-In the biggest race in Vermont's Aug. 11 party primaries, Amanda Janoo defeated Aly Richards to win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
Unofficial statewide results at midnight on Tuesday, with 97% of towns reporting, had Janoo with 37,331 votes and Richards with 35,585 votes, a margin of just over 2%. There were 3,304 write-in votes.
Janoo defeated Richards by a 16% margin in Windham County.
An economist and political newcomer from Burlington, Janoo carried Athens (25-18), Brattleboro (1,240-818), Brookline (43-32), Dummerston (222-184), Guilford (247-137), Halifax (62-32), Putney (289-183), Rockingham (331-169), Townshend (91-59), Westminster (317-160), and Whitingham (51-39).
Richards, of Montpelier, was the former CEO of Let's Grow Kids who spearheaded a successful campaign for affordable childcare in Vermont. She carried Dover (49-47), Grafton (45-30), Jamaica (71-54), Londonderry (117-71), Marlboro (126-105), Stratton (8-7), Vernon (81-74), Wardsboro (37-32), Wilmington (82-80), and Windham (37-29).
Newfane did not have results available at press time.
Janoo will face incumbent Gov. Phil Scott, who was unopposed for the Republican nomination, in the Nov. 3 general election.
In a victory speech at her campaign's election night watch party in Burlington, Janoo said that when she decided to run for governor, she knew "it was going to be a long shot."
"We didn't have the establishment for support, or big political kingmakers on our side," she told a crowd of at least 250 people. "But we had something so much more powerful. We had you."
In a statement issued around 11:30 p.m., Richards conceded the race, calling it "the honor of a lifetime to run for governor of this amazing state." She said she would do everything she could to help Janoo beat Scott this fall.
"Now that the primary is behind us, it's time for Vermonters to come together and rally behind Amanda," Richards said.
Other statewide races
The contest for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor was not as close, with former Lt. Gov. Molly Gray of Burlington winning with 61% of the vote.
Ryan McLaren of Essex Junction received 27.3%, while Esther Charlestin of South Burlington was a distant third at 11%.
Gray will face current Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, who was unopposed for the Republican nomination, in November.
A three-way race in the Democratic primary to determine who will succeed outgoing State Auditor Doug Hoffer, saw Tim Ashe, assistant auditor and former state senator from Burlington, as the runaway winner with 74.3% of the vote.
Nicholas Graeter, of Williston, was a distant second at 12.8%, and Dan Towle, of Huntington, was third with 12.3%.
U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, unopposed in the Democratic primary, will face Gerald Malloy, of Weathersfield, who ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2024.
Malloy defeated challenger Mark Coester, of Westminster, by a 49-percentage-point margin for a third try at running for a seat in Congress. Coester opposed Balint in 2024.
Perennial candidate H. Brooke Paige of Washington ran unopposed for multiple offices - treasurer, auditor, secretary of state, and attorney general - on the Republican ticket.
The Progressive Party fielded candidates for just two statewide offices in its primary, with Zachary Hampl of Rutland Town running for state treasurer and Rachel Shaw of Bennington running for secretary of state. Both were unopposed in the party's primary.
Statehouse races
There were several contested primary races in Windham County for state representative.
There were a pair of three-way races for the two Windham-3 seats now held by incumbent Democrat Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun of Westminster and outgoing Rep. Leslie Goldman of Rockingham.
Bos-Lun and Chris Lundberg of Rockingham were the winners in the Democratic primary, with Bos-Lun receiving 978 votes, Lundberg getting 596, and Stephen Major of Westminster finishing third with 428 votes.
In the Republican primary, Nicole Amanda Cota and Ryan Coyne, both of Rockingham, were the top two choices, with 123 and 114 votes, respectively. Patrick Dezafra of Rockingham came in third with 21 votes.
Bos-Lun (457) and Lundberg (367) were the top two Democratic vote-getters in Rockingham, with Major receiving 144 votes. Cota (62) and Coyne (58) were tops in the Republican primary, with Dezafra a distant third.
In all, 654 Rockingham residents voted, with nearly eight times as many ballots cast for Democrats than Republicans in this race, a 566-84 margin. Four voters took a Progressive Party ballot.
Brookline voters gave their support to Bos-Lun (70) and Lundberg (35), with Major getting 28 votes. Cota (15) and Coyne (12) were the top two in the Republican primary, with Dezafra getting one vote.
Westminster voters gave Bos-Lun 451 votes and Major, a Selectboard member in the town, received 256.
The primary contest to fill the seat of retiring Windham-8 Rep. Mollie Burke of Brattleboro was won decisively by former Selectboard member Daniel Quipp, who defeated Ken Fay, 531-87, to take the Democratic nomination.
There was a three-way race for the two Bennington District Senate seats, which also include the Windham County towns of Londonderry, Stratton, Somerset, and Wilmington.
Incumbent Democrats Seth Bongartz of Manchester and Robert Plunkett of Bennington held on to their seats, with challenger Amy Moore of Pownal finishing third.
Unopposed Democratic Party candidates on the primary ballot for the Vermont House of Representatives included:
• Rep. Zon Eastes (Windham-1, incumbent)
• Rep. Mike Mrowicki (Windham-4, incumbent)
• Rep. Emily Long (Windham-5, incumbent)
• Rep. Emily Carris Duncan (Windham-6, incumbent)
• Rep. Emilie Kornheiser (Windham-8, incumbent)
• Rep. Ian Goodnow (Windham-9, incumbent)
• Rep. Chris Morrow (Windham-Windsor-Bennington, incumbent)
• William Hoser (Windham-Windsor)
For the Vermont Senate:
• Sen. Wendy Harrison (Windham, incumbent)
• Nader Hashim (Windham, incumbent)
In other Windham County contests, Sheriff Mark Anderson, High Bailiff Angela Lawrence, State's Attorney Steven M. Brown, Probate Judge Jodi French, and Assistant Judges Carolyn Partridge and Lamont Barnett were all unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Unopposed Republican Party candidates on the primary ballot for the Vermont House of Representatives included:
• Nancy Gassett of Vernon (Windham-1)
• Lynn Wilkins of Putney (Windham-4)
• Aaron Smith of Brattleboro (Windham-7)
• William Harvey (Windham-8)
• E. Stuart Coleman (Windham-Windsor-Bennington)
• Rep. Thomas Charlton (Windham-Windsor, incumbent)
For the Vermont Senate:
• Dale Gassett (Windham)
• Rusty Sage (Windham)
• Lawrence Whitmire (Bennington)
• Josh Williams (Bennington)
Voter turnout slow but steady
Despite plenty of contested races on the ballot, the Aug. 11 primaries saw low voter turnout.
Town clerks who spoke with The Commons around noontime on Tuesday reported slow but steady turnout in the first few hours of voting.
Brattleboro Town Clerk Hilary Francis said about 500 voters had cast their ballots as of noon. By the time the polls closed 7 p.m., about 25% of the town's registered voters ended up coming to the polls, she said.
The weather was certainly perfect for voting and politicking - mostly sunny and in the low 80s. Candidates in Brattleboro appreciated the canopy that was set up over the designated area for candidates putting in a final pitch to voters heading into American Legion Post 5.
Kornheiser and Goodnow were campaigning with Quipp. All of them wore campaign buttons for all of their races.
Traditionally, Vermont held its party primaries on the second Tuesday of September. Since the state switched to an August primary date in 2010, turnout has been generally low - ranging from 34% of registered voters in 2020 to 14% in 2024.
Low demand for early ballots
As for people taking advantage of early voting, some towns reported slightly more ballot requests than in past primaries, but there was no significant groundswell.
Francis said she had about 1,000 requests for early ballots, and about 800 had been returned as of noon Tuesday.
Putney Town Clerk Jonathan Johnson said 72 voters had requested early ballots for the 2024 party primaries, and 133 did so this year. A steady stream of voters came through the Putney Fire Station in the morning hours, and by the end of the day, 526 registered voters had cast their ballots.
In Guilford, Town Clerk Uriel Najera had counted 179 early ballot requests, or about 9.5% of registered voters. But he said people still lined up when polls at Guilford Central School opened at 10 a.m.
"We had a lot of eager beavers this year," Najera said. "There was a lot of interest in the [Democratic] governor's race. It's been awhile since we had a contested race."
Vernon Town Clerk Heidi Johnson-Clement said only 35 of the 1,800 registered voters in town requested early ballots, while in Dummerston, Town Clerk Laurie Frechette said about 8% of registered voters chose to vote early.
Data from the Vermont Secretary of State's office found that, as of last week, only 3% of registered voters statewide cast early ballots, with Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, and Putney being the only towns in Windham County to exceed that figure.
While every Vermonter registered to vote will automatically receive a ballot in the mail for the November election, voters had to request a mail-in ballot for the party primaries from their town clerk.
Not official yet
All results from the Aug. 11 primary will not be declared official until Tuesday, Aug. 18.
By state statute, the canvassing committees for statewide and congressional offices will meet at the Secretary of State's office in Montpelier one week after an election to tally returns before results are declared official.
Aug. 18 is also the last day for candidates to file a petition in Superior Court requesting a recount.
With additional reporting by Robert F. Smith in Rockingham, and from VTDigger via its Community News Sharing Project.
This News item by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.