By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First

The Vermont Republican Party has come up with a plan to try to stop the re-election of liberal Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George in November.

And George is not happy about having to extend her campaign into November – something she’s never had to do – judging by her comment following the announcement:

“In August, after being outspent by over $100k and significant infiltration from Republicans, voters made clear that we do not have to sacrifice accountability in order to pursue public safety,” she said.

Jace Laquerre of Milton has accepted the Republican party’s 2026 nomination for Chittenden County State’s Attorney, but says he will step down after the election so Gov. Phil Scott can appoint a competent person to run the office.

Laquerre, who is an engineer, is entering the race as a placeholder candidate to give Chittenden County voters a choice for State’s Attorney.  without his name on the ballot, George was be the lone candidate.

State’s Attorneys in Vermont do not have to be lawyers. The Chittenden County office has about 14 deputies that are lawyers.

“I am running because I believe the voters of Chittenden County deserve a choice in this election,” Laquerre said in a news release.

“I am willing to put my name on the ballot and allow voters to decide whether they want a change in leadership. If elected, I will resign from the office after taking the necessary steps to ensure an orderly transition,” he said.

“I trust Governor Scott to appoint someone who will lead the office effectively and restore a focus on public safety and accountability.”

The Republican Party said the campaign is intended to provide voters with an alternative to the incumbent and ensure that the State’s Attorney’s race offers a meaningful choice.

George has never been challenged in a General Election, and recently only narrowly won the Democratic primary with low voter turnout, where she lost in the city of Burlington, the party noted in its announcement.

Laquerre said the decision to resign would not be tied to any particular individual being appointed to the position.

“I am not asking voters to elect a particular successor,” Laquerre said. “The appointment process following a vacancy is established by law. My commitment is simply to allow voters to decide whether they want a change.”

If Laquerre is elected and subsequently resigns, Vermont law provides that the resulting vacancy may be filled by appointment by the Governor for the remainder of the term.

This is not without precedent. Governor Scott appointed Bram Kranichfeld in Franklin County after a vacancy more than 3 years ago.

In 2022, Jennifer Barrett won the election for Orleans County State’s Attorney but never served because she had been appointed a judge. Gov. Scott named Farzana Leyva to fill the four-year post.

Laquerre said he believes Sarah George has failed in protecting Chittenden County.

“I do not believe we can afford four more years of Sarah George’s overly lenient, catch-and-release prosecutorial policies,” Laquerre said.

“I believe, as do many others, that these policies have made our communities less safe, and the recent issues in Burlington are evidence of that. As a new father, it is important to me that we elect a State’s Attorney who takes public safety seriously, holds repeat offenders accountable, and works closely with law enforcement and our communities to keep people safe,” he said.

George has repeatedly exercised prosecutorial discretion in ways that have frustrated law enforcement and community members, including her decision this year not to prosecute several people arrested during a confrontation with law enforcement, the Republican party noted in its announcement.

George’s approach to bail has similarly prioritized reducing incarceration, with her office generally declining to request cash bail—even as communities across Chittenden County have continued to grapple with repeat offending and public disorder, the party said.

George defeated Franklin County State’s Attorney Bram Kranichfeld 15,932 to 14,923, according to unofficial results from the Vermont Secretary of State.

Kranichfeld, who lives in Burlington, won the Republican nominations with 455 write-ins.


Kranichfeld, who is a former chief of the criminal division for Attorney General T. J. Donovan, declined the nod last month to be on the General Election ballot.

There were still 1,713 blank ballots for the Democrats and 2,844 blank ballots for Republicans for state’s attorney.

Those blank ballots could have helped create an interesting General Election when there more people paying attention in November and there is heavier balloting.


An hour after Vermont Daily Chronicle broke the story Monday afternoon about the Republican effort, George issued an attack news release, obviously unhappy that her campaign is being challenged – and extended.

She said Chittenden County voters had made a decision in August about the next state’s attorney, but made no reference to it was a Democratic primary that she was running, not a General Election.

George also attacked the idea about Governor Scott getting to name the next Chittenden County prosecutor without indicating that she became state’s attorney because the Governor appointed her in 2017 from a field of three names sent to his office.

George was ranked third by the Chittenden County Democratic Committee behind Kranichfeld and Ted Kenney of Williston. They were looking to replace Donovan, who had moved up from the Chittenden County office to Attorney General.

“Chittenden County voters just finished making their choice,” George said in her statement shared with Vermont News First.

“In August, after being outspent by over $100k and significant infiltration from Republicans, voters made clear that we do not have to sacrifice accountability in order to pursue public safety,” she said.

“Now the same interests are back with a candidate who promises to immediately resign if he wins, handing this office to an appointment process by the Governor instead of to anyone voters actually chose. They are calling that a choice. It is the opposite of one. A vote for their placeholder is a vote to have no elected State’s Attorney at all, and to let political insiders decide who prosecutes crime in this county,” said George, who has never had a General Election challenge.

“I trust the voters here. I always have. They know the difference between fear and safety. They know the issues our community faces are not just ours, and that real solutions require far more than just pointing fingers at the legal system. We built the Accountability Court because holding people accountable and providing them services are the same project, and that work delivers real public safety, measurably, every day,” she said.

“In nine years, this office has taken on domestic violence, gun violence, homicide related offenses, and the drug crisis with every tool that we know works, and we did it by building partnerships across this county and across party lines, not by tearing our community down to score points,” George said.

“Anyone who wants to debate the direction of this office is welcome to run for it. That is how this is supposed to work,” she said.

Laquerre and the VTGOP acknowledged that the approach is unusual but said the objective is straightforward: to allow voters in the general election – not just the Democratic primary – to express their preference regarding the direction of the State’s Attorney’s Office.

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