SOUTH ROYALTON — In their quest to become the first woman to represent Vermont in Congress, Becca Balint and Molly Gray have zeroed in on each other’s fundraising strategies.
Gray was slightly ahead of Balint in the fundraising race — $990,116 to $973,780 — as of June 30, according to the candidates’ filings with the Federal Election Commission.
But at a forum hosted by Vermont Law and Graduate School in South Royalton on Monday, Gray attempted to make political hay of news earlier in the day that Balint’s campaign had benefited from more than $600,000 in spending by three political action committees.
The LGBTQ Victory Fund Federal PAC, Equality PAC and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC have paid for TV ads, digital advertising and mailers that endorse Balint, Seven Days, a Burlington-based weekly newspaper and website, reported Monday.
Balint’s campaign said that it did not seek the outside spending and has no control over it.
At Monday’s forum, Balint pointed out that more than 6,500 individual donors have contributed to her campaign during the last three months. Over that same period, Gray had “just over” 1,000 individual donors, Balint said.
Roughly half of Balint’s donations in the second quarter came from people with Vermont addresses, compared with 42% for Gray, Seven Days reported.
But no matter where the money is coming from, it speaks to a bigger problem, Balint said at Monday’s forum.
“You and I have both raised an obscene amount of money in this race, and it’s not healthy for democracy,” she said.
Gray and Balint are squaring off in the Aug. 9 Democratic primary to fill the state’s sole congressional seat that Rep. Peter Welch is relinquishing after 16 years. Welch, a Democrat, is running for the U.S. Senate, seeking to take Sen. Patrick Leahy’s spot. Leahy, 82, is retiring after serving in the Senate since 1974.
Along with Balint and Gray, Rutland physician Louis Meyers is campaigning for the Democratic nomination. Meyers, who lags far behind his opponents in fundraising and name recognition, didn’t participate in Monday’s forum.
On the Republican side, three candidates — Liam Madden, Ericka Redic and Anya Tynio — are on the ballot for the Aug. 9 primary. Barbara Nolfi is the Progressive Party’s sole candidate.
Early voting in the primaries has already begun, and more voting information can be found at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/5386bku.
Gray, who was raised in Newbury, Vt., was elected Vermont’s lieutenant governor in November 2020. Before taking statewide office, Gray, 38, served as a Vermont Assistant Attorney General and worked on Welch’s congressional staff.
Two former Vermont governors — Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin — have endorsed Gray.
Balint, 54, moved to Vermont in 1994. She was a public school teacher before getting elected to the state Senate from Windham County in 2015. She was named Senate President Pro Tempore in 2021.
Sen. Bernie Sanders has endorsed her.
At Monday’s forum, Balint was asked about how she would help the U.S. achieve its Paris Agreement pledge to cut emissions in half by 2030. In her response, Balint focused on the language legislators use to speak about climate change.
“Vermonters are feeling hopeless and paralyzed by the way we’re talking about climate change and feeling like there’s too much pressure put on individuals,” Balint said. “I’m looking to the federal government to make big investments in helping Vermonters transition off of fossil fuels.”
Ensuring that the federal government renews solar tax credits that are lapsing soon is also crucial, Balint said. The current solar tax credit, which provides a 26% credit for solar systems, is set to expire in 2024 unless Congress votes to renew it.
“We have had a robust solar industry here in Vermont,” Balint said. “It’s going to take real money to allow regular people to do that, and we shouldn’t be shaming people who can’t so far.”
Meanwhile, Gray stressed workforce development as essential to transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
“We here in the state say that we want to install solar, but we don’t actually have the workforce to do that,” Gray said. “Not only is it investing in the programs, but also building the workforce to do so.”
When asked about proposed revisions to the federal Farm Bill, Gray was quick to mention her family’s 4 Corners Farm in Newbury, which her brothers still operate.
Congress updates the Farm Bill, which is the primary agricultural and food policy legislation of the federal government, every five years.
“I know what it’s like to raise an animal, to care for it and then to go through the process of slaughtering,” Gray said, decrying the practice of large-scale industrial animal farming and connecting it to pollution and animal cruelty.
“One of the things that you learn really quickly in the Legislature in Vermont is that our scale is different,” Balint said, likening Vermont farms to small businesses as compared to larger farms in other states.
“We have to make farming viable by giving farmers the basic supports that all small businesses need: child care, health care, making sure they can hire migrant workers and that those workers are protected and have safe housing,” Balint added.
Gray also voiced support for the federal gas tax holiday, which would suspend the 18 cents per gallon tax for three months in light of recent price hikes.
“Vermonters are really suffering,” she said. “We can be champions of climate action, but we can also be champions for working families as we try to make this energy transition.”
Later in the forum, Balint underscored Gray’s lack of legislative experience — an issue she has continually brought up during the campaign.
“After only about eight months of your first year as lieutenant governor, you started to run for this office,” Balint said.
Gray countered that, as lieutenant governor, her duties included signing approved bills before they’re sent to the governor. By the nature of her position, Gray said she represents the entire state, not just a single Senate district as Balint has done.
Vermont Law School President Rodney Smolla closed the forum by emphasizing the role Congress will play in developing the U.S. response to climate change.
“Sole seats in small states like Vermont are always important,” Smolla said, “but could not be more important than in the time we live in.”
Frances Mize is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at fmize@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.