Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, a Democrat, won reelection on Tuesday night, beating Republican Jace Laquerre — a software engineer with no legal background.
The unusual race pitted George against a challenger who explicitly told voters that he didn’t want the job — and would resign if elected to allow the governor to appoint a replacement.
George received 65% of the vote, compared to Laquerre’s 35%, according to unofficial results from the Vermont Secretary of State’s office.
“This campaign was about what justice should look like: fair, smart, and free from fear,” George said in a social media post on Wednesday. “That means standing up for victims, holding people accountable and pursuing solutions that make our community safer.”
The Republican party picked Laquerre, of Milton, to run against George after the August primary. George had just survived a fierce challenge to win the Democratic primary, where her opponent argued that the county had become less safe under her watch.
Laquerre reiterated many of the same criticisms of George when he accepted his party’s nomination, though said at the time he wasn’t planning on fundraising or running ads for his campaign.
George will begin her new four-year term in February.
The Chittenden County race was one of only three contested state’s attorney races in the state.
In Grand Isle County, incumbent Doug DiSabito, who won both the Democratic and Republican nominations, defeated his challenger Joshua Martin, an independent, by nearly 50 percentage points, according to results from the Secretary of State’s office.
Franklin County voters picked Zach Weight, the Republican and Democratic nominee, to take over as top prosecutor rather than independent John Lavoie — the former state’s attorney who was nearly impeached.
Voters there also elected Republican Chad Miles to replace Sheriff John Grismore. Miles narrowly beat Democrat Andre LaBier by two percentage points, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
In the other two contested sheriff races, the Democratic candidates won. In the Windsor County sheriff’s race, Democrat Claude Weyant beat Republican Richard King by more than 40 percentage points. And in the Orange County sheriff’s race, Democrat Sean McRae won 63% of the vote, over Republican Jacob Held’s 37%.
