ELECTIONS

Primary Elections 2024: Who are Chittenden County's candidates for the Vermont Senate?

Megan Stewart
Burlington Free Press

In less than three months, Vermonters will return to the polls to vote for major party candidates — Democrats, Republicans and Progressives — in the statewide primaries on Aug. 13.

Among the positions up for grabs this year are all 30 state Senate seats, including the seven spots across three districts representing Chittenden County. The Chittenden-Central and Chittenden-South districts each has three seats, while the Chittenden-North district has one. In districts with multiple seats, the candidates with the most votes will fill those positions. Each state Senate term is two years. The current term ends in January 2025.

In addition to state senators, Vermonters on primary day will also choose party candidates for U.S senator, U.S. representative, governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, secretary of state, auditor of accounts, attorney general and high bailiff. All 150 state representatives and 1,800 justices of the peace are also on the ballot this year.

A poll worker in Essex offers “I voted” stickers to people exiting Essex Middle School during primary voting on Aug. 9, 2022.

Who is running for Vermont Senate in Chittenden County?

The cutoff to apply to join the various primary races was Thursday, May 30. Here are Chittenden County state Senate candidates who met the deadline.

Central District (three seats)

Democrats

  • Incumbent Democrat Martine Larocque Gulick, Burlington (2023-Present) - Gulick is a retired educator and current Burlington School Board commissioner who has previously served as a regional representative on the Vermont School Board Association and on the Advisory Council on Literacy.
  • Incumbent Democrat Phil Baruth, Burlington (2011-Present) - Baruth is the Senate president pro tempore. He has taught in the English Department at the University of Vermont since 1993, and is a decorated former commentator for Vermont Public Radio.
  • Incumbent Democrat Tanya Vyhovsky, Essex Town (2023-Present) - Prior to her stint in the Senate, Vyhovsky served in the Vermont House from 2021-2023. She is a licensed independent clinical worker for youth and young adults and serves as a professor in UVM's graduate social work program.
  • Democrat Stewart Ledbetter, Winooski - Ledbetter is a retired political news anchor at NBC5 in South Burlington and former moderator of "Vermont This Week" on Vermont Public. He is a Vermont Broadcasters Hall of Famer.

No Republicans are vying for the Central District seat.

North District (one seat)

Democrats

  • Incumbent Democrat Irene Wrenner, Essex Town (2023-Present) - Wrenner has a background in communication, human resources and information technology. She notably founded the Essex ReTorter, which reports on local government, and a custom crossword puzzle business.

Republicans

  • Republican Chris Mattos, Milton - Mattos has served as a Vermont House representative since his appointment. He is a lifelong Milton resident, UVM graduate and a small business owner.

Southeast District (three seats)

Democrats

  • Incumbent Democrat Thomas Chittenden, South Burlington (2021-Present) - Chittenden formerly served as a South Burlington city councilor, UVM faculty senate president and chair of Green Mountain Transit. He works as a senior lecturer in UVM's Grossman School of Business.
  • Incumbent Democrat Virginia V. Lyons, Williston (2001-Present) - Lyons is the former chair of Williston Select Board, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and many other community boards. She is currently a part-time professor at Vermont State Colleges after decades of teaching biological sciences at Trinity College in Vermont.
  • Incumbent Democrat Kesha Ram Hinsdale, Burlington (2021-Present) - Prior to her time in the state Senate, Hinsdale served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2008 to 2016. She teaches structural inequality and environmental justice at Vermont Law & Graduate School.
  • Democrat Louis Meyers, South Burlington - Meyers has worked as a physician in primary care and hospital science for 30 years. He previously ran for the Vermont Senate in 2016, as well as the U.S House in 2022.

Republicans

  • Republican Bruce Roy, Williston - Roy is a military veteran, retired engineer at IBM and former community college instructor. He has also served on the Essex School Board. Roy ran unsuccessfully for the Vermont House of Representatives in 2022.

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.