Vermont's Independent Voice
Browse News
Browse Arts + Culture
Browse Food + Drink
Browse Cannabis
Browse Music
Browse On Screen
Browse Events
Browse Classifieds
Browse Personals
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Election 2020 / Statehouse Recount Confirms Pearson's Chittenden Senate Primary Win
Posted
By Kevin McCallum
on Wed, Sep 2, 2020 at 3:24 PM
June Heston lost her bid for a Chittenden County Senate seat after a recount put her 28 votes behind sixth-place finisher Sen. Chris Pearson (P/D – Chittenden) in last month's Democratic primary.
The recount in Burlington wrapped up on Tuesday and Superior Court Judge Helen Toor confirmed the final results on Wednesday.
“I think it was worth it,” said Heston, a nonprofit consultant from Richmond in her first run for public office. “Everyone is now confident that the results are real.”
The initial results showed Pearson with a 45-vote lead over Heston for the sixth Chittenden County Senate seat, well within the 2 percent margin needed to request a recount.
The other five winners of the nomination contest were three incumbents — Sens. Ginny Lyons (D-Chittenden), Michael Sirotkin (D-Chittenden) and Phil Baruth (D/P-Chittenden) — former state representative Kesha Ram, and South Burlington City Councilor Thomas Chittenden.
Both Pearson and Heston picked up votes during the recount, though in the end, Heston fell 28 short: 11,782 to Pearson's 11,810.
Heston said she was pleased with the result because the recount process narrowed the gap between the two candidates and identified some issues to be resolved before the general election.
For instance, the hand-counting process confirmed votes that the tabulator machine had rejected for something such as a bubble that was not completely filled in, Heston said.
Heston said she called Pearson to congratulate him on Wednesday, and on Twitter, Pearson did the same.
The recount in Burlington wrapped up on Tuesday and Superior Court Judge Helen Toor confirmed the final results on Wednesday.
“I think it was worth it,” said Heston, a nonprofit consultant from Richmond in her first run for public office. “Everyone is now confident that the results are real.”
The initial results showed Pearson with a 45-vote lead over Heston for the sixth Chittenden County Senate seat, well within the 2 percent margin needed to request a recount.
The other five winners of the nomination contest were three incumbents — Sens. Ginny Lyons (D-Chittenden), Michael Sirotkin (D-Chittenden) and Phil Baruth (D/P-Chittenden) — former state representative Kesha Ram, and South Burlington City Councilor Thomas Chittenden.
Both Pearson and Heston picked up votes during the recount, though in the end, Heston fell 28 short: 11,782 to Pearson's 11,810.
Heston said she was pleased with the result because the recount process narrowed the gap between the two candidates and identified some issues to be resolved before the general election.
For instance, the hand-counting process confirmed votes that the tabulator machine had rejected for something such as a bubble that was not completely filled in, Heston said.
Heston said she called Pearson to congratulate him on Wednesday, and on Twitter, Pearson did the same.
"June and her supporters have every reason to be proud. Congrats on running such a strong race during challenging times!" he wrote.
Comments
Comments are closed.
Since 2014, Seven Days has allowed readers to comment on all stories posted on our website. While we’ve appreciated the suggestions and insights, the time has come to shut them down — at least temporarily.
While we champion free speech, facts are a matter of life and death during the coronavirus pandemic, and right now Seven Days is prioritizing the production of responsible journalism over moderating online debates between readers.
To criticize, correct or praise our reporting, please send us a letter to the editor. Or send us a tip. We’ll check it out and report the results.
Online comments may return when we have better tech tools for managing them. Thanks for reading.
Related Stories
About The Author
Kevin McCallum
Bio:
Kevin McCallum is a political reporter at Seven Days, covering the Statehouse and state government. He previously was a reporter at The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Kevin McCallum is a political reporter at Seven Days, covering the Statehouse and state government. He previously was a reporter at The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.
