Statewide and local Republican candidates to meet Saturday in Bellows Falls

The Windsor and Windham County Republicans are set to host a pre-primary statewide Republican candidate forum Saturday, July 30 in Bellows Falls.

Statewide GOP candidates confirmed to be attending include the three candidates running for U.S. Senate: former U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan; the former national finance chair for Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential run, Myers Mermel; and U.S. Army veteran Gerald Malloy.

VT GOP: The Vermont GOP in Windsor and Windham County wants the public to see and hear candidates who offer alternatives to the liberal-majority rule in the state.

Candidates running for U.S. House set to attend include YouTube “Generally Irritable” show host Ericka Redic, of Burlington, as well as Anya Tynio, a former GOP congressional nominee from West Charlton.

Also confirmed to attend are the two GOP candidates for lieutenant governor, Greg Thayer of Rutland and Sen. Joe Benning of Lyndonville.

According to an event notice posted by the chairs of the Windham and Windsor Republicans, all non-statewide Republican candidates — meaning candidates for state House, Senate and county and local offices — from Windsor, Windham and Bennington Counties are also invited to attend and talk with media.

Rick Morton, Republican candidate for state Senate in Windham County, helped organize the event. He is among three Republicans running for two seats and will face off against fellow Republicans Richard Kenyon, a Brattleboro-based tax preparer, and Mark Coester, a logger and resident of Westminster.

Windham County GOP

Rick Morton, Windham County GOP chair

Speaking in an interview with True North on Wednesday, Morton, who also is chair of the Windham County Republicans, said he expects the event to be well attended.

“We’re rallying our people and hopefully will get a decent turnout,” he said. “All the candidates we spoke to have indicated that they are coming.”

Morton said he hopes to see the candidates espouse conservative principles that run counter to the big-spending, big-government Democrat Party agendas that dominate Vermont.

“What I’m looking for, quite frankly, is someone who’s going to say ‘government cannot solve every problem; people need to take responsibility for their own lives instead of looking for a bailout from some new government program or some additional benefit’ — because we don’t have unlimited resources to tap into,” he said.

Morton recently wrote to the Brattleboro Reformer that he thinks voters have buyer’s remorse after voting for Democrat President Joe Biden, which may benefit Republicans across the nation.

“A lot of people who voted for our president are experiencing it now,” he wrote. “Name an issue and this administration is dropping the ball: Inflation, border security, energy policy, education priorities, Afghan extraction, on and on it goes.”

Randy Gray, chair of the Windsor County GOP

Randy Gray, the chair of the Windsor County GOP, also helped organize the upcoming event. He told True North what issues he thinks will be driving voters to the polls this year.

“Taxes and the opiates — those are the two big complaints that I hear all the time,” he said. “Another thing is the carbon tax that they tried to pass [the “clean heat standard”]. A lot of people were very upset about that. There were people in the oil industry that said they were just going to leave the state.”

Morton said he invited most of Vermont’s top media to cover the event.

“I’ve invited TV, radio, print, and just a whole wide variety across the state,” he said. “They’ve all been invited and they’ve all been contacted several times.”

The event, scheduled for 4-7 p.m. July 30 at Living Hope Fellowship in Bellows Falls, will include a mixer, candidate presentations, a Q&A period with media and attendees, and opportunities for one-on-one discussions.

Michael Bielawski is a reporter for True North. Send him news tips at bielawski82@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TrueNorthMikeB.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/DonkeyHotey and Windham County GOP

7 thoughts on “Statewide and local Republican candidates to meet Saturday in Bellows Falls

  1. This is the perfect man for the job!

    He is not a polished politician…

    This gentleman speaks from the heart..

    He is one of us with grave concerns about our schools….has children in our school systems…

    He has a beautiful family and is concerned about the state of Vermont and what is going on that is affecting families who share the same concerns.

    He served 20 years in the military.

    He’s worried about article 22 that will become part of our Constitution bland how it affects every Vermonter.

    I could go on and on after listening to this wonderful gentleman speak..

    He is the perfect choice for the state of Vermont he is concerned with the people in this state and will do everything in his power to improve their lives.

    This gentleman believes in giving power to the parents..

    There is no more important issue on the table today than the destruction of our families and he is ready to handle it.

    I’m encouraging everyone to vote for Gerald Malloy if they want real representation who is concerned totally about them and their families.

    And the wonderful news is he’s a conservative…

    NOT A NEW KIND OF CONSERVATIVE…

    PLEASE EVERYONE LET’S ELECT GERALD MALLOY SENATOR FROM VERMONT

    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid028foNdHjxGyFeeCMwy9Pg9cPZ9ExS8UFUCYpj7eKyD3LGEHwgX77qK9FXmAVw6fizl&id=100069630234783

  2. I hope that fellow republicans follow this and/or Monday’s debate so everyone can make an informed decision after hearing from the candidates.
    You can see why I was so impressed after hearing Myers Mermel speak in the republican senate debate. He was by far the most articulate and knowledgeable of the three and easily has the best chance to defeat Peter Welch.
    This may be a once in a lifetime chance to have a republican or two representing us in DC so we can’t afford a misstep.
    I respect and agree with Gerald Malloy as well but IT’S ABOUT WHO HAS THE BEST CHANCE OF WINNING IN THE GENERAL ELECTION.
    If you watch I’m sure you will agree.

    • Hi Keith, do you have a link to that debate? I would like to hear Myers Mermel and his plan for Vt., Thank you, Lyle Howe

    • Hi again Keith, I found the debate, I’ve heard enough of Myers Mermel, he hedged on abortion, even saying Vermont will always have abortion access, that’s a no vote for me my friend. (Prop,5) article 22 in November must not succeed. Thank you for the chance to hear that though.

      • I guess you didn’t listen close enough. He doesn’t support Prop 5 but abortion is already legal in VT. He said he supports legal abortions for a few weeks only which is completely realistic considering everything.
        But feel free to vote for the candidate who has the least chance of winning, Pete will thank you.

        • I’ll help you out here Keith:

          “”Your vote is not a Valentine, you are not professing your love for the candidate.
          Your vote is a chess move for the world you want to live in””.

          THIS is where it’s at here Folks.
          Learn the lessons from our past and stop repeating them!
          Pick a person, then organize for this pick, everyone support this person, whether you agree or not! Think of the party and the people as a whole, it’s not just about you as an individual, it’s about winning so that we can have the power to fix this trainwreck, THIS is bigger right at the moment than your personal feelings about it all.. because if we loose, then what?
          (*Recall the Left will vote in a ham sandwich if told to do so, or a patient with dementia and WE are like trying to herd cats!* This has a whole lot to do with why we are here)
          Then get it done!! Get your pick over the finish line !!

          • It’s too bad that we can’t get behind the right candidates. We shoot ourselves in the repeatedly by picking the RINO who is too similar to the democrat.

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