Balint Defeats Gray in Historic U.S. House Primary 

"We proved them wrong. I was the long shot. I was the underdog," Balint said. "But this campaign wasn’t built on connections. It was built on relationships."

"I can say that, while my disappointment is profound, so, too, is my gratitude for this opportunity," she said. "This was a deeply tough race with incredibly qualified candidates making their case to Vermonters."

"I will always be proud of the choice we gave Vermonters and grateful for the chance to be part of a conversation about the future of this state I love so very, very much," Gray continued. "So thank you. Thank you for coming."

Another Democratic contender, Rutland physician Louis Meyers, was on track to finish a distant third. Sianay Chase Clifford, who dropped out a few weeks ago but was still on the ballot, appeared destined for fourth.

The loss is a first for Gray, who shot onto Vermont's political scene in 2020. A political neophyte then, she entered a crowded Democratic primary field in the race for lieutenant governor and won easily. In December, less than a year into her term, Gray was the first candidate to launch a run for U.S. House.

Balint, Gray and Meyers were the three remaining candidates in the once-crowded field of Democratic rivals for the seat formerly held by U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who announced in November that he would run to replace retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Another candidate, state Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden), dropped out of the race in late May and endorsed Balint — in part, Ram Hinsdale told reporters at the time, to forestall the possibility of a split vote between her and Balint. 

After Ram Hinsdale bowed out, Balint and Gray quickly emerged as the top contenders. By Tuesday, both had raked in more than $1 million apiece in contributions and honed their respective campaign narratives. Gray, the more moderate establishment favorite, touted her rural Vermont upbringing and her experience on Capitol Hill in various jobs, including a stint as a scheduler for Welch. Balint pitched herself as the experienced coalition-builder who has successfully negotiated the passage of legislation on the issues she pledges to champion in Congress, including gun control and abortion access.

Balint and Gray had staked out similar positions on most major policy issues, though Balint leans more progressive, particularly on criminal justice. As Senate president pro tempore, Balint supported a bill this session to end qualified immunity for law enforcement, which would have opened a legal pathway for victims of police misconduct to seek restitution. (Ultimately, the bill met fierce opposition and passed as a much-diminished commitment to study the issue.) In a recent televised debate on WCAX, Gray said that she was "open to a conversation" about ending qualified immunity, but only if doing so would eliminate the protection for all public servants, such as teachers.

Among Gray's most prominent backers were two former Vermont governors, Madeleine Kunin and Howard Dean, and Marcelle Leahy, wife of Patrick Leahy. (The retiring senator never explicitly endorsed Gray, who interned in his office while she was an undergraduate at the University of Vermont, though he cast an early ballot for her and donated $5,000 to her campaign through his political action committee.)

Balint's supporters included many of her Statehouse colleagues and, most notably, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who joined her for a statewide tour earlier this month and sent an emailed statement on Tuesday congratulating her on her win. In July, Balint received another major endorsement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), who had supported Gray's 2020 bid for lieutenant governor.

The pair of high-profile endorsements from Warren and Sanders reinforced Balint's appeal to progressive-leaning voters and lent her campaign an extra boost of momentum in the critical stretch leading up to the primary.

Balint also benefitted from about $1.6 million in spending on mailers and digital, TV and radio ads from Equality PAC, LGBTQ Victory Fund Federal PAC, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC and the Working Families Party National PAC.

Gray and her surrogates repeatedly decried these expenditures as unwelcome interference in Vermont's elections. Balint countered that she has no control over spending by PACs, which are prohibited by law from coordinating with campaigns.