Eric Davis: Vt.’s primary deserves higher turnout

The Aug. 9 Democratic primary among Sen. Becca Balint, Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, and Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale for Vermont’s open congressional seat will be one of the most important elections in the state’s recent history.

After 21 years of writing his column Politically Thinking every other week for the Addison Independent, Eric Davis, professor emeritus of political science at Middlebury College, pens his final column for us in today’s issue.

There are several important issues that Scott did not address in his speech. Other than acknowledging, and saying he respected, the Legislature’s decision to meet remotely for the first two weeks of the session, and stressing the importance of in-person l … (read more)

The Biden Administration announced last Wednesday that it would extend the moratorium on federal student loan repayments, which was due to expire in early February, to May 1.

Lt. Gov. Molly Gray’s announcement that she is a candidate for Vermont’s open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives means that there will also be an open seat campaign for lieutenant governor next year.

Since 1958, every time there has been a vacancy in Vermont’s Senate delegation, the state’s House member has been a candidate for the Senate.

Voters in all six New England states, as well as New York state, will elect governors in 2022.

On Monday, the United States Senate confirmed Vermont Supreme Court Justice Beth Robinson’s nomination for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Leaders from more than 120 nations will gather in Glasgow, Scotland, at the end of this month for the year’s most important global conference.

One of the topics being investigated by the U.S. House Committee is the attempt that former President Trump and others close to him made to induce Vice President Pence to have Congress overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election when the electo … (read more)

Last week, Gov. Phil Scott announced that up to 100 Afghan refugees would be resettled in Vermont over the next few months, as part of a cooperative program among the federal government, state governments, and nongovernmental refugee resettlement organiza … (read more)

Last week, Gov. Phil Scott announced that up to 100 Afghan refugees would be resettled in Vermont over the next few months, as part of a cooperative program among the federal government, state governments, and nongovernmental refugee resettlement organiza … (read more)

The Vermont Department of Health reported on Monday that there were 1,553 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the state over the past two weeks, and that there were 33 people hospitalized with COVID, 13 of them in intensive care. The count of new cases and … (read more)

Last Friday marked the 56th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This legislation was passed less than five months after “Bloody Sunday,” the attack by Alabama state troopers on John Lewis and other voting ri … (read more)

The next two months could be the most consequential in Sen. Bernie Sanders’s more than 30-year career in Congress. For much of his time in the House, and then in the Senate, Sanders was a gadfly on the left, making speeches that received more attention of … (read more)