MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Thursday was the deadline for major party candidates in Vermont to file to be on the August primary ballot But with all statewide incumbents seeking re-election this year, it could make for a very quiet election cycle.
“There’s relative stasis at the upper level and so there’s not a lot of movement at the state level to run for federal races,” said Matt Dickinson, a political science professor at Middlebury College.
Two years ago, the retirement of Senator Patrick Leahy caused a huge shakeup in politics, prompting musical chairs in just about every office from Congress to the Vermont Statehouse. But this time, there are fewer contested races.
“When we have incumbents running for re-election, there’s far less energy and activity in some of these races,” said Dennise Casey, a Vermont political consultant.
The race for number two is the one to watch. Winooski Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner is challenging Lt. Governor David Zuckerman for the Democratic nomination. On the GOP side, Greg Thayer of Rutland and former state Senator John Rodgers are facing off.
But experts say all the action will be in state House and Senate races as the GOP tries to win over enough seats to sustain vetoes from Governor Phil Scott if he’s re-elected. Five seats in the Senate will be up for grabs along with about 20 in the House.
“That affects chairs of critical committees like Senate Appropriations or Senate Transportation, which has a lot of change on the policy that is considered and makes a lot of change on how the Legislature operates,” Casey said.
Dickinson says races will look a little different, with not as much money being spent and more time engaging on the grassroots level. “I expect to see a lot of the door-to-door retail politics and not a lot of emphasis on spending and I don’t think a lot of Vermont voters like that,” he said.
GOP voters will once again see perennial candidate H. Brook Paige on the ballot as a placeholder for several offices. Observers say it’s an indication of the Republican party’s continuing struggle to recruit candidates. “The fact that he feels compelled to run in more than one office as the Republican standard-bearer says a lot about the weak Republican bench in this state,” Dickinson said.