This year’s Primary Day was thrilling! Fifty candidates of our endorsed slate of fifty-five won their races, and we couldn’t be more excited! We wanted to share highlights with you from a few of Tuesday’s key races:
In the gubernatorial primary, longtime RAD champion, David Zuckerman won over 50% of the votes, securing the Democratic nomination!
Chittenden County had important wins in it 6-seat Senate race. Four out of the five RAD-endorsed candidates won, including Kesha Ram, who is positioned to become the first woman of color in the Vermont State Senate, as well as incumbents Michael Sirotkin, Philip Baruth and Climate Caucus Co-Chair, Christopher Pearson.
Cheryl Hooker, incumbent and RAD champion won the Senate race in Rutland County.
Tanya Vyhovsky (Chittenden 8-1), one of RAD’s most active leaders, pulled off a primary win against a tough opponent, and Taylor Small (Chittenden 6-7), a featured speaker at our endorsement announcement in July, is poised to become Vermont’s first transgender woman legislator!
More notable House wins included Elizabeth Burrows (Windsor-1), Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (Chittenden 6-2), Michelle Bos-Lun (Windham 6-4), Heather Surprenant (Windsor 6-4), and Dane Whitman (Bennington 2-1).
RAD was well-represented in Addison County, where two of RAD’s earliest and most dedicated member leaders, Jubilee McGill (Addison 5) and incumbent, Mari Cordes (Addison 4) won their races and will be going on to the General. Another major win was incumbent Kevin “Coach” Christie (Windsor 4-2), one of two black State representatives in Vermont, and a champion of the new Social Equity Caucus. Several strong candiates on the RAD slate are expected to face challenging opponents in the fall including RAD leader Jo Sabel Courtney (Lamoille 1), Katherine Sims (Orleans-Caledonia), Martha Allen (Essex-Caledonia-Orleans), Emily Hecker (Chittenden 10), and Robin Chesnut-Tangerman (Rutland Bennington). We are ready to help them win!
Congratulations to all of the winners!
For the candidates who came up short in their races, you have our deepest gratitude for your dedication and vision. You ran great campaigns and we are honored to be doing this work with you.
This is what Movement Politics is about – working to elect people who represent our values and vision for a Vermont that not only works for all of us but that can weather the challenges on our horizon.
As we head into the general, we will keep you posted on ways you can stay involved and make sure our movement’s candidates win in November. Remember that we are in this for the long haul, we can’t do it without you, and the only way we all win is by doing it together. Thanks for all that you do.