[T]erry Williams, who finished five votes short of a primary win during the Rutland County Republican state Senate race, wants a recount.
Williams, a Poultney Selectboard member, finished fourth in the five-way GOP primary on Tuesday. The top three vote getters earned spots on the general election ballot in November.
Williams finished fourth, five votes behind Ed Larson, a former Rutland City alderman, according to unofficial vote totals posted on the Vermont Secretary of State’s website.
On Friday afternoon, Williams said he plans on Monday to petition the Rutland County Superior Court for a recount.
“I’m a total optimist, the worst I can do is lose by one vote,” he said. “The best I can do is win the election.”
In previous elections, candidates who have lost by a much wider margin have had similar petitions granted. Secretary of State Jim Condos could not be reached Friday evening to comment on the recount process.
The race between Williams and Larson was close throughout primary night on Tuesday and until next morning as the results continued coming in.
Williams fared best in western Rutland County communities, where he resides. Larson, a Rutland City resident, polled strongest in that larger municipality.
A breakdown of the GOP primary results, according to the Secretary of State’s website, shows:
– Incumbent Sen. Brian Collamore with 3,504 votes.
– Former Rutland Town state representative James McNeil with 2,811 votes.
– Larson with 2,049 votes.
– Williams with 2,045 votes.
– Incumbent state Sen. David Soucy with 1,661 votes.
Soucy was running his first countywide race as a sitting state senator following his appointment to the post by Gov. Phil Scott last year. Soucy filled a seat vacated when former state Sen. Kevin Mullin was tapped by the governor to be chair of the Green Mountain Care Board.
Another GOP incumbent, Peg Flory, did not seek re-election.
No Democrats had filed to run in the primary. However, three candidates did wage write-in campaigns and appeared to garner the three Democrat spots on the November general election ballot.
A breakdown of the Democrat results, according to the Secretary of State’s website, shows:
– Cheryl Hooker, a former state senator from Rutland County, with 735 votes.
– Greg Cox of Boardman Hill Farm in West Rutland and president of the Vermont Farmers Food Center, with 714 votes.
– Scott Garren, former chair of the Rutland County Democratic Party who also ran for a state Senate seat in 2016, with 549 votes.
