Becca Balint

Republican Gerald Malloy is running for U.S. Rep. Becca Balint's House seat in Vermont.

Malloy previously lost congressional races to Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Peter Welch.

He aims to provide "moderate, balanced representation" and tackle affordability issues in the state.

Malloy will face Mark Coester in the Republican primary this August.

Republican Gerald Malloy, known for his "Deploy Malloy" campaign signs posted around Burlington, is swooping back into Vermont's political fray, this time for U.S. Rep. Becca Balint's House seat.

Malloy, who most recently challenged U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders two years ago, told the Burlington Free Press about his new candidacy for Congress on Wednesday.

The U.S. Army veteran from Weathersfield said he's throwing his hat back into the ring because Vermont hasn't had "moderate, balanced representation" in Congress for 25 years, calling Balint, Sanders and Sen. Peter Welch "far-left" politicians. Balint and Welch, who beat out Malloy in 2022, are Democrats; Sanders is an independent but causes with Democrats.

Malloy said the state's current congressional delegation has done too little to tackle affordability in Vermont, which he believes has forced residents and local businesses to move away.

"They're doing a lot of things that are not benefiting Vermont," Malloy said.

Malloy said Vermonters are tired of "angry rhetoric, the bashing and the kicking and screaming" and that he would strive to bring "decorum" to Washington.

"I'm not into saying bad things about people over and over and over again," Malloy said. "I will deliver solutions and results and, yes, work across the aisle."

If elected, he said he would support Republican Gov. Phil Scott's economic plan and strive to "reduce cost burden and oversight and rules and regulations" on businesses.

"Right now Vermont is unfriendly to businesses," he said. "I want to make it friendly. We've got to attract and retain folks to live here. This is the best place in the world to live, but we need to make common-sense decisions for all Vermonters."

Will liberal Vermont 'Deploy Malloy' this year?

Malloy lost handedly the last two times he ran for Congress. Sanders defeated him 63.2% to 32.1% in 2024. In 2022, Welch won 68.5% of the vote to Malloy's 28% in the race to fill Patrick Leahy's vacated seat.

Despite his previous losses, and Vermont's reputation as a liberal bastion, Malloy said he believes "the pendulum is swinging" in his favor.

He pointed to the significant gains Republicans made in the Vermont Legislature two years ago, which ended the Democratic-Progressive supermajority across both chambers.

Malloy is slated to face Westminster business owner Mark Coester in the Republican primary this August. Coester won the House seat primary two years ago and challenged Balint that November, losing 62.3% to 29.8%.

Coester — who faced backlash several years ago when a campaign vehicle displayed a flag associated with the authoritarian-nationalist, and at times explicitly fascist, ideologies of the Spanish Civil War — told the Free Press that he believed Malloy would run.

Asked about Coester, Malloy said he had no thoughts about his opponent other than confidence that he could prevail in the primary.

"I'm looking forward to debating Balint early and often — hopefully not waiting until October," Malloy said.

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at [email protected].