senators appeared headed to victory in the Democratic primary. Tim Ashe (a P/D), Virginia Lyons, Michael Sirotkin and Phil Baruth cruised to victory.

Rep. Chris Pearson (P-Burlington) and Debbie Ingram, a member of the Williston selectboard, were also headed for wins in the six-seat district.

In Burlington, Selene Colburn and Brian Cina won the Democratic primary for two seats in the Chittenden 6-4 House District, besting Judy Rosenstreich to represent an area that stretches from the Old North End to the University of Vermont.

Colburn, a Burlington city councilor, won 575 votes. Cina, a clinical social worker, won 378 votes and Rosenstreich, who served in the legislature in the 1970s as a Republican, won 264 votes.

The candidates were vying to replace Rep. Kesha Ram (D-Burlington), a Democrat who gave up her seat in a failed bid for lieutenant governor, and Pearson, the Chittenden Senate candidate.

Correction, August 10, 2016: Andrew Julow won the Democratic nomination for the Grand Isle County House seat. An earlier version of this story, based on incomplete results, reported the wrong winner. 

Check out photos from the primaries