The Vermont primary election happened on August 11th, and there were no big surprises in the winners. Vermont voters turned out to make sure their voices were heard, and their wide support for incumbents shows that they were happy with the current status quo.

Republican Governor Phil Scott ran unopposed to retain his seat. Ranked as the country's governor with the highest approval rating, odds are in his favor to win in the general election. New candidate Amanda Janoo, a progressive-leaning activist, beat lobbyist Aly Richards for the Democratic nomination for governor. Janoo is relatively new to the political world outside of Burlington. Richards is the well-known head of Let's Grow Kids, an advocacy group for child care workers, who had recently successfully advocated for an income tax surcharge to subsidize childcare, which many opposed.

The primary has set us up with a Lieutenant Governor match that will be close and the most hotly contested race of the 2026 election. Former Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray beat out Ryan McClaren for the Democratic nomination in a very close race. McClaren, widely popular in Chittenden County, could not beat the name recognition and rural support of Gray. This race will set her against popular Republican incumbent John Rogers in November. It's likely that Gray will easily win Chittenden County, but the race in rural Vermont might swing to Rogers for his success in working with activists to overturn portions of Act 181 in the 2026 session, which had repealed several unpopular development laws.

The most watched race in August was the Chittenden County state's attorney seat. Sarah George, the incumbent, won despite wide opposition to her handling of crime in the city. Bram Kranichfeld, former Franklin County state's attorney, ran against her, vowing to change policy and work toward cleaning up the city. George won the race by less than 10% of the Democratic vote. However, Kranichfeld was close, and he successfully won a write-in campaign on the Republican ballot, as there were no candidates listed from the party. It's unclear whether Kranichfeld will accept the Republican nomination and run in the general election.

The remaining seats were won handily by incumbents throughout the state. ABC NH/VT will be monitoring races and working with candidates to help forge our relationships when we get back to the Statehouse in January. If you have any questions about the election or the association's advocacy work, please contact matt@abcnhvt.org.