Statewide battles are nearly nonexistent and competitive House and Senate races are few and far between this election year. Only one of 13 Senate districts and 10 of 106 House districts will hold competitive primary elections on Aug. 26. (VTDigger’s Election 2014: Comprehensive Candidate Listings)
The Windham County Senate primary, party leaders agree, is a race worth watching. Two months after Sen. Peter Galbraith, D-Windham, decided not to run to pursue his work in international diplomacy, four candidates are contending for the two seats; Becca Balint, of Brattleboro, Roger Allbee, of Townshend, Joan Bowman, Putney, and incumbent Jeanette White, also of Putney, will square off in the Democratic primary, generally considered the closest primary in the state.
These days, the candidates are criss-crossing the county knocking on doors and speaking at the regular community forums.
White, a longtime incumbent and chair of the Government Operations Committee, is looking to secure a seat for her seventh term in the Legislature. White did not respond to requests for comment.
Allbee gained name recognition as Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets, under Gov. Jim Douglas. He currently runs Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend, which has kept him from campaigning as much as he would have liked. He supports single payer — “as long as we can pay for it” — and bases his platform on economic development, and local control in deciding energy and education issues, he said.
Allbee listed a laundry list of positions and accomplishments. He is a former military veteran, a former staffer for Sen. Jim Jeffords, small business owner, and, he couldn’t help adding, a 2010 finalist for Burlington Free Press’ “Vermonter of the Year.”
“It doesn’t mean anything,” he added, as a caveat for modesty’s sake. “My focus has always been on what’s good for Vermont.”
Bowman, of Putney, works as a navigator for Vermont Health Connect, the state’s health insurance website.
Her run for office “is about health care and health reform and single payer,” she said. Bowman also hopes to maintain her focus on addressing hunger and security issues, which also means creating jobs and ensuring that families have the health care they need.
“It’s all married, and interconnected,” she said.
It’s her approach, she said, that sets her apart from her competitors. “I work very hard, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done,” she said. “And if I can’t do it, I’ll find someone who can.”
Balint, an educator and a mother of two, said she jumped into the race as a response to the economic need in the county. Seventy percent of the children at her son’s public elementary school, she said, qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Her policy aims largely focus on economic development, keeping young Vermonters in the state, ensuring schools are adequately preparing their students for college and the workforce, and instituting a drug court in Windham, which in turn, she said, will support other community organizations.
When she started knocking on doors around the county in early June, Balint felt like a win was a long shot.
But now, she said, that’s changed. “I’ve felt this different momentum,” she said. “Everyone around me says it’s too close to call. That’s a good place to be in for a newcomer.”
Also on the ballot for the general election are Liberty Union candidates Aaron Diamondstone and Jerry Levy.
Chittenden County’s Senate race is also worth keeping an eye on, party leaders agreed, though no primary will be necessary with six Democrats, six Libertarians and two Republicans in the six-seat district.
Vermont is one of a few states that does not require voters to cast their primary ballot for the party with which they are registered. Come Aug. 26, voters will receive four ballots — Democratic, Republican, Independent and Liberty Union. One is filled out, sealed, and counted.
For the House of Representatives, Addison 1, Bennington 2-1, Bennington 2-2, Caledonia 1, Caledonia 3, Chittenden 6-7, Essex-Caledonia-Orleans, Rutland 3, Rutland-Bennington, Windsor-Orange 2 will have either Republican or Democratic primaries on the ballot this year. Windham is the only race in the Senate.
Few Republicans have turned out to challenge the largely Democratic slate of statewide candidates. GOP governor candidates Scott Milne, Steve Berry and Emily Peyton vie to try their luck against Gov. Peter Shumlin in November. And on the Democratic side, incumbent William Sorrell runs against Brooke Paige for attorney general.
But despite posting few challengers to the Democrats in state office, chair of the Vermont GOP Dave Sunderland said Republican candidates will offer voters the choices they need.
“Obviously we’d love to have a full slate of candidates. But given where we’ve been over the last couple elections, … we’re very pleased with the candidates we have and the campaigns they’ve been running,” Sunderland said. “Republicans have been on the Vermont doorsteps talking with Vermonters about the trouble Vermonters are having with property taxes, with the stagnant economy, the lack of job creation, the need for balance in state government. Our candidates have a range of different ideas and personalities but they have rallied around the issues voters are most concerned about.”
“In general, we’re feeling really strong going into the election cycle,” said Ben Sarle, director of communications and outreach for the Vermont Democratic Party. The Legislature currently has a Democratic supermajority.
“If there’s one thing people should care about, it’s getting out and voting,” Sarle said. “Obviously that’s one of our biggest tasks. Years when there isn’t a presidential election, it’s hard to get people to the polls. And there aren’t really any statewide races, so it’s hard to get people to turn out.”
Primary elections traditionally have low voter turnout.
The Burlington Free Press reported that in 2012, Vermont had a 12 percent voter turnout in the primary, with numbers dipping below 10 percent in some counties.
In 2010, the last primary not in a presidential election year, national voter turnout sunk to 17.2 percent, the second lowest on record.
Sarle said Democrats are encouraging early and absentee voting. The last day to register to vote before the primary election was Aug. 20.
UPDATE: This article was updated at 3:58 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 22, 2014.
CORRECTION, 9:26 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014: There are six Libertarian candidates running in the Chittenden County Senate race, not six Liberty Union candidates.
