BRATTLEBORO-With few contested races around the state, voter turnout was low for many of the Aug. 13 party primaries in Vermont.
But not so much in the southeast corner of Windham County, where three hotly contested primaries for House seats drew many voters to the polls on a sun-splashed August day.
In Brattleboro, incumbent Rep. Emilie Kornheiser prevailed over a primary challenge, and Ian Goodnow emerged as the party's candidate in the November general election.
For Guilford and Vernon, in an unusual and rancorous primary election, Democrats selected Guilford Selectboard Chair Zon Eastes as their candidate.
Candidates face off in Brattleboro
In Windham-7, the district that encompasses West Brattleboro, House Ways & Means Committee Chair Kornheiser withstood a strong challenge by dairy farmer Amanda Ellis-Thurber in a Democratic primary race that drew statewide attention.
Kornheiser, a 45-year-old social service specialist, bested Ellis-Thurber, a 52-year-old farmer, by a vote of 505 to 369, according to unofficial town clerk results.
"If I win in November," Kornheiser said of the primary results, "I'm looking forward to doing the hard work of reforming our education finance system, making sure that Vermonters have affordable, accessible health care, and solving the housing crisis."
Kornheiser made national news in January when she introduced bills to impose new "wealth taxes" on Vermonters with the highest incomes and assets.
A month later, she sparked more headlines by pushing to repeal a state cap on the rate of increase for education property taxes, all in an effort to curb unexpectedly costly ramifications just weeks before March school budget votes.
The combined actions prodded Ellis-Thurber, part of the third generation of family to raise dairy cows and organic crops at the nearly century-old Lilac Ridge Farm, to enter the primary.
"Friends and neighbors have been telling me they're really nervous about provocative legislation and property tax increases," Ellis-Thurber told VTDigger.
Ellis-Thurber, appointed by then-President Barack Obama to Vermont's 10-member USDA Farm Service Agency board, countered by campaigning for "a pragmatic fiscal approach" centered on creating more jobs and businesses.
"A race well run, whether I win or lose, and the connection that I've been able to have with our community is a gift in itself," Ellis-Thurber said of the results.
In November, Kornheiser will face Susan Murray, who was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Two former Brattleboro Selectboard chairs faced each other in the Democratic primary to succeed the retiring incumbent, Tristan Toleno, in Windham-9.
Goodnow, a local attorney, defeated Deputy State's Attorney and Town Moderator David Gartenstein, 442–330.
William Harvey of Brattleboro ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
Brattleboro Town Clark Hilary Francis said that even with two contested House races on the town ballot, turnout was on track to be not that much higher than past August primary elections.
Eastes wins in Guilford, Vernon
The Democratic primary contest in Windham-1 to succeed the retiring incumbent Sara Coffey of Guilford was a race between two Guilford residents - Jason Herron and Selectboard Chair Zon Eastes.
Eastes defeated Herron in both Vernon (173–109) and Guilford (570–147) in a race characterized by bitter rancor, anonymous voter mailings, vituperative allegations about Eastes' access to the town clerk's vault, and 11th-hour attempts by Herron to associate his opponent with Zeke Hecker, a former Brattleboro Union High School teacher whose predations with students in the 1970s have been documented by police records and a contemporaneous letter to a survivor.
Eastes served as director of the Windham Orchestra, of which Hecker was a member, prior to 2006. Years passed before survivors and their allies began attempting to remove the then-retired teacher from the orchestra's activities, which included outreach to area schools and contact with students and youth.
In a Wednesday morning post, Montpelier-based political blogger John Walters described the accusation as "scurrilous and baseless," helped by the publication of a letter to the editor in last week's issue of The Commons, which "got taken for a sucker this time, and did its community no favors."
Vernon Town Clerk Tim Arsenault said 366 votes were cast there, about 20% of registered voters.
"It's a primary election in the middle of August," he told The Commons. "You're not going to get a big turnout."
That was not the case in Guilford, as a slow but steady stream of voters came to Guilford Central School to cast ballots as poll workers also dealt with processing a large number of early ballots.
Unofficial reports from the Secretary of State's Elections Division confirm voter turnout of 42% in Guilford, second only to the 57% voting rate in the tiny Essex County town of Victory. Brattleboro's turnout rate was 26% across its three districts.
In a statement from Eastes released Tuesday night by his campaign manager, Konstantin von Krusenstiern, Eastes described himself as "deeply honored and humbled by the support I've received from voters in Vernon and Guilford."
"And to those that didn't vote for me: I hear you," he said. "And I hope to earn your vote this November."
Eastes will face off in the general election against Nancy Gassett of Vernon, who was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Other county House races
• In Windham-3, Democratic incumbents Leslie Goldman of Rockingham and Michelle Bos-Lun of Westminster were unopposed in their party's primary for the two seats in that district.
Ryan Coyne of Rockingham was unopposed in the Republican primary in Windham-3.
Casey Cota of Rockingham is running as an independent against Goldman, Bos-Lun, and Coyne in November.
• Mike Mrowicki of Putney won the Democratic Primary in Windham-4. The incumbent will face Emily Peyton of Putney, who was unopposed in the Progressive Primary.
No Republican filed to compete in that election.
• House Majority Leader Emily Long of Newfane was unopposed in Windham-5. The Republicans did not field a candidate.
• Emily Carris-Duncan of Whitingham ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for the Windham-6 seat being vacated by retiring incumbent Tristan Roberts. No Republicans were on the primary ballot for that district.
• Windham-8 incumbent Mollie Burke of Brattleboro was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while William Harvey of Brattleboro is unopposed in the Republican primary.
• Incumbent Democrat Heather Chase of Chester ran unopposed in her party's primary in the Windsor-Windham district. Thomas Charlton of Chester is unopposed in the Republican primary.
• Republican Janet Payne of Andover was unopposed for a seat in the Windham-Windsor-Bennington district. No Democratic candidates were on the ballot.
Incumbent Kelly Pajala of Londonderry, an independent, did not run for re-election and, in fact, resigned as of July 31.
Chris Morrow of Weston is running as an independent candidate in the November general election.
• Independent candidate Laura Sibilia of Dover, the current Windham-2 representative, will be on the ballot in the general election.
State Senate races
Incumbent Senate Democrats Nader Hashim of Dummerston and Wendy Harrison of Brattleboro were unopposed in their party's primary. Both are seeking a second term.
Rick Morton of Brattleboro and Dale Gassett of Vernon, the Republican candidates for state Senate, were unopposed in their party's primary.
Bennington County will be electing two new senators in November after the retirement of Brian Campion of Bennington and the death of Richard "Dick" Sears of Bennington at age 81 on June 2.
The Bennington district includes the Windham County towns of Wilmington, Londonderry, Stratton, and Somerset.
Bennington-4 Rep. Seth Bongartz of Manchester was the top vote-getter in the Democratic primary.
Sears, who served 32 years in the Senate, turned in his nomination petition prior to his death and had qualified for the August primary, so his name appeared on the ballot. He received the second-most votes.
There were also hundreds of write-ins.
The Republicans have only one candidate on the primary ballot for the two seats: Joseph Gervais of Arlington.
According to Bryan Mills, chief of staff of the Secretary of State's office, Vermont law "does not have provisions for a party to nominate alternate candidates for the primary election after the filing deadline due to death or withdrawal."
Had Sears won, he would have been "withdrawn due to death," Mills said. He added that under state law, the party committee would have had seven days to nominate a candidate.
Running as independents for the Bennington County Senate seats in November will be Steven Perry of Manchester, Cynthia Browning of Arlington, and Lawrence Whitmire of Shaftsbury.
Federal races
As he seeks a fourth term in the Senate, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, will face off against Republican Gerald Malloy of Weathersfield in November.
Though he swore off formal party affiliation years ago, Sanders has usually run in the Democratic primary, then declined the party nomination so he could appear on the November ballot as an independent. He continues to caucus with Democrats in the Senate.
In 2022, Malloy lost by 40 points to U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., in the race for the Senate seat that had been vacated by longtime incumbent Patrick Leahy.
Also on the ballot statewide is Epic Party candidate Mark Stewart Greenstein of Brattleboro, a presidential candidate in 2020 and 2024, Libertarian Matt Hill of Burke, and Justin Schoville of Barnard for the Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party.
Democratic Rep. Becca Balint, who is completing her first term in Congress, did not have a primary challenger.
In the general election, she will face Libertarian Mark Coester of Westminster, independent Adam Ortiz of Newport City, and Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party candidate Jill "Jessy" Diamondstone of Dummerston.
Ortiz ran against Balint in 2022, when he won just over 1% of the vote.
Statewide races
The contest for lieutenant governor was the only statewide primary race this year that could characterized as lively.
Incumbent David Zuckerman, a Progressive Democrat, turned away a challenge by Thomas Renner, the deputy mayor of Winooski and a first-time statewide candidate, to win the Democratic nomination.
In the Republican primary, Senator John Rodgers of Glover defeated Gregory Thayer of Rutland City for the GOP nomination. Rodgers sought the 2022 Republican nomination for lieutenant governor and is a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump. Thayer has said that he attended the "Stop the Steal" protest at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. Ian Diamondstone of Putney is the Peace and Justice Party's candidate.
Gov. Phil Scott, Vermont's top-ranking Republican, did not have a primary opponent as he seeks a fifth term. Esther Charlestin, an educator and consultant from Middlebury, easily defeated ousted Underhill Selectboard member Peter Duval to earn the Democratic nomination.
The Vermont Progressive Party also put forward a slate of candidates for various statewide offices. But party chair Josh Wronski told VTDigger that many of these candidates are placeholders to prevent others from hijacking the party line.
Wronski said those five Progressive candidates were Elijah Bergman of Danby for attorney general, Marielle Blais of Brandon for governor, Linda Gravell of Waterbury for auditor, Zoraya Hightower of Burlington for lieutenant governor, and Tim Maciel of Brattleboro for treasurer.
Wronski told VTDigger that after the primary, the party will endorse certain candidates for the general election, several of whom are historically "fusion" candidates, such as Zuckerman and Auditor Doug Hoffer, who are also competing for the Democratic nomination.
State Treasurer Mike Pieciak did not have a Democratic primary opponent. He will face a political newcomer in the general electio. Joshua Bechhoefer of Cornwall, who works for the Farm Credit Association and got his start in politics through the Vermont Young Republicans, was unopposed in his party's primary.
Perennial candidate H. Brooke Paige of Washington was the only Republican candidate to challenge three of Vermont's six incumbent statewide executive officeholders: Charity Clark, the Democratic attorney general; Doug Hoffer, the Progressive Democratic auditor; and Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, a Democrat. Clark, Hoffer, and Copeland Hanzas were unopposed.
A whirlwind tour
On Tuesday morning, Balint stopped by the Brattleboro polls to spend some time with candidates and catch up on the local gossip.
Balint got an extra-long summer recess when Republicans failed to take action on several pressing budget bills for the upcoming federal fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1.
She told The Commons she was spending the extra time back in Vermont helping with flood recovery efforts in northern Vermont and addressing other constituent concerns.
The presidential election in November is also keeping her busy.
Balint will be in Chicago next week for the Democratic National Convention, and she said she is "all in" supporting the ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Balint was scheduled to do a "Vermonters for Harris" community organizing call on Wednesday, Aug. 14 with guest speakers that included U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, Grammy-nominated Vermont singer-songwriter Grace Potter, author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, and former Obama White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco.
Not official yet
While election returns were reported to the Secretary of State's office once the polls closed on Aug. 13, the results of the races will not be official until Aug. 20.
On that date, a canvassing committee made up of representatives from the three major parties, as well as Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, meets at 10 a.m. in Montpelier to formally certify the results.
The full unofficial results can be found on the Secretary of State's website at electionresults.vermont.gov.
With additional reporting from Kevin O'Connor and Sarah Mearhoff, both of VTDigger.org, and Jeff Potter of The Commons.
This News item by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.