With a rare opening this fall in its congressional delegation, Vermont appears poised to lose its distinction as the only state that has never been represented by a woman in Washington.
Three women, including Lt. Gov. Molly Gray and Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, are among the Democrats competing in the Aug. 9 primary for the seat being vacated by the state's lone U.S. House member, Democrat Peter Welch, who is trying to move to the Senate. The two Republican candidatesGiven Vermont's liberal reputation, it might seem strange that it would be the last state to send a woman to Congress.
"I believe strongly — and I think a lot of other people believe strongly — that if women, Democratic women, were actually at the table, these kinds of threatening situations would not be occurring, because women's lived experiences would be at the center of the discussion and of the policy," she said.
"This is an all-hands-on-deck moment and I couldn't be more excited for our state that these women have stepped up to meet the challenge," Welch said in a statement."Each of the candidates is uniquely and incredibly talented and I know that they will use their experience to work hard for Vermonters in Congress should they be elected."
The women seeking the Democratic nomination in the Vermont House race have not focused their campaigns on the possibility that one of them will be the first woman from the state elected to Congress. They are instead promising to seek solutions to build the workforce, ease the state's affordable housing problem and combat the climate crisis, among other priorities central to the party.
Balint has served in the state Senate for eight years, including six years in leadership positions, with the last two as president pro tempore. She was previously a middle school teacher. The GOP candidates registered to run for the House seat are accountant Ericka Redic, who lost a state Senate race in 2020, and Anya Tynio, who ran for the U.S. House in 2018 and lost.