Candidate finance reports tally primary spending and look ahead to Nov. election
September 8, 2024 | By Cheryl Casey | Correspondent Candidates for the Vermont Legislature filed their latest campaign finance reports on Sept. 1, documenting their fundraising and spending for the August primary as they prepare for the November general election.
In the closest and most closely watched primary race, Democrats and House incumbents Theresa Wood and Tom Stevens prevailed over challenger and newcomer Elizabeth Brown despite Brown outspending them by more than two to one.
Brown was the first primary challenger that Reps. Stevens and Wood have had in their tenure in the Washington-Chittenden House district that covers Waterbury, Huntington, Bolton and Buel’s Gore. Stevens and Wood will now be on the Nov. 5 ballot that includes the U.S. Presidential election, two of Vermont’s Congressional seats, the entire Vermont General Assembly, and statewide offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor, treasurer and secretary of state.
Stevens is seeking his ninth term and Wood is running for her fifth. Their primary race saw the highest fundraising amounts ever reported in the district.
In the Sept. 1 filing, Brown’s campaign reported a total of $27,995 in June-August contributions from a total of 55 donors, most of whom donated more than $100 apiece. She reported raising just under $6,000 in August leading up to the primary, including just over $1,300 that she and her husband contributed.
Wood reported $11,990 in contributions from 57 donors to date with Stevens close behind reporting $10,930 from 39 donors. Most of their fundraising occurred earlier in the campaign as Wood reported $900 in August and Stevens took in just $725 last month.
On the expenditures side, Brown and Stevens went all in, depleting or nearly depleting their coffers (Stevens had $2,000 remaining at the time of filing). Wood, on the other hand, has spent less than $1,000, leaving her in the strongest financial position for general election campaigning.
Campaign spending by all of the candidates for the period focused on advertising ahead of the primary election.
The outcome of the Democratic primary, however, shows that fundraising is only part of the picture. Brown’s candidacy made a powerful impression on voters, evident in the primary election turnout. Waterbury’s voter turnout was among the highest in the state, with 31% of the town’s 4,467 registered voters casting a primary ballot compared to the 15% overall turnout statewide. In the end, Brown trailed Stevens by 3%, garnering 24% of the district’s votes to his 27%; Wood won 33% of the votes.
Wood and Stevens, both from Waterbury, now face Republican Jonathan Griffin, also from Waterbury, and Independent James Haddad of Huntington. Griffin, a newcomer to local politics, went unchallenged in his primary and has yet to file a campaign finance report. Similarly, Haddad, who joined the race in early August, did not file a report this period. State campaign regulations require a report from candidates raising $500 or more.
In the Washington-2 House district, which covers Duxbury, Moretown, Fayston, Waitsfield, and Warren, incumbent Rep. Dara Torre, D-Moretown, reported $1,290 in campaign contributions to date. Fellow Democratic candidate and newcomer Candice White, of Waitsfield, reported $4,175 in contributions. Torre and White went unchallenged in the primary but now face John Burns, an Independent from Moretown, and Eugene Bifano, of Warren, representing the Common Sense party, for the district’s two seats, neither of whom has reported any fundraising.
Six candidates are now vying for Washington County’s three state Senate seats on Nov. 5. Incumbent Sens. Ann Cummings and Anne Watson of Montpelier and Andrew Perchlik of Marshfield ran on the Democratic primary ballot; Watson and Perchlik have added the Progressive party label to their respective campaigns for November.
In the Sept. 1 filing, Watson reported $4,574 in campaign contributions to date and $1,245 in reserve from a prior campaign. Perchlik reported raising $401 so far this campaign season with $1,660 carried over from a previous campaign. Cummings’ campaign has raised $500 through August and reported $6,251 on hand from previous election cycles, according to her report.
Republican Donald Koch of Barre Town ran unchallenged in the Washington Senate primary and reported a total of $4,546 in fundraising so far, just over $1,400 coming in August. He’s spent just under $2,400 as of Sept. 1. The Republican ticket now also includes two more candidates, Michael Deering II of Barre City and Michael “Mike” Doyle of Montpelier. Neither has filed campaign finance reports yet. Deering and Doyle were added to the November ballot by a GOP committee in order to field a full slate in the three-seat race. According to Vermont election law, additional candidates for the general election had to be registered by Aug. 19. Minor party and Independent candidates, for which there are no primaries, were required to file by Aug. 8. Bifano, Burns, and Haddad all met this deadline.
Ballots to be mailed to all voters
Campaign signs on primary election day. Photo by Gordon Miller
The Vermont Secretary of State’s office will mail ballots for the Nov. 5 General Election to all active, registered voters starting in late September.
Voters will have the option to return them by mail, or drop them off at their town office before Nov. 5 or at the polls on Election Day. Anyone who does not use the ballot mailed to them may vote in person on Election Day with the added step of signing an affidavit attesting to not having already voted.
Anyone with questions about their voter registration information or voting may contact their town or city clerk or use the My Voter Page webpage on the Secretary of State’s website.
Below are the Sept. 1 campaign finance reports filed by Washington-Chittenden House candidates Elizabeth Brown, Tom Stevens and Theresa Wood. Campaign finance filings by all Vermont candidates for office along with more information can be found on the Vermont Secretary of State’s website under Campaign Finance.
