By Guy Page
Mark Coester of Westminster announced Monday, April 27 he has submitted his petitions to run for Congress in the Republican primary. He was the Republican nominee in 2024 and the first Republican to enter for the 2026 race.
In the 2024 election for Vermont’s sole Congressional seat, Coester was runner-up to Balint, who netted 62.3% of the vote (218,398) to Coester’s 29.8%.
In a telephone interview with VDC Monday, Coester said he hopes to improve on his first run, when he earned the most second-place votes since Republican Martha Rainville in her 2006 run against Democrat Peter Welch for the open seat previously held by Bernie Sanders. She totaled 117,000 votes, making that race the narrowest margin of victory (53-45%) this century for the Vermont U.S. House seat.
“I gained significant momentum in 2024, receiving more votes than any Republican for that seat since 2006,” the logger and independent businessman said. “I decided to continue my run for another term, not being one to give up.”
“I am a Republican, not a Communist,” Coester continued. “My opponent, though pretending to be a Democrat, is a progressive Communist who advocates for big government. Republicans have a different philosophy regarding how society should function, focusing on economic models that work, economic models that actually benefit society, culture, and people.”
“Government programs often involve overhead, money laundering, and lack transparency, making them ineffective,” Coester said. “Affordable housing can be achieved by reducing building material costs and taxes, rather than through government programs which are three times more expensive.”
VDC reached out to Balint’s office for comment on Coester entering the race but has not yet received a reply. Her position on issues can be seen here on her U.S. Congress website.
Balint, 57, Balint was elected to the U.S. House in the 2022 election. According to her Wikipedia bio, she is a Progressive Democrat and the first woman and openly LGBTQ person to represent Vermont in Congress. She served as a member of the Vermont Senate from Windham County from 2015 to 2023, as majority leader from 2017 to 2021, and as president pro tempore from 2021 to 2023.
Balint was born in Heidelberg, West Germany, and raised in Peekskill, New York. She was educated at Walter Panas High School, Smith College, Harvard University, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She moved to Vermont in 1994 where she was active in local politics, and worked as a teacher, rock-climbing instructor, and columnist for the Brattleboro Reformer. Balint was elected to the State Senate in 2014, becoming the first openly acknowledged lesbian to serve there. She was selected to serve as majority leader and later elected president pro tempore, the first woman and openly LGBTQ person to do so in Vermont.
Balint is the grateful recipient of the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders. The supporter of Progressive Democrat policies put forth by “Squad” leader Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Pramila Jayapal (Washington State), and Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) is known for her strong language in support of these policies in speeches on the House floor.
For example, Balint spoke in Congress Tuesday, April 27 in support of the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinics (FACE) Act, which has been used to suppress protests outside of abortion clinics. She said the law is needed due to “a five decade long terrorist campaign… we’re talking about militant extremists willing to use violence to prevent women from using reproductive care and having control over their own bodies.”
Coester is scheduled to speak at a Vote Red event in Ludlow this Saturday. Details appear on graphic.
