Sarah Copeland Hanzas ekes out narrow victory in Democratic secretary of state primary

Up to date at 1:29 a.m.

In a nailbiter of a race, Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, a veteran lawmaker from Bradford, received the Democratic main for Vermont secretary of state Tuesday.

With only one precinct left to report early Wednesday morning, Copeland Hanzas led her closest opponent, Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters, by simply 1,934 votes out of 100,019 counted.

Copeland Hanzas had picked up 36% of the vote, Winters 34% and Montpelier Metropolis Clerk John Odum 14%. 

Copeland Hanzas didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark late Tuesday evening. In an 11 p.m. assertion, a Winters spokesperson mentioned the marketing campaign was nonetheless monitoring the outcomes. 

“Given how shut the race is we’re not able to remark,” mentioned the spokesperson, Joanna Grossman. “We recognize your endurance as we study extra. We’ll present further updates because the race turns into clearer.” 

Odum mentioned shortly earlier than 11 p.m. that he deliberate to name his opponents to concede.

Perennial Republican candidate H. Brooke Paige and Progressive Robert Millar ran unopposed for his or her celebration’s nominations. 

In February, Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos introduced his retirement after 11 years within the place, setting the stage for a aggressive Democratic main.

The three-way race pitted Winters, who spent a quarter-century within the Secretary of State’s Workplace, in opposition to Copeland Hanzas, a former Home majority chief and the chair of the Home Committee on Authorities Operations, and Odum, a municipal official and former political blogger. 

Latest secretary of state races throughout the nation have been high-profile affairs, because the administration of elections has drawn scrutiny amid voter fraud conspiracy theories. However in Vermont, the Democratic main for the workplace, which is able to doubtless decide who will turn into the subsequent secretary of state, was civil and low-key.

The three Democratic candidates had been in settlement in regards to the bulk of the problems going through the Secretary of State’s Workplace, which performs a spread of capabilities together with election administration, skilled licensing and enterprise registration. 

All three candidates supported increasing poll entry, implementing ranked-choice voting, permitting non-citizens and 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in native races, and strengthening the state’s ethics fee. 

Copeland Hanzas, an 18-year veteran of the Vermont Home, touted her expertise because the chair of the federal government operations committee, whose duties — together with elections, public data and redistricting — align carefully with the secretary of state’s. 

“Underneath my management within the Home, I’ve prioritized election reforms that put civic engagement and voter accessibility on the forefront,” Copeland Hanzas mentioned in a VTDigger-hosted debate in June, citing her work to implement common mail-in voting throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. 

A former cafe proprietor, Copeland Hanzas boasted the endorsement of former Gov. Madeleine Kunin and an extended listing of Democratic lawmakers. 

Winters, who Condos publicly supported all through the marketing campaign and formally endorsed final month, offered himself as an skilled public servant and a continuation of the established order.

“Proper now, Vermont wants stability and continuity within the Secretary of State’s workplace,” Winters mentioned within the VTDigger debate. “I’m the one candidate who can hit the bottom working.”

Winters, who entered the race two days after Condos introduced his retirement, had raised roughly $75,000 in donations throughout the marketing campaign, in line with an Aug. 1 marketing campaign finance report. 

By that very same date, Copeland Hanzas had raised about $51,000, and Odum about $17,000. 

Odum, who additionally describes himself as a “licensed moral hacker,” proposed strengthening the state’s election cybersecurity and interesting in activism. By way of its Workplace of Skilled Regulation, he urged, the secretary of state might encourage licensed professionals to endure implicit bias coaching, or push for environmental initiatives.  

“It has been an amazing race. It has been an amazing expertise,” Odum informed VTDigger Tuesday evening. “Whoever finally ends up on prime tonight goes to make Vermont proud.”