Time to avenge Jack McMullen.

by Rob Roper

First let me say that open primaries are dumb. Parties should be free to pick their own candidates without outside shenanigans taking place, and if folks don’t want to be affiliated with a political party, good for you, that’s your choice, enjoy your summer, you get your say in the general election. That said, thems ain’t the rules in Vermont today.

Democrats know this, most famously crossing over in the 1998 Republican U.S. Senate primary to put Fred Tuttle in as the Republican nominee over Jack McMullen. Most recently, Progressives turned out in the 2022 primary to make their own Liam Madden the “Republican” candidate for our lone U.S. House seat. This year, Republicans in several counties have a chance to get even – and should take it.

The primary (Oops! Bad pun alert!) objective of this election season for Republicans should be to re-shape the make-up of the State Senate. If Republicans can net three senate seats (or just two while managing to hold onto the Lieutenant Governorship with John Rodgers) they will hold a majority in that chamber for the first time since 1996. Who wins – and therefore who loses — the Democrat senate primaries can play a big part in that outcome. Moreover, just ousting some sitting incumbents via the primary process could be beneficial in and of itself come January when lawmaking begins again.

Let’s start with Chittenden County Southeast where incumbent Senators Thomas Chittenden, Ginny Lyons and Kesha Ram Hinsdale face challenges from Joanna Grossman and Elizabeth Hunt. While neither Grossman nor Hunt seem like prizes from a Republican perspective, knocking out Ram Hinsdale, the sitting majority leader who has already announced her intention to run for Senate President Pro Tem – if re-elected – would send a powerful message of desired change.

Similarly, Ginny Lyons’ 82^nd birthday is fast approaching. She has been in the senate since 2001 and had her fingers in pretty much every loony left tax and spend scheme imaginable over that time period. She could be the poster child for a quarter century of Progressive policy failure. Again, ousting the chair of the Health & Human Services Committee could send a powerful message for change. Have you seen what insurance and prescription drug prices are in VT, or the state of rural hospitals? Thank Ginny!

So, if I were a Chittenden Southeast Republican voter, I’d grab that Democrat ballot on Tuesday and fill in the ovals for Chittenden, Grossman, and Hunt. If those three win, it’s already a victory. And if it helps pave the way for Republicans Bruce Roy and Javen Sears – two fantastic candidates – to pick up seats in November, those are cherries on top of the cheesecake.

Moving on…. Windsor County. Two Democrat incumbents, Becca White and Joe Major are competing with Representative Elizabeth Burrows, former state Representative Heather Chase, Ben Brickner, and Chris Dube in this three seat district. Here I’d vote for Brickner, Dube, and Chase. Why? Because White is a far-Left lunatic. Simply getting rid of her in the primary would be the single greatest act any collection of voters could perform this election season. Major, in his first term, never saw a tax increase he didn’t sign onto. Vote him out! Anybody would be better than these two. Why Chase and not Burrows? Because voters rejected Chase in 2024 general elections, so why wouldn’t they again in 2026 – likely opening an easier path for the Republicans Jonathan Gleason, Andrea Murray, and Jack Williams in the general.

And then there’s Washington County. Three incumbents, Anne Watson (P/D), Andy Perchlik (P/D), and Ann Cummings (plain old D) are facing a challenge from local businessman Gabe Lajeunesse. If I could vote in the Washington County Senate primary – and, hey, I can!! – I’m voting for Lajeunesse, Cummings and Watson. Get rid of Perchlik in the primary. Why? Watson is public enemy number one for the Rural Vermont Rising Crowd and the most vulnerable of the three in the general. Cummings (80), like Ginny Lyons, has been in Montpelier forever (since 1996) and as Chair of the Appropriations Committee – the one responsible for all those popular tax laws – has most likely worn out her welcome.

The best outcome for Washington County in the General would be to elect Republicans Rob LaClair, Chris Nedo, and Peter Schmeeckle, but getting at least one of the Progressive incumbents in the primary with Lajeunesse would be an improvement.

Lastly, Bennington County. Perhaps a surprise, I’m going to stick with the incumbents in this race, Seth Bongartz and Rob Plunkett. If Rural Vermont Rising is, in fact, made up of “real people” despite the accusations of the likes of Representative Theresa Wood, then Seth “The Road Rule Isn’t Going Anywhere” Bongartz should be toast in the general. And Plunkett, a flunky Robin to Bongartz’ Bat Man, could go down with him. Vote for Republicans Josh Williams and Spike Whitmire in the general.

So those are ten potential seats in play (eleven if Republicans can fill the third Chittenden Southeast spot with a write-in candidate or appointee). If Republicans can bat at least .300 in these races, while holding their current thirteen seats (something that should not be taken for granted), they will win a senate majority for the first time in thirty years. It’s the change Vermont needs. Are Republican voters in this to win? Tuesday August 11^th will be the first test. Get out and VOTE.

Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 25 years of experience in Vermont politics including three years service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free market think tank.