ADDISON COUNTY — Voters throughout Addison County — and particularly those residing in the Bristol area — will have extra incentive to show up at their respective polling places on Primary Election Day, this coming Tuesday, Aug. 13.

That’s because Democratic and Republican primary runoffs will be needed to narrow down the field of candidates running for the two seats representing the Addison-4 House district, and for the two state Senate seats representing Addison County, Huntington, Rochester and Buel’s Gore.

And there’s also an Addison County angle to the race for governor. Middlebury’s Esther Charlestin will face Underhill’s Peter Duval to see which of the two Democrats will advance to face incumbent Gov. Phil Scott, a Berlin Republican, in the Nov. 5 General Election.

Meanwhile, many of the candidates vying in Addison County’s contested primaries have been out and about, shaking hands, passing out campaign literature and making the rounds at Addison County Fair & Field Days. Here are those local races and the candidates involved.

Addison-4 House district

The two-seat district covers Bristol, Lincoln, Monkton and Starksboro. The field includes six candidates — three Democrats and three Republicans. The Aug. 13 primary will pare both trios down to two, who will then advance to the Nov. 5 general.

The six candidates, in alphabetical order, are Lincoln Democrat Jeanne Albert, Monkton Republican Lynne Caulfield, incumbent Democratic State Rep. Mari Cordes of Bristol, Bristol Republican Chanin Hill, Monkton Republican Renee McGuinness, and Starksboro Democrat Herb Olson.

The race has generated more interest this year in part because one of the incumbents — Rep. Caleb Elder, D-Starksboro — has decided not to seek re-election. Instead, he’s running for state Senate.

The Independent interviewed the five challengers in the Addison-4 race, and offers links to those articles:

• Albert (tinyurl.com/2r3u8tz2) recently capped a 30-year teaching career that included stints at Dartmouth College, Castleton State College and Middlebury College.

She served (2021-2022) on the seven-member Vermont Legislative Apportionment Board, which recommended new legislative district boundaries based on federal census deviations during the prior decade.

As of Aug. 1, Albert had raised $6,585 toward her campaign, and spent $1,793.

• Caulfield (tinyurl.com/23m5nbs9) is an RN sonographer at the Aspire Now Pregnancy Resource Center in Williston, a self-described faith-based pregnancy resource center. She also works seasonally with the Mount Snow Adaptive Snow Sports program, working with adults and children with various levels of mental, physical and emotional disabilities.

As of Aug. 1, Caulfield said she hadn’t raised or spent the minimum $500 needed to trigger the filing of a campaign finance disclosure form with the Vermont Secretary of State’s office.

• Cordes (tinyurl.com/26jyms2z) is seeking her fourth two-year term representing Addison-4. She’s a longtime Registered Nurse and currently serves on the House Committee on Health Care.

As of Aug. 1, Cordes had raised $2,463, and spent $255. She applied $1,627 in surplus from her previous campaign.

• Hill (tinyurl.com/msbenam6) is one of the driving forces behind Bristol’s Four Hills Farm, one of the largest dairy operations in the Champlain Valley, located at the intersection of Burpee and Plank roads. She serves on the Bristol Planning Commission, as well as on the town’s hazard mitigation committee.

As of Aug. 1, Hill had reported raising $597, and had spent $40.

• McGuinness (tinyurl.com/3zu2ytxd) is a policy analyst with the Vermont Family Alliance, a non-profit advocacy organization that, among other things, tracks “current and proposed policies and laws that infringe on parental rights, and (exposes) the potential harms that could occur when such policies and laws are made,” according to its website.

As of Aug. 1, McGuinness had raised $4,869, and had spent $579.

• Olson (tinyurl.com/26ryvzvt), a retired attorney, spent 15 years (1987-2003) as a member of the Vermont Legislative Counsel, helping state lawmakers draft bills targeting healthcare, economic development, taxation and other weighty policy issues. He served stints representing his community on the Mount Abraham Union High School Board, and on the Starksboro Planning Commission.

As of Aug. 1, Olson had raised $7,195 toward his largely self-financed campaign, and had spent $3,578.

State Senate

The field for our two-seat senatorial district includes six candidates — three democrats and three Republicans. As in the case of Addison-4, the Aug. 13 primary will pare both trios down to two, who will then advance to the Nov. 5 general.

Those vying for state Senate include, in alphabetical order, Leicester Republican Lesley J. Bienvenue; incumbent Sen. Chris Bray, D-Bristol; Huntington Republican Landel James Cochran; Elder, a Starksboro Democrat; incumbent Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Middlebury; and Bristol Republican Steven Heffernan.

The Independent interviewed the four challengers in the state senate race, and offers links to those articles:

• Bienvenue (tinyurl.com/3nhk2nwh) is a 1977 Vergennes Union High School grad and a former employee of the Otter Creek Child Care Center in Middlebury and the Vermonsters Day Care Center in Rutland.

As of Aug. 1, Bienvenue had reported financing her campaign to the tune of $1,721 and had spent all of it.

• Bray (tinyurl.com/34rbdk4s) was originally elected to the Vermont House (Addison-5) in 2006, and then to the state Senate in 2013, where he currently chairs the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee. He also serves on the Senate Finance Committee, Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, and the Joint Carbon Reduction Committee.

As of Aug. 1, Bray had raised $25,540, and spent $21,688.

• Cochran (tinyurl.com/ycy98s8j) is a Huntington selectman who currently works as a data services manager at Vermont Systems, a software company in Essex Junction. His job keys on supporting the U.S. Army’s Child and Youth Management System and in building custom analytics tools.

As of Aug. 1, Cochran had raised $1,310, of which he had spent $597.

• Elder (tinyurl.com/4j8y7dxy) is rounding out his second term representing the Addison-4 House district. He told the Independent in March that he’d pass on re-election and instead run for the Senate, saying he believed he could accomplish more in the state’s highest chamber. Elder is a former Starksboro representative to the Mount Abraham school board.

As of Aug. 1, Elder had raised $13,580, and had spent $12,645.

• Hardy (tinyurl.com/3exzrvzf) is rounding out her third term in the Senate. She currently chairs the Senate Committee on Government Operations, and serves on the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, the Canvassing Committee and the Judicial Retention Committee.

Her past civic service has included stints on the Mary Hogan Elementary School board, the UD-3 school board and the Addison Central School District Board.

As of Aug. 1, Hardy had raised $14,640, and spent $11,771.

• Heffernan (tinyurl.com/38sjx8ws) grew up on his family’s farm in Bristol, and has a hand in three family businesses: 802 Excavating, Heffernan Inspection and Repair, and GHR Metal Recycling.

He has served for 30 years in the Vermont Air National Guard as an explosive ordnance disposal tech, a tenure that’s included two tours in Afghanistan.

His past civic experience includes a stint on Bristol’s Zoning Board of Adjustment.

As of Aug. 1, Heffernan had raised $2,855, and spent $3,044.

Polls in most towns will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 13. Please check with your local town office for voting details.

Read Q&As for Candidates in competitive races … Click here.

Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].