By Michael Bielawski

Five longtime incumbent Democrat senators won’t be seeking re-election. A primary election candidate list published by the Vermont Secretary of State after Thursday’s filing deadline shows candidates from both parties scrambling to take their place.

The filing deadline for Vermont’s August 13 major party political primaries was midnight, Thursday night. The most updated list of primary candidates for House, Senate and statewide office can be seen here. In Senate districts where primary candidates are lacking, parties may nominate General Election candidates the day after the primary. 

The Secretary of State list – the finality of which is a subject of VDC inquiry, as yet unanswered – reveals several primary races and new candidates for the Vermont Senate. 

Addison County Senate District (two seats)

Incumbent Chris Bray and Rep. Caleb Elder are the only Democrats listed by the SOS. Incumbent Sen. Ruth Hardy had indicated she would run again, so it is unclear whether she failed to file or whether the SOS list requires updating on her behalf. 

Bennington Senate District (2 seats)

Joe Gervais of Arlington will run as a Republican for one of the two Bennington District State Senate seats. Gervais has a lumber milling company and has worked in information technology for more than three decades. He had intended to run for the House but ‘upgraded’ after incumbent Sen. Brian Campion announced he wasn’t seeking re-election. 

Also running as an Independent is former State Representative Cynthia Browning of Arlington. As a gadfly Democrat in the Vermont House, she was known for continuously challenging the Democrat/Progressive establishment on the high costs of their agenda.

They will be running against current Rep. Seth Bongartz, D-Manchester. Gov. Scott will appoint a replacement for the Senate seat held by Sen. Dick Sears until his death this weekend. The county party may nominate another candidate for the election.

Caledonia Senate Seat (one)

Rep. Scott Beck (R-St. Johnsbury) reports that he has submitted his petition sheets and is a candidate for the sole Senate seat, now held by Sen. Jane Kitchell, who is not seeking re-election. The SOS listing cites no candidates of any party.  is the only Republican to file for the August 13 primary. No Democrats have filed. However, the local party committees may place on the general election ballot the day after the primary. 

Beck wrote in his announcement, “Vermont is in a precarious fiscal moment. Public spending in Vermont is #4 in the country, but our income levels are #22. Vermonters are increasingly discovering that remaining a Vermonter doesn’t make fiscal sense and we hear of people that badly want to remain here, but they cannot afford to.”

Chittenden County One (three seats)

In the Democratic Primary, former TV newsman Stewart Leadbetter will challenge incumbents Phil Baruth, Tanya Vyhovsky, and Martine Gulick.  

Chittenden County North

Rep. Chris Mattos of Milton is the sole listed candidate in the district’s Republican primary. He will face incumbent Irene Wrenner in the general election. 

Chittenden Southeast Senate (2 seats)

Bruce Roy is running unopposed in the Republican Primary for in the three-seat Chittenden Southeast Senate district. 

He wrote on his Facebook page, “Enough is enough! Vermonters are struggling and pushed to their limits.” On his campaign page, he is very critical of the high taxes and fees facing Vermonters, and he expresses other values consistent with conservative values. 

Roy will be running against three Democrats who will square off in the primary: incumbents Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, Sen. Thomas Chittenden, Sen.Virginia “Ginny” Lyons, and South Burlington resident and Rutland physician Louis Meyers, a strong proponent of health care cost controls and critic of related legislation supported by Senate Health and Welfare Chair Lyons. 

On his campaign page, Meyers makes this clear: “I also oppose the efforts by Ms. Lyons to enter Vermont into the Ahead program, a nine-year agreement with the federal government to continue the failed OneCare model. This has already wasted hundreds of millions of dollars, and Vermont’s healthcare system has suffered the consequences.”

Grand Isle Senate (One Seat)

Andy Julow of Grand Isle County, recently named to fill the seat held by longtime Sen. Dick Mazza, who died last week, and Julie Hulburd of Colchester will vie for the Democratic nomination. Pat Brennan of Colchester is the sole GOP candidate. 

Orleans Senate (One Seat)

Conrad Bellevance and Sam Douglass will face off in the Republican primary. In the general election, the winner will face Rep. Katherine Sims of Craftsbury, who has been endorsed by incumbent Robert Starr who is not seeking re-election, will run as a Democrat. 

Rutland 1 Senate (3 seats)

Five candidates, three GOP and two Democrats, are running for three Senate seats for Rutland.

Incumbents GOP Sens. Brian Collamore, David Weeks, and Sen. Terry Williams,  will all defend their seats against the two challengers. They are Marsha Cassel, a Rutland high school teacher, and the former 2017 Humanities Educator Award, and Robert “Bob” Richards who has previously run as an independent.

Windsor Senate (three seats)

Both parties will have contested primaries. 

Democrats will choose among incumbents Alison Clarkson and Becca White, and newcomer Joe Major of Hartford, Marc Nemeth of Royalton, and Justin Tuthill of Pomfret. Republicans in Windsor County – home to a contentious intra-party dispute with MAGA vs. Never Trump overtones – will choose among Andrea Murray, Jonathan Gleason, Robert Ruhlin, and Jack Williams. 

There are no known primaries in Franklin, Essex, Orange, and Winham counties. 

The writer is an author for the Vermont Daily Chronicle