Thirty-two votes.
That was the margin, out of 2,800 cast, by which state Rep. Sally Achey, R-Middletown Springs, defeated the progressive incumbent Robin Chesnut-Tangerman in 2020.
Now, the duo will face off again for the Rutland-Bennington district, which includes Middletown Springs, Pawlet, Rupert, Tinmouth and part of Wells. Chesnut-Tangerman, though, almost didn’t enter the race.
“I needed to be 100%, or not at all,” he said. “I’m in this 100%.”
Initially, Chesnut-Tangerman had decided not to run. First elected in 2014, the three-term representative had served as chair of the House Progressive Caucus as recently as 2020. After losing his reelection campaign, Chesnut-Tangerman sat out the 2022 race, with Christopher Hoyt, a Democrat, running unopposed. But after Hoyt dropped out of the race due to family issues, Democrats asked Chesnut-Tangerman to appear on the ballot, this time with a “D” next to his name. After some soul searching, he said yes.
Both Achey and Chesnut-Tangerman have served on the House Committee on Energy and Technology during their separate legislative tenures. Climate change — and how to deal with it — has determined much of their messaging.
“It’s all changing, and that change is very unsettling,” Chesnut-Tangerman said of the climate. “I think that our fundamental obligation as legislators, as leaders, is to confront that change with eyes open, mind open, and look for solutions.”
The Middletown Springs Democrat pointed to his 97 out of 100 rating from Vermont Conservation Voters, a group focused on electing environmentally friendly candidates, as evidence of his legislative support for a green future.
Achey has positioned herself as the pragmatist to Chesnut-Tangerman’s idealism. She was a vocal opponent of the vetoed Clean Heat Standard, citing the increased cost of fossil fuels and the burden on fuel dealers.
“It’s important for things like the climate for us to be working together to move toward cleaner and cleaner energy,” Achey said, but “we always have to look at … the economic impact on small businesses, on Vermonters dealing with heating their homes.”
Unlike her opponent, Achey opposes Proposal 5, also known as Article 22, which would enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. “I think it is so vaguely worded,” Achey said, adding that she was concerned that specifics around abortion access would have to be hashed out in court if the amendment were to pass.
On the campaign trail, Achey has focused on knocking on doors, beginning with Tinmouth. This year’s once-in-a-decade reapportionment process, which removed part of Wells from the district and added more of Tinmouth, may have increased its share of Democratic voters. Wells voters chose Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election at the highest percentage in Rutland County, while Tinmouth tended more toward Democrat Joe Biden.
Despite that change in his favor, Chesnut-Tangerman would not describe the area as “blue.”
“I think that the district is still purple, very purple, and I’m not taking anything for granted,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic, but not confident.”
Although running an abbreviated campaign, Chesnut-Tangerman had raked in more than $12,500 in donations from 75 contributors as of Oct 15. Achey, meanwhile, brought in $8,760 from 29 donors. More than half of that money came from Republican mega-donor Skip Vallee and his family; Burlington heiress Lenore Broughton; the Rutland Republican Committee; and political action committees including Heat PAC, founded by the former executive director of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association.
With less than two weeks until the Nov. 8 election, and mail-in voting well underway, Achey hopes her constituents send her back to Montpelier. She points to her continued work on cellphone reception and broadband — particularly bringing increased service to Rupert — as a point of pride. Her “methodical approach” to legislating, in contrast to progressivism, could be her winning ticket.
“We’re in the homestretch,” she said. “I’m trying to make sure everything’s coming together.”
