by VDC staff

The Democratic candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general are all graduates of a Democrat-run ‘boot camp’ for candidates – as are many other candidates and incumbents in Vermont’s elected government.

The candidates in the November, 2026 general election listed below are graduates of the Emerge Vermont Democrat candidate boot camp which trains women to run for office. You can find their website here: Emerge Vermont.

“Each of the candidates listed are committed to a fully pro-abortion agenda and if elected would act as the ground troops for Planned Parenthood’s radical abortion legislation aims,” according to a statement by Vermont Right to Life, which published the list in a recent newsletter.

The Emerge website at present does not explicitly cite support for abortion rights as a qualification: “Applicants must identify as women or non-binary and Democrats and reside in Vermont. Emerge embraces diversity and encourages applications from all women regardless of age, race, color, national or ethnic origin, immigration status, marital status, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or physical ability. Our mission to build the bench of Democratic women ready to run for office acknowledges both systemic and historic barriers to running for office as well as the barriers women impose on themselves.”

However, the Vermont Democratic Party and its leadership have supported the Reproductive Liberty Amendment, which codified reproductive autonomy and abortion access directly into the state constitution; have advocated for a universal, publicly financed healthcare system where reproductive healthcare is treated as essential, medically necessary care, and has backed state legislation to ‘shield’ patients and healthcare providers from out-of-state restrictions, criminalization attempts, and civil litigation related to reproductive and gender-affirming care.

Here is the list of Emerge “boot camp” graduates:

Federal:

Congresswoman Becca Balint 

Statewide:

Amanda Janoo, Governor

Molly Gray,  Lt. Governor

Charity Clark, Attorney General

Sarah Copeland Hanzas,* Secretary of State

Judicial and Law Enforcement: 

Sarah George, Chittenden States Attorney

Angela Lawrence, Windham High Bailiff

State Senate:

Sen. Ruth Hardy, Addison Senate

Sen. Martine Gulick, Chittenden-Central Senate

Rep. Monique Priestley, Orange Senate

Sen. Anne Watson, Washington Senate

Sen. Becca White, Windsor Senate

State House:

Rep. Sarita Austin, Chittenden-9-2

Rep. Daisy Barbeco, Chittenden-21

Ariel Bolles, Addison-3

Tanya Byker, Addison-2

Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun, Windham-4

Dee Gish, Windsor-Orange District

Audrey Grant, Caledonia-2

Rep. Alyssa Black, Chittenden-8-3

Rep. Jana Brown, Chittenden-1

Rep. Carol Ode, Chittenden-6-1

Rep. Karen Dolan,  Chittenden-8-2

Rep. Kathryn Nugent, Chittenden-10

Kelsey Pasteris, Chittenden-4

Melissa Battah, Washington-Orange

Rep. Leanne Harple, Orleans-4

Rep. Saudia LaMont, Lamoille-Washington

Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, Windham-2-1

Rep. Emilie Krasnow, Chittenden-9

Emily Reynolds, Washington-Orange

Gayle Pezzo. Chittenden-20

Genevieve Duchesneau, Rutland-8

Heather Whitemore Young, Caledonia-Essex

Jessica Van Oort, Rutland-Bennington

Julie Filiberti, Franklin-1

Karen Paul, Chittenden-13

Rep. Kate Lalley, Chittenden-6

Pam McCarthy, Franklin-2

Sonya Spaulding, Washington-3

Rep. Rey Garofano, Chittenden-23

*While candidate for Secretary of State, Sarah Copeland Hanzas, is not on the newly released Emerge list, she is a graduate of their training camp. 

Role of men, according to Emerge – Emerge Vermont also works with men in politics – but not without qualifiers and conditions, as shown by this excerpt from the Emerge Vermont website:

“How can men help? Men are important partners and supporters of Emerge Vermont and the women we train to run for office. Men are often the life partners, chief funders or advisors, and super-volunteers or staffers for women running for office. We cannot win elections without men on our team as supporters and voters. In fact, men are so valuable to Emerge Vermont that we created Men for Emerge Vermont to underscore their importance to our efforts.

“However, men can also create barriers for women seeking elected office. Men in politics often tell women to wait their turn, take a smaller role, run for a lower office, or not seek leadership positions. Men sometimes dismiss women or simply ignore us, as they climb the ladder or block the pipeline seeking to increase and protect their own political power.

“So, while Emerge values the men involved with our work on all levels, we also challenge men to examine their own role in perpetuating a political culture that is not welcoming or inclusive of new and diverse voices. We urge men to understand that true power is shared power, and that gender equality benefits not only women, but our communities, families, and democracy.”

The Republican Party in Vermont has no parallel, ongoing ‘boot camp’ training organization.

Feature photo credit vtemergeamerica.org.