Political Intrigue in Federal Races Drives High Voter Turnout, Upsets

On the Republican ballot for the U.S. Senate seat, political newcomer Gerald Malloy beat former U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan, who had been favored to win and was backed by powerful state and national Republican party leaders. In the closely watched race for the lone Congressional seat, State Senator from Windham County and Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint overcame her lack of statewide name recognition to beat Lt. Governor Molly Gray by a 23-point margin to secure the Democratic nomination. Vermont’s Senate delegation played a crucial role in this race, with Senator Bernie Sanders endorsing Balint, and Senator Patrick Leahy supporting Gray. In the Republican primary, self-proclaimed Independent Liam Madden defeated Ericka Bundy Redic, who has since announced her intention to run in the general election as a Libertarian.

David Zuckerman won the Democratic primary to be Lieutenant Governor, with three other competitors splitting the vote of the more moderate wing of the party. State Senator and moderate Republican Joe Benning beat the far-right candidate, Gregory Thayer, for the Republican nomination. Sarah Copeland Hanzas narrowly won the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State while Charity Clark won the Democratic nomination for Attorney General by a landslide.

Other Races turned out exactly as expected. Peter Welch handily won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Patrick Leahy. Unsurprisingly, Governor Phil Scott easily secured the Republican nomination for his fourth term. Running unopposed, Brenda Siegel secured the Democratic nomination for Governor, though notably only received 55% of the votes. Mike Pieciak and Doug Hoffer also ran unopposed and secured the Democratic nominations for Treasurer and Auditor, respectively. Perennial candidate H. Brooke Paige won the Republican nominations for Treasurer, Secretary of State, Auditor, and Attorney General, though he has announced his intention to decline the nominations for all but Secretary of State to focus on that race. The party has one week to name his replacement on the general election ballot.

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