WESTMINSTER-The Vermont Democratic Party (VDP) has seemingly been in disarray for the past few years, but Lachlan Francis of Westminster, its newly elected chairman, has big plans for change.
On Nov. 15, Francis, 29, defeated Justin Willeau of Vershire, the former secretary of Orange County's Democratic Committee, by a vote of 33 to 12 at the party's biennial reorganization in Randolph.
Previously, Francis was the chair of the Windham County Democratic Committee. That two-year post now goes to Stuart Brown, formerly the Rockingham town chair.
"I've worked on campaigns going back to 2012 in Vermont, all across Vermont," Francis said. "I've knocked on doors to elect Democrats in 13 of our 14 counties, which, I think, is a big part of the reason why I got the support that I did."
Francis succeeds outgoing interim party chair Jim Ramsey, of Manchester, who held the job after the former chair resigned.
In related news, the Vermont Republican Party and the Vermont Progressive Party have also elected chairs in recent weeks.
Rep. Paul Dame, of Essex Junction, who was recently reelected to another two-year term, has been chair of the Vermont Republican Party since 2021. Bill Hunsinger, of Ripton, who serves on his town's Selectboard, was just elected chair of the Vermont Progressive Party.
For a state that votes overwhelmingly Democratic and turned out for the national party's nominee, Kamala Harris, in a big way in the 2024 presidential election, the VDP suffered major losses in the 2024 election.
For one thing, Democrats lost their supermajority in the Legislature. With it went their ability to override the vetoes of Republican Gov. Phil Scott on party-line votes by a two-thirds majority.
Democrats lost 14 serving representatives in the House, including several longtime members who chaired committees. In the Senate, the party lost six seats, including four incumbents, as Republicans netted 19 seats across 23 districts.
Changing the focus
During the last election, Scott went on the campaign trail with a campaign strategy of blaming Democrats for making Vermont "unaffordable." But Francis does not believe that he needs to focus on Republicans in the next election cycle.
"Even in a lot of the legislative districts where we lost Democratic incumbents, Kamala Harris won by more than 20 points," Francis told The Commons, acknowledging that the state needs "a Vermont Democratic Party that is by all means pursuing every vote."
"But frankly, the reality of the electorate in Vermont is that we don't need to win a single Trump voter to win overwhelming majorities in the House and the Senate," he said.
"We need to keep our Democratic coalition together, and we need to make serious inroads and outreach to independents," Francis said. "So that's the work we'll be looking to do. But I don't think Donald Trump had any real reason to do with why we lost ground last year."
The VDP's biggest hurdle is that it has been unable to mount strong gubernatorial candidates who could run viable campaigns to compete against the popular Scott.
In the 2024 election, 266,439 voters cast a ballot for Scott in a state that counts 95,430 registered Republicans.
Scott is now serving his fifth term in office "after winning a majority in every city and town in the state in the last election," according to his website. It is not known if he will run again for an unprecedented sixth term in office.
Nobody knows who might run for governor on the Republican ticket if Scott decides to retire, nor have clear candidates emerged to run on the Democratic or Progressive tickets.
"If the VDP could snap their fingers and produce a candidate, we sure would," Francis said. "So it's not that easy."
He listed "some great candidates who would make great governors."
"Certainly, State Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, and Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark come to mind," Francis said. "But it's a personal decision for them to make. I've got full respect for that. I'll let them make their decision.
"Certainly, as a party, we want the strongest and most credible candidate for governor that we can get. I think the work ahead for us to help make that happen is to build the grassroots infrastructure and to raise the resources of the party to ensure that we can support strong candidates for statewide office. So that's what I'll be focused on.
"You know, I certainly look forward to working with our nominee, [whoever] that is," Francis said. "But the VDP doesn't get to force anyone to run against their will."
Francis said a lack of funding hampered Democrats in the last election.
"You know, we didn't run a single television ad in Vermont last year," Francis said. "And Vermont is the cheapest media market in the country. So we need to raise more funds between the party and our candidates, especially for elections like lieutenant governor, to be more competitive."
Local roots run deep
Francis grew up in Putney. "I went to Putney Central School," he said. "I went to Brattleboro Union High School. I went to the University of Vermont. I'm proud of all of that. I grew up here. I want to live here."
He and his wife, Olivia Wolfe, a physical therapist, live in Westminster.
The new chair managed now-U.S. Rep. Becca Balint's first campaign for the Vermont Senate when he was just out of high school.
Often described as a "political operative" or "consultant," Francis spent five years as a researcher at Global Strategy Group, a national Democratic polling firm based in New York City.
"That's research consulting for campaigns all over the country," Francis said. "I started in New York City, and then six weeks after I started, Covid happened. The company let me go home, and I never had to return."
Francis is now the associate director of marketing and communications at Landmark College in Putney. He will not be leaving his job at Landmark, because the VDP chair does not come with a salary and benefits.
"There have been times when it's been a stipended position," Francis said. "There have been times when it has not. It largely revolves around how fundraising is going. So we'll see."
Much work to do
The Democrats have a lot of work to do to engage and energize its grassroots activists around the state, Francis said.
"We also need to engage our elected leaders around the state, whether that's state legislators, city council, or selectboard members, and certainly our candidates for statewide office," Francis said. "So I look forward to working with them to do that and to better support our grassroots work."
Fundraising, however, remains his highest priority.
"Most important is what we call the Dem Club, where people donate every month," Francis said. "You know, folks are chipping in $5 or $10 a month, and that adds up. It makes a big difference for the VDP's budget. We've got hundreds of those folks all over the state who support us that way, and we really appreciate it.
"But we want to grow those numbers because that's one of our strongest fundraising lines that we have," he continued. "It's very important to us."
Doing so entails going around the state, attending meetings, making phone calls, and engaging directly with donors who can help the party raise the resources it needs to win some of these tough elections.
Francis also wants to build new coalitions and strengthen old ones.
"For example, the labor movement," he said. "We should be working with them to make sure they can support the Democratic Party here in Vermont, much like they do in other states. We'd be proud to earn that support."
Vermont needs a strong Democratic Party now more than ever, Francis said.
"We need to ensure that our government reflects our values," he said. "We need to take on the runaway inflation that we see in our economy, the inflation that's pricing out working families and small businesses.
"We need a Democratic Party that can work to meet those challenges, and I'm clear-eyed that that's going to have to involve improving things at the Vermont Democratic Party without a doubt," Francis said. "But I'm excited to take on that challenge."
This News item by Joyce Marcel was written for The Commons.