Clarity for the Windsor County Sheriff’s race. Incumbents see a mixed night. Young people gain ground. On a primary day that fielded more candidates than usual, Upper Valley results were surprising in some races and predictable in others.
Roughly 22% of Vermont’s registered voters cast ballots Tuesday, according to the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office. During the 2024 primary that coincided with a Presidential election, turnout was 15.3%.
At the polls Tuesday, Upper Valley voters were concerned about healthcare costs, education funding, affordability and seeing change in Montpelier. The Valley News kept an eye on key races and trends that will set up November’s general election.
Windsor County Sheriff
There was plenty to watch in the race for Windsor County Sheriff ahead of Tuesday as three candidates vied to replace embattled Sheriff Ryan Palmer who was elected as a Democrat in 2022.
Claude Weyant, 70, ran away from competitors with 41.5% of the vote Tuesday. He is currently chief deputy in the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department and has been overseeing day-to-day operations since Palmer was charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct in late January.
Palmer opted not to run for reelection amid the pending criminal charges.
In 2022, Palmer ran on a campaign of reform and expanded the scope and responsibility of the department during his tenure. He expanded the number of towns with which the department had policing contracts from nine to 15 by 2025, including four in Orange County, though it came to light earlier this year that the department was operating in most of those towns without valid contracts.
The expansion of the department and ensuing controversy drew a field of candidates focused on financial concerns overshadowing the department. Ahead of the election, Weyant pointed to his months of leadership as proof that he could run the department well.
Christopher Norton, a 50-year-old sergeant with the Windham County Sheriff’s Department who lives in Springfield, earned second place with just shy of 20% of the vote and Joshua Lake of Chester came third with 18%.
Lake, 30, is a patrolman with the Bellows Falls Police Department. He became embroiled in his own controversy ahead of the election when he was issued a Brady-Giglio letter and placed on leave last week for exaggerating an alleged crime witnessed off duty.
Weyant will face Republican colleague Richard King of Springfield in November. King, 63, is a lieutenant in the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department.
In Orange County, Sean McRae of Bethel earned 44.3% of the vote to beat out Michael Tkac of Corinth for the Democratic nomination for sheriff. McRae, a part-time Royalton police officer with seven years of law enforcement experience, will face Republican Jacob Held, of Washington, in November. Held is a corporal with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
State Senate
The retirement of long-time State Senator and former Senate Majority Leader Alison Clarkson left a wide open field for Windsor County Senate, which saw an unusually crowded slate of candidates ahead of the primary.
Across the Upper Valley, this year’s primary drew more candidates than usual.
With twice as many candidates as available nominations for Windsor County Senate, Democratic incumbents Becca White, 32, and Joe Major, 61, held on to their seats Tuesday.
State Rep. Elizabeth Burrows, of West Windsor, is the third Democratic nominee. Burrows, 57, has represented her town, Windsor and Hartland in the Vermont House of Representatives since 2021. The three will face Republicans Andrea Murray, of Weathersfield; Jonathan Gleason, of Ludlow; and Jack Williams, of Weathersfield in November’s general election.
In Orange County, state Rep. Monique Priestley of Bradford sailed to victory for the Democratic party with 64% of the vote Tuesday, beating out 68-year-old Rose Lucenti, of Randolph who secured 25.5%.
Priestley, 40, has represented Bradford, Fairlee and West Fairlee in the House since 2023. She will face Republican incumbent Sen. John K. Benson, R- Brookfield, in November.
Gov. Phil Scott appointed Benson after state Rep. Larry Hart, R-Topsham, stepped down last fall.
A mixed night for incumbents
Upper Valley incumbents saw mixed results Tuesday.
Ahead of the election some were concerned about losing institutional knowledge in the legislature, with three senators and 30 house members vacating their seats this year, as reported by VTDigger.
The change in Vermont is indicative of a wider national trend. Eighty-two members of Congress are not running for reelection, including 70 U.S. Representatives, according to an Associated Press analysis. As of Tuesday, ten U.S. House incumbents had also lost their seats to newcomers, many of them younger challengers according to the AP.
Incumbent Democratic Rep. John Bartholomew, of Hartland, was especially concerned ahead of the election with his counterpart, Burrows, opting to vacate her seat and run instead for Senate.
Bartholomew’s fears came true Tuesday when he lost to newcomers John Tansey, 63, of Windsor, and Dylan Morse, 23, of Hartland. Bartholomew, 71, has served in the House since 2010.
Veteran Rep. Jim Masland of Thetford also lost his seat Tuesday after nearly 30 years in the House. Masland, 77, fell to newcomers 59-year-old Dee Gish, of Sharon, and 60-year-old Lauren Morando Rhim, of Norwich.
But in Orange County, incumbent Larry Satcowitz managed to hold onto a nomination for one of two seats representing the district that includes Randolph where all four candidates live. Emery Mattheis, earned the most votes with 28.4% to Satcowitz’s 26.1%. The pair beat out Kevin Doering and Thomas Harty.
Incumbent Democrat Philip “Jay” Hooper, of Randolph Center, was one of the 30 House members who opted not to seek reelection this year.
The Democratic senate nominations for Windsor County also delivered mixed results with White and Major holding tight. Though a newcomer, Burrows will also bring some legislative knowledge to the race from her time in the House.
A year for young people
This year’s primary was a good one for younger candidates, including 23-year-old Morse.
A Hartland native and graduate of George Mason College in Virginia, Morse moved back to the area full time just months ago and has been working with his father digging trenches for fiber internet installation. He was one of the Upper Valley’s youngest candidates this year.
Aiden Otterman, of Topsham also secured a nomination for the House at just 17 years old. He will be a senior at Thetford Academy in the fall and turns 18 in October. He plans to graduate from high school in January.
Otterman earned 66.5% of the vote for the Orange-Caledonia House district that comprises Newbury, Groton and Topsham. James Merriam, 37, of Wells River, took 24.5%.
In November, Otterman will face independent Susan Culp, of Newbury, and Republican Tom Otterman, of West Topsham. If he wins, he will be the youngest person ever elected to the Legislature.
While not the youngest in history, other Upper Valley candidates also beat out older competitors Tuesday. White was first elected to the House at 24, the Senate at 28 and secured the most Democratic votes as the youngest candidate for Windsor County Senate this year at 32 years old. Priestley, too, beat out an older opponent for Orange County Senate.
A family affair
Otterman’s candidacy has garnered attention for more than one reason. He will face his great uncle, Tom Otterman, in November’s general election.
The two hold deep Topsham roots and are running on name recognition conferred by Harvey B. “Bud” Otterman Jr., who held the House seat from 2000 to 2008. Bud Otterman was Aiden’s great-grandfather and Tom’s father.
Tom Otterman is a Norwich University-trained civil engineer. He has a 45-year surveying career and owns and operates his own surveying and septic design firm, according to his campaign website.
Other winners
Races were also decided in the Windsor-Orange-1 House district that comprises Royalton and Tunbridge Tuesday.
Democratic incumbent John K. O’Brien, of Tunbridge, held onto his seat with 53.5% of the vote Tuesday. Challenger Devin Brennan, of Royalton, came second with 39.2%.
Republican Bruce V. Post, of Royalton, won the party nomination with 60.1% of the vote. Robert Dunkle, of Tunbridge, earned 37%.
