Becca Balint

Retired U.S. Army veteran Gerald Malloy won the Republican nomination for Vermont's U.S. representative seat.

Malloy will face incumbent Democrat Rep. Becca Balint in the November general election.

This is Malloy's third attempt at a congressional seat after previous losses to Sens. Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders.

Malloy stated he believes he can do a better job than Balint and that Vermont is ready for a change from progressive leadership.

Retired U.S. Army veteran Gerald Malloy — whose "Deploy Malloy" campaigns have so far failed to bring him to Congress — handily secured the Republican nomination this week for Vermont's sole U.S. representative seat.

The Weathersfield Republican vanquished his primary challenger Mark Coester, a Westminster logger, 67.9% to 19.61%.

Malloy is guaranteed to face incumbent Democrat Rep. Becca Balint, who ran unopposed in her primary and captured over 90% of the vote, in the November general election.

In a Thursday phone interview, Malloy told the Burlington Free Press that he "can do a better job than Balint."

"I know people are upset and ready for a change," Malloy said. "Vermont has been led by progressive ideas for a very long time. It's not working. It's why the state's unaffordable."

The Republican primary race was notably contentious. Both Republicans traded barbs, with Coester arguing that Malloy is "not a guy Vermont would ever elect" and Malloy telling Vermont Public that Coester has a "self-control" problem.

Coester made no mention of the bad blood in the concession statement he texted the Free Press on Wednesday.

"I enjoyed every late-night talk with dairy farmers worried about the next generation, every conversation with young families stretched thin by property taxes, and every reminder of the quiet determination of Vermonters who still believe this state can be both free from regulatory burden and fear for the future," Coester wrote. "Those conversations do not end because a primary is over."

"Vermonters need to continue to fight hard for the future of our state," Coester added.

Malloy has faced both Sens. Peter Welch, a Democrat, and Bernie Sanders, an independent, in past general elections. In 2024, Sanders defeated him 63.2% to 32.1%. 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 earlier in the campaign that believes "the pendulum is swinging" in his favor.

"The GOP has brought pragmatic solutions to VT, as seen last (legislative) session," he said. "It's going to benefit Vermont to elect more Republicans, in Montpelier and D.C."

Malloy added that "this is an important midterm election" because "Vermont doesn't have two more years of decline" left.

Malloy said that by the time ballots have been mailed to voters, he wants to have debated Balint multiple times.

"When I ran against Sen. Sanders, we didn't debate until October, which just isn't fair to voters," Malloy said. "Many had already voted."

His campaign is currently in the process of reaching out to Balint's team to talk about debates, he said.