(Host) Polls are still open at this hour across Vermont, New York and New Hampshire for primary elections.
In Vermont, voting ends at 7:00pm. There are only two statewide contests, both on the Democratic ballot.
Congressman Peter Welch has been challenged by Craig Hill of Montpelier. And Brattleboro lawyer Tom Costello and Northfield businessman Nate Freeman are running for lieutenant governor.
The Progressive Party doesn’t have any contested races. But the party has given its supporters the names of a slate of candidates to write in for statewide offices.
That’s because no Progressive candidate filed for any of those races earlier this year.
Progressives fear that without their own candidates, someone who doesn’t represent the party’s ideals will capture the nomination.
Executive Director Morgan Daybell says that’s what prompted the write-in campaign today.
(Daybell) “So, that’s the primary reason. The other reason is because to keep our major party status we need one state candidate to receive 5 percent of the vote in the general election and so we’ll be looking at these races to secure our major party status.”
(Host) To qualify for the November ballot, the Progressives will have to win at least 250 write-in votes for each office.
Daybell says that will be a challenge, but he thinks the Progressives will succeed.