- Courtesy
- Stewart Ledbetter
Retired TV news reporter Stewart Ledbetter came up short in his well-funded quest to be one of the three senators representing the Chittenden-Central district — losing to incumbents in a contest that drew plenty of
- Courtesy photos ©️ Seven Days
- From top: Phil Baruth, Tanya Vyhovsky, Martine Larocque Gulick
attention.
The Winooski resident challenged the three Democratic incumbents — Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth (D/P), Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, (P/D) and Sen. Martine Gulick (D).
Early returns looked promising for Ledbetter, showing him at one point in second place. But after Burlington's results came in, Ledbetter had fallen to fourth — out of contention in the three-seat district.
Another closely watched legislative race was Rep. Emilie Kornheiser’s (D-Brattleboro) fight to keep her seat following a challenge from Amanda Ellis-Thurber. The race was seen as something of a referendum on the Democratically controlled legislature’s appetite for higher taxes.
As the chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Kornheiser has become a lightning rod for supporting measures such as a wealth tax. Ellis-Thurber, a farmer and former social worker, has stressed the need to make the state more affordable, especially for older residents, and to keep tax increases in check.
In Waterbury, incumbent Reps. Theresa Wood (D-Waterbury) and Tom Stevens (D-Waterbury) faced a primary challenge from former banker Elizabeth Brown.
Brown received significant backing from traditional Republican donors. She acknowledged that she had few if any ties to the Democratic party before running but insisted she was a moderate Democrat. Republican Gov. Phil Scott endorsed Brown in a primary day text to supporters, telling them she would “put her constituents before politics.”
But it wasn’t enough to oust the incumbents. She came in third, 90 votes behind Stevens.
Scott’s intervention annoyed Jim Dandeneau, executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, who said the governor was meddling in a Democratic primary.
“He should be ashamed of himself,” Dandeneau said. He accused Scott of not doing anything in recent years to deal with the “sickness infecting his own Republican party in Vermont,” namely the influence of MAGA Republicans.
In another closely watched Democratic contest, Sen. Andy Julow (D-Grand Isle), who was appointed to succeed longtime senator Dick Mazza, appeared to survive a challenge from Julie Hulburd of Colchester, a member of the Cannabis Control Board. He won 49 percent of the vote to Hulburd’s 45 percent, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office. He’ll square off in November against Rep. Patrick Brennan (R-Colchester), who was unopposed in the Republican primary.
In the race to succeed retiring Sen. Jane Kitchel (D-Caledonia), one of the most respected members of the Senate, Amanda Cochrane easily beat Shawn Hallisey for the Democratic nomination. She’ll face Rep. Scott Beck (R-St. Johnsbury).
In Addison County, Democratic Sens. Ruth Hardy and Chris Bray survived a challenge from Rep. Caleb Elder (D-Starksboro).
In Bennington County, with most towns reporting, the late Democratic senator Dick Sears received at least 837 votes for Senate, even though he died on June 1. If he got more votes than any write in-candidates, then a local Democratic committee would appoint someone to replace him on the ballot.
Write-in candidate Rob Plunkett may have gotten more votes than Sears, which would earn him one of the Democratic nominations in the district. The other went to Rep. Seth Bongartz (D-Manchester).
The Winooski resident challenged the three Democratic incumbents — Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth (D/P), Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, (P/D) and Sen. Martine Gulick (D).
Early returns looked promising for Ledbetter, showing him at one point in second place. But after Burlington's results came in, Ledbetter had fallen to fourth — out of contention in the three-seat district.
Another closely watched legislative race was Rep. Emilie Kornheiser’s (D-Brattleboro) fight to keep her seat following a challenge from Amanda Ellis-Thurber. The race was seen as something of a referendum on the Democratically controlled legislature’s appetite for higher taxes.
As the chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Kornheiser has become a lightning rod for supporting measures such as a wealth tax. Ellis-Thurber, a farmer and former social worker, has stressed the need to make the state more affordable, especially for older residents, and to keep tax increases in check.
But Kornheiser sailed to victory with 58 percent of the vote to Ellis-Thurber’s 42 percent.
In Waterbury, incumbent Reps. Theresa Wood (D-Waterbury) and Tom Stevens (D-Waterbury) faced a primary challenge from former banker Elizabeth Brown.
Brown received significant backing from traditional Republican donors. She acknowledged that she had few if any ties to the Democratic party before running but insisted she was a moderate Democrat. Republican Gov. Phil Scott endorsed Brown in a primary day text to supporters, telling them she would “put her constituents before politics.”
But it wasn’t enough to oust the incumbents. She came in third, 90 votes behind Stevens.
Scott’s intervention annoyed Jim Dandeneau, executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, who said the governor was meddling in a Democratic primary.
“He should be ashamed of himself,” Dandeneau said. He accused Scott of not doing anything in recent years to deal with the “sickness infecting his own Republican party in Vermont,” namely the influence of MAGA Republicans.
In another closely watched Democratic contest, Sen. Andy Julow (D-Grand Isle), who was appointed to succeed longtime senator Dick Mazza, appeared to survive a challenge from Julie Hulburd of Colchester, a member of the Cannabis Control Board. He won 49 percent of the vote to Hulburd’s 45 percent, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office. He’ll square off in November against Rep. Patrick Brennan (R-Colchester), who was unopposed in the Republican primary.
In the race to succeed retiring Sen. Jane Kitchel (D-Caledonia), one of the most respected members of the Senate, Amanda Cochrane easily beat Shawn Hallisey for the Democratic nomination. She’ll face Rep. Scott Beck (R-St. Johnsbury).
In Addison County, Democratic Sens. Ruth Hardy and Chris Bray survived a challenge from Rep. Caleb Elder (D-Starksboro).
In Bennington County, with most towns reporting, the late Democratic senator Dick Sears received at least 837 votes for Senate, even though he died on June 1. If he got more votes than any write in-candidates, then a local Democratic committee would appoint someone to replace him on the ballot.
Write-in candidate Rob Plunkett may have gotten more votes than Sears, which would earn him one of the Democratic nominations in the district. The other went to Rep. Seth Bongartz (D-Manchester).
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