Of the four Democratic primary contenders for the three seats in Vermont’s Chittenden Central Senate district this year, a political newcomer is so far well out-fundraising the incumbents.
Stewart Ledbetter, the former NBC5 News anchor, raised more than $48,000 for his campaign as of July 1, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed with the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office.
That figure is nearly quadruple what the race’s next-highest fundraiser, Sen. Martine Gulick, has brought in — about $13,000, the new filings show. Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky has raised about $3,500, while Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth has not raised any funds so far, according to the filings, which were due on Monday.
Ledbetter’s fundraising total also stands out statewide: With just over a month until the primary on Aug. 13, he’s raised more than anyone else vying for a Senate seat. (Ledbetter has about $39,000 in cash on hand, according to his campaign filings.)
The next-largest fundraiser in the state is Rep. Katherine Sims, D-Craftsbury, who’s brought in about $42,000 so far in her bid for the open seat in the Orleans County Senate district. Sims is not facing a Democratic primary challenger, though two Republicans — Conrad Bellavance of Newport and Samuel Douglass of Troy — are also vying for the seat, which is being vacated by Sen. Bobby Starr, a Democrat, after two decades.
Meanwhile, St. Johnsbury Republican Rep. Scott Beck has so far raised about $35,500 in his campaign for the open Caledonia County Senate district seat, filings show. Beck is competing against repeat candidate JT Dodge of Newbury for the GOP nomination.
Whichever Republican prevails there will face off against the Democratic nominee in hopes of flipping a seat that’s been held by Sen. Jane Kitchel for 20 years. The two Democratic candidates in the race are Shawn Hallisey of Waterford and Amanda Cochrane of St. Johnsbury, the latter of which has Kitchel’s support.
After that, fundraising totals drop off quickly to about $16,000 so far for Democratic Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, who is seeking reelection to one of the Chittenden Southeast district’s three seats — and then to Gulick’s roughly $13,000 in donations after that.
In the Chittenden Central district, Ledbetter’s outsize fundraising suggests he is mounting a more serious challenge to Gulick, Vyhovsky and Baruth than the three incumbent senators faced when they ran for office two years ago.
Ledbetter has raised far more, at this stage of the race, than Erhard Mahnke and Dawn Ellis — the two unsuccessful challengers to that same slate of incumbents — raised throughout their entire 2022 primary campaigns, campaign finance data shows.
(Another Democrat, Andrew Brown, dropped out of the 2022 primary before the election was held.)
The former broadcaster appears to be benefiting from the support of prominent political figures from two major parties. He’s brought in $500 from former Vermont Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, but also $500 and $1,000 from former GOP gubernatorial candidates Scott Milne and Bruce Lisman, respectively.
He’s also drawn $1,000 contributions from a handful of well-known local property developers, including Mark Bove, Eric Farrell, James Pizzagalli, Larry Williams and Jeff Davis, as well as from the South Burlington firm CB Properties, LLC, among others.
Al Gobeille, former University of Vermont Health Network chief operating officer and owner of two lakeshore restaurants in Burlington, has also donated $200 to Ledbetter’s bid.
Notably, the data shows Ledbetter also scored $200 from outgoing Sen. Brian Campion, D-Bennington — who chairs the Senate Education Committee with Gulick as vice-chair.
While the Chittenden Central primary is attracting more money than it did in 2022, across the state, Senate candidates have so far brought in slightly less money than they did two years ago — about $273,000 compared to about $276,000, reports showed.
That difference is even more pronounced for the candidates running for statewide office this year. In a year when only one statewide incumbent is facing a primary challenger, candidates have so far raised only about $617,000, according to the reports available as of 6 p.m. Tuesday — compared to more than $1.1 million at this point in 2022.
Filings show that Democratic State Treasurer Mike Pieciak has continued to rake in far more money than any other statewide candidate. He’s raised about $214,000 as of July 1, filings show, close to double what he had reported raising several months ago.
Pieciak is not facing a primary challenger. Neither is Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who’s raised about $126,000 so far for his reelection campaign, the latest filings show.
A report from the candidate considered Scott's main Democratic challenger, Esther Charlestin, was not available by 6 p.m. Tuesday. In March — before the filing deadline lapsed — she reported raising $1,700.
In the only primary challenge to an incumbent this year, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive-Democrat, has raised about $111,000, far more than the roughly $43,000 that his opponent, Winooski Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner, has brought in.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Mike Pieciak's surname on second reference.
