In the race for the Vermont House district representing Castleton, one candidate’s web presence has caused concern.
Screenshots and archived content from the YouTube channel of Republican Jarrod Sammis appear to show the candidate questioning the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s 2020 election win and joking about shooting communists. The content was circulated on social media earlier this month and first reported by the liberal political blogger John Walters.
Sammis, a marketing coordinator at his family’s real estate business, is competing with Democrat Mary Droege, a faculty member at Castleton University, to represent the newly redrawn Rutland-3 district. Both are first-time candidates.
A clip of one of Sammis’ videos, titled “Top Three Rifles to Buy – 2020 PANIC BUYERS EDITION!,” was reposted on Oct. 10 by another YouTube user and appears to have been originally posted two years ago. Sammis, speaking to the camera, says “An election year just happened. Biden probably got elected,” before faux-whispering to viewers, “even though he probably cheated.”
An archived description and screenshot of a second video, titled “Beware The Rainbow Unicorn O_O” and dated Aug. 7, 2020, are visible on the Wayback Machine, an internet archive. The description reads, “Rainbow Unicorn has had enough of this Communist shit – time to let the lead fly.”
Asked about the content of his removed videos and his reasons for taking them down, Sammis cited personal privacy.
“In regards to my YouTube channel, the content that was on it was not deleted – but made private,” he wrote in an email to VTDigger, after refusing a request to talk by phone. “I have many videos of family and friends on my channel, and have taken the necessary steps to respect and protect their privacy.”
Pressed specifically about the videos that included comments about the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s 2020 election win and about shooting communists, Sammis again cited privacy.
“Elections need to be based on facts; not limited information, biased speculation, internet trolls, or slander,” he continued. “To further add, these questions have zero relevance to what I hope to accomplish with my campaign, nor to the daily struggles Vermonters are (currently) experiencing to survive in this state.”
Sammis said if elected, he would focus on “reducing the tax burden” to make Vermont more affordable, and would vote against a “carbon tax” that would increase the costs associated with heating and transportation. He also said he’d advocate for a law that mandated two full-time mental health professionals on the state’s college campuses, in honor of a classmate who died by suicide at Castleton State College.
Two days after Sammis’s digital past was posted on Walters’s political blog, Sammis declined to attend a community forum hosted by Castleton University, leaving Droege to take the stage alone.
Sammis said he chose not to attend because the forum refused to give him questions beforehand, the Rutland Herald reported. He informed organizers of his decision prior to the event.
Droege said by entering the race, she’s following what has long been a favorite phrase: “Democracy is not a spectator sport.”
Droege, who’s lived in Castleton for 26 years, works as a biology lab and greenhouse manager at Castleton University, and is a part-time faculty member in the Natural Sciences Department. She’s chair of the Castleton Democratic Committee, and a former member of the Fair Haven Union High School board.
She told VTDigger that if elected, she would focus on local issues such as the controversial use of herbicides in Lake Bomoseen and the continued health and affordability of Castleton University.
The Legislature should more robustly fund Castleton, Droege said, and school staff and faculty should be given seats on the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees to allow for better transparency. The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation should also not give students tuition grants to use out of state, she added, instead requiring the funds be spent in Vermont.
The Rutland-3 district formerly included West Haven, Fair Haven and Hubbardton, in addition to Castleton, and was represented by two House members. Lawmakers this year grouped the former three towns into neighboring districts, leaving Castleton voters to choose one representative.
Jim Dandeneau, executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, described the region as “reddish,” but said Droege’s history of involvement in the Castleton community made her a strong candidate.
“We’re hopeful that the work that she’s putting in and the communication that she’s having with her potential constituents will help make people realize that she can help in a way that Sammis can’t,” he said.
Dandeneau has argued throughout this election cycle that the number of Vermont candidates who doubt or deny the 2020 election results indicates a systemic problem with the Republican Party. He said he believed Sammis’ videos would hurt his chances.
“There’s a reason why he pulled that stuff down from the internet,” Dandeneau said. “I think he knows that that kind of behavior is not something that Vermonters want out of their elected representatives.”
Droege declined to comment on Sammis’s web presence, saying she had not been able to verify the content of his videos.
“Voters will decide what kind of representative they want,” she said, adding that “character matters, and I have had Republicans tell me that they’re going to vote for me.”
As for her solo outing at the Castleton University candidate forum?
“I was shocked,” she said. “All I could think of is that’s not a winning strategy. I don’t know what he was thinking.”
