politics

Breaking: Three hats in ring for VT GOP chair

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Russ Ingalls, Paul Dame, Joe Gervais

Ingalls announces candidacy, Dame releases list of endorsing legislators

by Guy Page

Businessman and Essex County State Sen. Russ Ingalls announced this morning he will run for chair of the Vermont Republican Party.

Incumbent Paul Dame of St. George already faced a challenge from Arlington resident and Bennington County chair Joe Gervais, who promised a more grassroots approach to candidate development and support. Ingalls’ announcement means there will be a three-way race in what is expected to be a challenging and possibly very fruitful 2026 election for the Vermont Republican Party, which hopes to add to its 2024 gains, when it came within two seats of controlling the Senate and also overcame the House Democrat supermajority.

Upon his father’s retirement from the U.S. Navy, Ingalls’ family settled back in his hometown of Irasburg where he attended 8th grade and went on to graduate from Lake Region Union High School in 1983. Russ is a top producer in real estate and owns several Northeast Kingdom radio stations.

The election will be held at the state party meeting on November 8.

Also, William Kolb of Northfield will challenge Greg Thayer of Rutland for the vice-chair position, now held by Samantha Atwood, who will not be seeking re-election.

In other GOP news, shortly after the Ingalls announcement, Dame released a ‘first round’ list of 20 legislators he says endorse him.

“Today I am happy to announce a list of 20 incumbent legislators from across six counties in my first round of endorsements. I am proud of the work I have done to begin to bridge the gap between legislators and the party that existed before I took office, and as evidence of that I have the support of many legislators that I built relationships with over the past year.

“Being State Party Chair is a balancing act and part of doing the job well is having one foot in the legislature and one foot in the grass roots, and as someone who has been involved with the State Party for over 10 years and a former legislator who served I believe I am still be best candidates to be the person who keeps everyone moving forward in the same direction closer to a majority starting in 2026.

“Our legislators are so busy when they are in session, it takes all of their focus to push forward on the policies that Vermonters need to accomplish our affordability agenda. During my time as chair I’ve made sure to keep an ear to the ground to know what they are dealing with, and help get their message out.

“There are several legislators that I have yet to connect with, but since four of our 14 counties have already selected their delegates and four more are coming this weekend, I wanted to publish an initial list today and add to that between now and the convention.

Below are the list of legislators who have offered their public support in this first round:

Allen ‘Penny’ Demar (R-Franklin-7)

Beth Quimby (R-Caledonia-3)

Brian Collamore (R-Rutland)

Debbie Powers (R-Caledonia-1)

James Gregoire (R-Franklin-6)

Jim Harrison (R-Rutland-11)

Joe Luneau (R-Franklin-3)

Kevin Winter (R-Rutland-Windsor)

Larry Labor (R-Essex-Orleans)

Mark Higley (R-Orleans-Lamoille)

Marty Feltus (R-Caledonia-3)

Michael Boutin (R-Washington-3)

Samuel Douglass (R-Orleans)

Terry Williams (R-Rutland)

Thomas Charlton (R-Windsor-Windham)

Todd Nielsen (R-Rutland-9)

Tom Burditt (R-Rutland-2)

Topper McFaun (R-Washington-Orange)

Wayne Laroche (R-Franklin-5)

Woodman Page (R-Orleans-2)

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Categories: politics

17 replies »

  1. Re: “Our legislators are so busy when they are in session, it takes all of their focus to push forward on the policies that Vermonters need to accomplish our affordability agenda. During my time as chair I’ve made sure to keep an ear to the ground to know what they are dealing with, and help get their message out.”

    Is this why our Republican legislators have, for the most part, failed in “…their focus to push forward on the policies that Vermonters need to accomplish our affordability agenda”??

    Talk is cheap. IMHO it’s time for Mr. Dame to step aside.

  2. I fully support Paul Dame to continue as Chairman at this critical time. The VTGOP gains NOTHING by electing a new Chair with no experience navigating the political complexities we face. We have come too far in the past two years to risk it all falling apart and creating more division in the State Party now. We are so close to making more gains in the Legislature and finally gaining some power in the Statehouse to redirect this sinking Vermont ship. I am a full on conservative Republican and unapologetic supporter of President Trump. I was part of the Windsor County lawsuit two years ago and have often disagreed with decisions and positions at the top. Throughout the contentious lawsuit, which we lost BTW, Paul Dame always took my calls, spent hours with me on the phone talking through the issues. In the end, the lawsuit went forward and we respectfully agreed to disagree. Paul was never vindictive, dishonest about his perspective, he was always kind and patient and willing to listen and work it out. Paul has the temperment, knowlege, experience and motivation to get us over the top in next year’s election. While the town and counties committees worked hard to elect the largest Republican gains for VT in the past 20 years, Paul and his positive working relationships with our Legislators, and grassroots teams was instrumental in that win. He worked hard to focus our activists on a common campaign message targeting the issues that are affecting us in Vermont. We steered clear of national politics and in Windsor County got three new Representatives elected with the support of Independents and disaffected moderate Democrats for the first time in over 20 years. I’m sticking with the winning team.

    • The gains Republicans in VT made last time were from the inertia generated in all the activity around us, for Trump. What few gains in VT were accomplished, were in spite of Dame, not because of him. It will get sorted out in time, as soon as it is clear what is wheat, and what is chaf. I’ve been calling for Dame’s retirement for over two years now, and that has not changed.

  3. I’m out of the loop but am an old hand with a good gut feeling and have a hunch that Ingalls built a fiefdom out of Irasberg ,I town I like, and suspect he could do the same for the GOP, in Vermont.

    We did have gains last time around, but I’m going with my gut (It never let me down) and lean toward Ingalls, as Irasberg is a special spot, that breeds special people.

    Only say I have is here, as I am based overseas, and vote way down in Wilmington, but if Ingalls is smart enough to acquire 4 radio stations… I’d bet he is smart enough to elect Republicans across the state…for what it is worth.

    Besides…I’ve a soft spot for folks with US Navy ties.

    Good luck ,may the best man win.

  4. Last year, Republicans had historic gains in the Vermont General Assembly in part thanks to the hard work and strategy of Paul Dame.
    We need more seats in Montpelier if we have any chance to turn Vermont around.

    “Dance with the one who brought you.”
    Paul brought us to the dance.

    • I call BS the only reason there were gains is because it has started to become bad enough that people are actually voting for something different. It has nothing to do with Dame!!! If he was that good the gains would have happened in his first term. Time for real change!!!!!

  5. I have a lot of respect for all three of these men. They’ve each put their shoulder into it. I will have to make the observation that we need someone in that position who can devote serious time and effort to the Vermont Republican party. I would hope that Mr. Ingalls will be devoting his time to his legislative responsibilities rather than the large task of leading the 140,000 strong Republicans.

    After having been directly involved for several years, I must say there seems to be a total lack of organization. I have spoken with many others who have given up in disgust due to this fact. The main job of the top leader should be to organize the thousands of volunteers we have statewide. Our people are our most valuable resource.

  6. One would hope whoever wins the GOP chair would go full blown grassroots initiative to include we the people. The old paradigm of “the little people” and ‘the haves” has worn out it’s welcome. Until those in high places realize the changing times the volatility in our state and Nation will sustain.

  7. Now, would you trust anyone of these, want to be leaders, that were in power when the Vermont Govie shut the state down and wanted eighty percent of Vermonters to take the COVID KILL SHOT before he would open up the economy. Nobody did a press release to stop a mass murder. Go back and see who was in power then. Comment from Richard Day.

    • Vermont Stands Up:
      Alison, Rob, Amy, and John, all of whom were on to the covid BS, should be in VT executive power. Godspeed.

  9. What is the vision of the three men? Paul it would be great for everybody to know how, what, why, where and when…you know those classic questions.

    Three people in the race, makes a whole different game.

    We know very little,if anything on what their vision is. Do we want the same?

  10. Yes, for all of the republican brouhaha, and trumps apparent ‘success’, the reality is that his majesty of freedom, Trump, is himself full speed ahead with biometric surveillance, the real ID digital id. He can look great, close the border, implement peace, and everyone is thrilled, but when you will – because of his full speed ahead- need a digital ID to work ( now in UK and India), and a digital ID to access your bank account, which is all tied to your social commentary, and your medical records, your court records, your school records and is programmable, I am pretty certain you wish you paid attention. On that note, I will continue to attempt to awaken the left right addicted to the better reform. You can find me, we are up to it and it’s not through politics as we know it.

  11. Just for reference from Meryl Nass’ substack the vaccine passport disguised as a health benefit: WHO and the European Union launch collaboration to advance digitized health systems in sub-Saharan Africa

    14 October 2025

    The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU) announced today a new agreement to support the digital transformation of health systems and wider adoption of WHO’s Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN) in sub-Saharan Africa. This EU–WHO partnership will improve pandemic preparedness and accelerate progress towards better health and well-being for all.

    The agreement was announced at the World Health Summit 2025 by Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems, Access and Data; Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa; and Mr Martin Seychell, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships.

    The GDHCN is a global system that enables countries to securely and reliably verify nationally approved digital health credentials across borders. The system builds on the European Union Digital COVID Certificate (EU DCC), which facilitated verification of vaccination, testing and recovery certification for international travelers connecting 76 countries and territories. However, only four countries from the WHO African Region—Benin, Cabo Verde, Seychelles and Togo—were able to join the EU DCC network.

    Since its transfer to the WHO in 2023, the GDHCN has shown strong potential to support the digitization of the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP), commonly known as the Yellow Card, in alignment with the updated International Health Regulations (IHR). Making the most of its potential could enhance global vaccination tracking, reduce fraud, and simplify international health requirements.

    Under the new joint agreement, which includes an €8 million EU grant spanning 2025 to 2028, WHO and the European Union will collaborate to bolster national efforts to advance the digital transformation of health systems in sub-Saharan Africa. WHO will provide technical and policy expertise, in collaboration with regional partners such as the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

    The EU investment is part of the Digital Health workstream of the Team Europe Initiative on the EU-AU Health Partnership, which brings together European and African stakeholders to build resilient digital health ecosystems across the continent, and aligned with the EU Global Gateway strategy.

    Empowering countries and people

    The GDHCN supports countries in building trusted, interoperable digital health systems that directly benefit people — providing secure, portable health records accessible wherever they travel, including during health emergencies. Personal health records are managed securely by each individual country or their health system. These records cannot be accessed by other parties, including WHO.

    The network is built on internationally recognized standards for privacy, data protection, and interoperability, and participation of countries is voluntary. The network fosters cross-border collaboration among countries and partners, strengthening health security today, while laying the foundation for more resilient, person-centered health systems for future generations.

    • He’s owned… obeying his handler’s orders!
      I at one point had some hope, but…
      I will no longer partake, exit and build