Political candidates come with all sorts of motivations. Some believe they were born for the challenge (looking at you, Beto). Some see running for office as the best way to make a name for themselves — or maybe even a difference.

And some cite a specific moment that spurred them into action.

For Chea Waters Evans, that moment came on February 8, when her state representative, Michael Yantachka (D-Charlotte), voted against a proposed amendment to enshrine a woman's right to an abortion in Vermont's constitution, making him one of only two Democratic lawmakers to do so.



"I got mad, basically," said Evans, a local journalist who lives in Charlotte.

Her anger intensified when, three months later, a leaked draft opinion previewed the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe V. Wade. Yantachka underwent a change of heart shortly afterward, but it was too late. Her trust in her representative gone, Evans said, she decided to challenge Yantachka in the Democratic primary.

On Tuesday night, she won, earning 61 more votes than the six-term incumbent. She will now head on to the general election, where she's expected to win.

Both candidates agree that Yantachka's flip-flop on the abortion question played a role in the verdict.

"It was the one thing that people kept bringing up to me over and over again, especially women," Evans said.

"Obviously people weren’t willing to overlook that," Yantachka said of his vote. "I understand that."
Yantachka originally supported the abortion amendment, known to most as "Prop 5," when it first came before lawmakers in 2019. But he said an outpouring of emails and postcards from anti-abortion groups and constituents gave him second thoughts about how it might impact late-term abortions — which he did not support. So when House lawmakers were asked to approve the amendment one final time before sending it to voters in November, he voted against it.

"Obviously, bad move," he said.

Indeed, while Yantachka's vote flew under the radar for much of the legislative session, a May 19 story in the Charlotte News trained the spotlight on him. In it, Yantachka explained his reasoning and said he didn't think the vote would come back to bite him at the polls. The story prompted an immediate outcry from constituents who felt blindsided by their Democratic representative's vote.

Soon after, Yantachka changed his mind — again — and announced that he would be voting in favor of the question when it goes before voters this November. He chalked up his latest change of heart to frank conversations with constituents.

"I realize that I have given the impression that I do not trust women to make good decisions regarding their reproductive choices," he wrote on social media. "That is truly not something I believe. I should have untangled the issues better and recognized that was the message I was sending with my vote."

Feedback on the campaign trail was mixed this summer, he said. Some voters were glad he came to support the amendment, while others said they had no intention of voting for someone who could waver on abortion rights.

Fresh off his electoral loss, Yantachka said he regretted his vote. "If I were going to do it over again, I'd vote for it."
For Evans, the primary win comes amid what has already been a whirlwind of a last couple years.



The journalist was on the receiving end of news coverage last year when she quit the the Charlotte News after accusing some members of the nonprofit organization's board of meddling in newsroom decisions and crossing ethical boundaries. She soon began editing the competing Charlotte Bridge.

She hasn't written any stories for the newsletter since announcing her campaign, she said, but remains undecided over whether she will step away from the gig if she heads to Montpelier.

"I’d like to continue writing, maybe not about town politics — I think that would be a conflict of interest — but I love writing stories about the people who live here and all the cool stuff they do," she said. "I’m hoping there’s a way to continue that."