Sarah George Wins Second Term as Chittenden Prosecutor

Residents of Chittenden County will keep their current state's attorney. Sarah George, a Democrat, won reelection to the position on Tuesday night.

Unofficial results from the Vermont Secretary of State's office show George captured 65% of the vote. Her opponent, Jace Laquerre, received 35%.

Laquerre, a software engineer from Milton, entered the race without a legal background. He told voters he did not want the job and promised to resign if he won. That move would have allowed the governor to appoint a new prosecutor.

The contest followed a contentious primary season. George survived a fierce Democratic primary challenge. In that race, her opponent argued the county had become less safe under George's leadership.

The Republican Party selected Laquerre to run against George after the August primary. He repeated many of the same criticisms of George when he accepted his party's nomination. He stated at the time that he did not plan to raise money or run advertisements for his campaign.

George said the campaign focused on what justice should look like. She described that vision as fair, smart, and free from fear in a social media post on Wednesday. She added that the role requires standing up for victims and holding people accountable.

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 Vermont this election cycle. In Grand Isle County, incumbent Doug DiSabito won both the Democratic and Republican nominations. He defeated independent challenger Joshua Martin by nearly 50 percentage points. Franklin County voters chose Zach Weight, the joint Republican and Democratic nominee, as their new top prosecutor. That county also elected Chad Miles to replace Sheriff John Grismore. Miles, a Republican, narrowly defeated Democrat Andre LaBier by two percentage points. Democratic candidates won the other two contested sheriff races. In Windsor County, Claude Weyant beat Republican Richard King by more than 40 percentage points. In Orange County, Sean McRae won 63% of the vote against Republican Jacob Held's 37%.