By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON & PITTSFORD—In last week’s primary, three-term incumbent Democrat Stephanie Jerome won the right to seek a fourth term representing Brandon in Montpelier, while Brandon resident Todd Nielsen mounted a successful write-in campaign on the Republican side.
Mr. Nielsen secured a place on the ballot in November with 92 write-in votes, representing 41.63% of the total number of votes cast for Republican candidates for State Representative from Brandon. There were no candidates officially listed on the Republican ballot for State Rep, requiring write-ins for anyone wishing to see a Republican candidate from Brandon for that office in November.
Ms. Jerome received 223 votes, or 93.31%, of all votes cast for Democratic candidates for State Rep from Brandon. Ms. Jerome first won office in 2018 and was re-elected in both 2020 and 2022.
Before Mr. Nielsen became the Republican nominee, it wasn’t clear whether Ms. Jerome would face an opponent in her bid for a fourth term.
Though Mr. Nielsen was able to win a place on the November ballot through a write-in campaign, he received far fewer votes overall than Ms. Jerome. It remains to be seen whether his presence as an official candidate on the ballot will draw enough additional support to unseat the incumbent Democrat.
Democrats won a supermajority in the Statehouse in 2022 but have faced mounting criticism from Vermonters frustrated with the substantial tax increases seen across the state this year. Those increases were driven in large part by the state-imposed education tax, fueling widespread anger at Montpelier.
Malay wins Republican nomination for State Rep in Pittsford-Proctor
In the Pittsford-Proctor legislative district, Alicia Malay easily won the Republican nomination to fill the seat being vacated by long-time incumbent Butch Shaw, who will retire from the Legislature in January. Ms. Malay is a Pittsford resident and the Chair of the Pittsford Selectboard. Though there was a smattering of write-in votes on the Democratic ballot, no one received enough support to appear as the Democratic candidate on the ballot in November. Ms. Malay will run unopposed.
Ms. Malay had received the endorsement of Mr. Shaw when he announced his retirement at a Pittsford Selectboard meeting last spring.
Brandon’s Blais “wins” Progressive Party nom for governor
Brandon resident Marielle Blais received the greatest number of votes for governor on the Vermont Progressive Party (VPP) ballot, yet she will not be the VPP nominee in November. According to Ms. Blais, she acted as what she called a “sponge”: a placeholder put forward by the party in order to prevent non-party members from commandeering the party’s ballot. VPP intended to nominate Esther Charlestin, who ended up winning the Democratic nomination. Vermont law prohibited Ms. Charlestin from running on multiple party ballots, so Ms. Blais, who is Vice-Chair of the VPP, put herself forward to prevent a non-progressive from winning the party’s nomination as a write-in.
According to Ms. Blais, she will notify the Vermont Secretary of State that she is withdrawing from the race, allowing VPP to nominate Esther Charlestin in her place.
