By Guy Page
In addition to the candidates selected in the August 13 primary, the Vermont Republicans have added 21 candidates to the House of Representatives by write-in or expected party nomination, GOP State Chair Paul Dame announced yesterday.
With the addition of 21 new House candidates, this brings the total of Vermont Republicans running for House to a near high of 96 candidates.
State law allows parties to nominate candidates for seats in which there were no candidates on the primary ballot. Also, candidates who secure enough write-in votes may be added to the November 5 general election ballot.
The write-in/expected party nominees are:
Addison 3, Joe Baker
Bennington 1, Bruce Busa
Caledonia-Essex, Deborah Dolgin
Chittenden 6, Deb Mayfield
Chittenden 19, Spencer Sherman
Chittenden 20, Joshua Cropp
Franklin 3, Joe Luneau
Lamoille 3, Paul Sciortino
Lamoille-Washington, Charles Burnham
Lamoille Washington, Nick Lopez
Rutland 6, Cindy Laskevich
Rutland 7, Chris Keyser
Rutland 9, Todd Neilsen
Washington 3, Michael Boutin
Windham 4, Lynne Wilkins
Windham 5, Cathy VanSickle
Windham 6, Pam Baker
Windsor 3, Keith Stern
Windsor 5, Steven Sadonis
Windsor 6, Joe Trottier
Windsor 6, Patrick Danaher
“I haven’t seen this kind of excitement and energy from Vermont Republicans since I won my own race back in 2014,” Dame said. “By competing in more districts, it gives us a better chance to sustain the Governor’s veto in either the House or the Senate. If we win just 52% of our House races, we can give Gov. Phil Scott the backstop he needs to stop the kinds of additional taxes Democrats are talking about already.”
The Republican surge comes after what Dame called “a very disappointing Primary night for moderates on the Democratic ticket.”
Further-Left progressives ran the table in Democratic primaries, beating everyone they challenged, Dame said – continuing a trend from the 2022 election as well.
“I think a lot of voters who are looking to cut back on some of the taxes and fees realized that the approach of working through the Democratic party to just make it “less bad” was a failed strategy,” Dame said. “Meanwhile moderates like Gov. Phil Scott and Sen. John Rogers prove that common sense candidates have a prominent place in the Vermont Republican Party for anyone who wants to help them stop the massive tax increases.”