A candidate in the Republican primary for Vermont’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives has put in more than half a million of his own money into his campaign.
Jimmy Rodriguez, who is running against three other candidates for the chance to challenge Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., in the general election, has a Peoria, Arizona, P.O. Box as his only listed address and has self-funded his effort to the tune of $589,900 but has only spent $24,371, according to federal campaign finance records.
Of the $24,371 Rodriguez has spent on his campaign, $21,315 has gone to him as a “salary.”
While Rodriguez’s campaign’s address is in Arizona, he is listed on the ballot as residing in Montpelier. A call to a Glendale, Arizona, phone number Rodriguez listed with the Vermont Secretary of State rang through to voicemail. However, the answering machine was full.
While much of the attention in the runup to the Aug. 11 primary was on the Democratic contests for governor and lieutenant governor, Welch, the longtime incumbent who became a U.S. House member in 2007, is facing off in the Democratic primary against Ralph Corbo, an activist who is best known for protesting and interrupting Gov. Phil Scott’s inaugural address in 2019.
Corbo is also vying for the Democratic nomination for governor — another longshot bid.
In the general election, Welch will duel with one of the four Republicans in the GOP primary.
The field of Republican candidates include Rodriguez; Miriam Berry, of Essex Junction who is running as a “conservative/Constitutionalist”; Anya Tynio, who also challenged Welch in 2018; and Justin Tuthill of Pomfret.
— Kit Norton
