Competition in the Kingdom

For the past two years, Reps. Katherine Sims, D-Craftsbury, and Vicki Strong, R-Albany, have served alongside each other in the Vermont House, jointly representing seven towns in the Northeast Kingdom. But this year, due to redistricting, Sims and Strong are competing for a single seat. It is the only race in the state where an incumbent is guaranteed to lose. Along stretches of Route 14 in Craftsbury, nearly every driveway sports a campaign lawn sign, alternately supporting each candidate: Sims, Strong, Sims, Strong. Past election results suggest this could be a tight race, won by just a handful of votes. “I don't want to wake up the day after and wish that I had talked to one more voter,” Sims said. “And so I'm trying to do everything that I can.” Sims was first elected in 2020, after campaigning almost entirely online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, she’s been knocking on voters’ doors for hours at a time, three to four days a week. With help from Democratic volunteers, her campaign has knocked on more than a thousand doors, she said.Strong, who described herself as “very much a homebody,” said she’s focused much of her campaigning at community events, such as farmers markets and town parades. Her husband is a local pastor, and their last name is well-known in the local community. “I hope they’ll look at my 12 years representing them and say, you know, Vicki’s been faithful,” Strong said. “She answers my emails, she cares. She’s not, like, a political activist. She’s really there to represent me in Montpelier. I hope they’ll look at that and vote for me.”