The vermont delegation

congressional officials …

Vermont’s state congressional delegation is small but not without influence nationally, thanks to the presence of two-time presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders.

Two of the three 2022-2023 class members are male, and one is female. One of the two Senators is a lawyer, and the other two delegation members come from the political and business worlds.

One member holds two graduate degrees.

None are military veterans.

The average tenure for the delegation is only 1.6 terms, assuming everyone completes their service through the end of 2024. The longest-serving member has been in Congress since 2006.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a meager score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of pushback on former President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are vital to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. None of the Vermont delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results on the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on critical matters because they control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. In our opinion, being too doctrinaire or an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2024 elections today. The overwhelming majority of House members were re-elected in 2022. One of the two United States Senators seats is up for re-election.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Senator Bernie Sanders is included since he has a race in 2024. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating Vermonters? If so, keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

There are no vulnerable races in Vermont for Thomas to watch in 2024, except we are curious about and will be tracking:

• VTS1 - Bernie Sander’s seat (Incumbent I)

the senators

United States Senator bernie sanders (i)

The two-time presidential candidate who came in second in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, Senator Bernie Sanders, is Vermont’s senior senator and the longest-serving independent in congressional history. A graduate of the University of Chicago and the married father of one, Senator Sanders was the Mayor of Burlington before his election to the Senate. The three-term Senator is up for re-election in 2024 and serves on the Budget Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee he chairs; and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Thomas Take: Safe Bet Independent/Democrat

Thomas Rank: B

Website

United states senator peter welch (D)

Vermont’s junior senator is serving his first term in the U.S. Senate after being elected in 2022.  A former member of the U.S. House as an at-large member from 2007 to 2023, Senator Welch is on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Technology Committee; the Rules Committee; the Judiciary Committee; and the Joint Economic Committee.  A graduate of Holy Cross, he also has a law degree from the University of California Berkeley.  Senator Welch is married, the father of three, and has five stepchildren.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024.

Thomas Rank: B

Website

the representatives