Healthcare and affordability dominated conversations outside polling places from Royalton to Norwich as Upper Valley voters headed to the polls Tuesday for primary elections.
Roger Blake, 70, of Royalton, summed up a refrain heard across the region when he said property taxes were his top concern. “Property taxes are out of control,” Blake said. “People can’t afford to live here.”
Blake, who said he was backing Bruce Post for state representative, added that he doesn’t put much stock in party labels: A “good idea should be a good idea whether it’s left, right or out of a chicken’s behind,” he said.
Other voters pointed to healthcare costs, education funding and a desire for change — or continuity — in Montpelier as they cast their ballots.
Most of the contested races this cycle are on the Democratic side, where competitive primaries have drawn added attention from Windsor and Orange County voters ahead of November. State campaign finance filings show more candidates running in both major parties than two years ago, with Republican filings up nearly 20% and Democratic filings up about 9%.
In the Windsor District, six Democrats are competing for three Senate seats after longtime Sen. Alison Clarkson decided not to seek another term. Orange County has its own contested Senate primary, and several House races across the region — including a three-way Democratic primary for two seats representing Sharon, Thetford, Norwich and Strafford — are drawing multiple candidates as well.
ROYALTON: ‘We have to figure out healthcare’
At White River Valley High School in Royalton, voters trickled in early Tuesday, many citing property taxes and healthcare costs.
Nancy Wuttke, 64, told the Valley News she was voting for Devin Brennan over incumbent Rep. John O’Brien, D-Tunbridge, in part because of accessibility.
“I feel like he’s very committed to communicating with the electorate,” Wuttke said of Brennan, adding that she’s found O’Brien “hard to get in touch with.” She said healthcare costs, particularly for teachers, are driving the state’s financial strain.
“We have to figure out healthcare,” Wuttke said. “I feel like a lot of the financial crunch is because of the cost of healthcare.” She declined to say who else she was supporting, but said voting itself was non-negotiable: “We have to vote. That’s our duty.”
Michelle Churchill, 42, said she usually votes for Gov. Phil Scott but was crossing over this year to back Aly Richards for governor.
“She wants to help low-income families,” Churchill said, adding that she hasn’t followed the state representative or local races as closely.
Ken Alton, 80, declined to name specific candidates but said he was voting a straight Republican ticket because he sees an imbalance of power in Montpelier.
“You need checks and balance,” he said. Like others, he pointed to property taxes: “It’s out of sight,” he said, and “really tough for fixed-income people; they just can’t keep up” — a strain he said he feels firsthand as a retiree.
Alton added the broader cost of living has him worried about the state’s future. “Vermont’s a great state to live in,” he said. “I want people to graduate from college and be able to stay here.”
WINDSOR: ‘I need to see a little more love in this country’
Windsor County Sheriff candidate Claude Weyant is one of three Democrats running for the seat, alongside Chris Norton, of Springfield, and Joshua Lake, a Bellows Falls patrolman recently placed on leave after being the subject of a Brady-Giglio letter over an off-duty incident involving his wife.
At the Windsor Police Department, Cindy Todd, 43, of Windsor, said she was voting for her father.
“I’m voting because my dad is Claude Weyant and he’s running for Windsor County Sheriff, and he’s been running the department, so I’ve been helping with his campaign, and I’m here to vote for him so hopefully he can continue to improve the sheriff’s department here in the county,” Todd said.
She declined to criticize the other candidates. “I don’t talk negative. I’ve learned that from my father. We don’t talk negative about anybody,” she said. “But, you know, they all seem like good men, family men, that they want to do good for the county. But obviously I know my dad from his core, and I know that he would be the best person to run the county.”
Todd added that growing up as a police officer’s daughter shaped her view of the job: “You live in a glass bubble. The way you present yourself, on duty, off duty, in your cruiser, with your family, it’s all public.”
Geneva Preble, 68, of Windsor, said she was focused on healthcare and food access this election.
“I guess I need to see a little more love in this country and get more down-to-earth people in this government,” Preble said. She listed her priorities: “Healthcare, especially healthcare, advocacy for children, more food banks, availability for people to access food.”
Preble said she was voting for John Tansey for state rep. “He’s for Vermont. He’s born and raised in Vermont,” she said. “He wants to advocate once again for communities, for literacy, food banks, availability to underprivileged people.”
WEST WINDSOR: ‘We need a lot of change ‘
At West Windsor Town Hall, Stan Dudek, 65, of Brownsville, said he was voting a Democratic ticket this cycle.
“I’m voting Democratic because I think we need a lot of change to go back the other way from the way we’ve been, which is not very people-friendly,” Dudek said. He said education funding and property taxes were top of mind. “Education and the taxes need to be realigned,” he said.
Dudek also weighed in on the three-way Democratic primary for Windsor County sheriff, saying, “I’m glad we’re not having the same person running,” Dudek said. “I’d be happy to get someone new in there who’s morally acceptable as well as legally acceptable.”
NORWICH: Tax the wealthy
At Norwich Town Hall, Scott Neuman, 55, said it’s been difficult to keep up with local candidates amid the national political landscape, but he tries to prioritize local knowledge.
He said he’s most familiar with Lauren Morando Rhim of Norwich, one of three Democrats running for the two House seats representing Sharon, Thetford, Norwich and Strafford. He noted that different parts of Vermont are “not unified” in the challenges they face.
Fellow Norwich resident Tracy Thaler, 50, said she voted for Rhim in part because of her outspoken support for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I have a transgender daughter,” Thaler said, adding that improving public education is another issue she cares about.
John Felde, 72, said the most important thing a state representative can do is “push back against Gov. Phil Scott’s agenda,” particularly by taxing the wealthy and directing those funds toward social programs, he said.
THETFORD: Personal connections matter
In Thetford, Stuart Blood said he’s looking to elect legislators who are more independent from Democratic Party leadership in the Statehouse. He pointed to Dee Gish’s stances on immigration and climate change as a draw. Gish, of Sharon, is also running for one of the two House seats representing Sharon, Thetford, Norwich and Strafford.
“She’s willing to speak up,” Blood said.
Colleen Fox, 60, said she’s followed the local Senate and House races more closely than the governor’s race this year, where she’s had trouble distinguishing Democratic candidates Amanda Janoo and Aly Richards.
She said Gish and Ben Brickner, a Pomfret Selectboard chairman running for the Windsor District Senate seat, stood out because both knocked on her door personally to talk about statewide issues. Other candidates, she said, she’s never seen in Thetford.
“Otherwise, they’re just a name on the ballot,” Fox said.
TUNBRIDGE: ‘We can help each other’
At Tunbridge Town Hall, turnout was light Tuesday morning — something the town clerk told the Valley News is typical during a primary. Most voters trickling in were older residents, many of whom said they had one candidate in mind but knew little about the rest of the ballot.
Marsha Higgins, 87, said she was voting for incumbent Rep. John O’Brien, D-Tunbridge, a candidate she’s known for years.
“He’s popular in Tunbridge,” Higgins said. “He has taken care of us for many years.” She described him as “very moderate” and said he “looks out for rural Vermonters” and “always votes with us in mind.” She said she wasn’t sure who else she’d vote for further down the ballot.
Chelsea Furlong, 40, a lifelong Vermonter whose family lives in Tunbridge, said she was voting for Amanda Janoo for governor.
“[Janoo] puts emphasis on together as Vermonters, we can help each other,” Furlong said, adding that she appreciates Janoo’s focus on affordability. She said she didn’t know much about the other candidates on the ballot.
Cheryl Densmore, 64, said she was voting for Bruce Post, O’Brien’s opponent for the House seat representing Royalton and Tunbridge. She said she’d been put off by how Post’s rival, Bob Dunkle, conducted himself on the Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department, though she gave no specific details, and said she also disapproved of Dunkle speeding through town.
Densmore said she was drawn to Post because he’s a “true farmer” who runs the Post Farm, a family operation in South Royalton — an identity she related to, having raised bulls and cattle herself. She couldn’t speak to specific policy positions of his.
Densmore added that she wishes Vermont had a different governor but feels there’s no alternative to Gov. Phil Scott among the current candidates, declining to elaborate on why she wants a change.
Paul Cooker, 68, also backed O’Brien, despite what he acknowledged is a common complaint about the incumbent.
“Despite a lot of people [being] against him for his unfortunate lack of communication, I still think he’s the best guy for the office,” Cooker said. He noted that O’Brien’s phone and wifi have been down for much of the past six weeks after a storm hit Tunbridge — an outage O’Brien has also referenced on his campaign Facebook page.
Cooker said he supports O’Brien because of his experience — he’s serving his fourth term in the House — and because he’s “personable.” More broadly, Cooker said he was glad to “exercise his democratic right” to vote, which he said feels “under threat” under the Trump administration. “I’m looking forward to voting again in November,” he said.
