Font ResizeBELLOWS FALLS -- Though he did not seal a Democratic nomination last month, the name of a local attorney may still appear on the ballot on Election Day.
Christopher Moore fell short behind Carolyn Partridge and Matthew Trieber in the Aug. 28 primary, but a successful write-in campaign by Republicans means he still has a shot at one of the two Windham-3 seats in the Vermont House of Representatives that are up for grabs. The general election is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 6, and each seat carries a two-year term.
"It was a disappointment but I was proud of the campaign and the race that I ran and the people who supported me," he said.
Moore, 38, said he got enough votes in the district on the Republican ballot and received the certificate of nomination for the GOP primary on Tuesday. It was dated Friday, Aug. 31.
According to Rockingham Town Hall, he garnered 31 Republican votes from the district's towns of Rockingham, Athens, Grafton, Brookline, Windham and a part of Westminster.
"I thought it might be a possibility, with it being an open primary and everything," Moore told the Reformer. "I didn't achieve my goal but it's an honor to receive the Republican nomination."
Despite the support he has, Moore is not yet sure if he will continue in the race. He said he has until Monday to notify the Secretary of State's office if he chooses to withdraw. But he said he has promised to meet with a group of supporters
Moore, who ran for the same House seat in 2010 as an Independent, will meet with certain townspeople today and over the weekend.
As there are no other nominees for the GOP or the Vermont Progressive Party, Moore said he would face off against Partridge and Trieber, the two incumbents.
Rockingham Town Clerk Doreen Aldrich said Moore received four write-ins from Athens, one in Westminster, one in Brookline, 11 in Grafton and 14 in Rockingham, giving him 31 -- six more than the 25 required by Vermont statute to qualify as a candidate for a party nomination if they get the most votes on the ballot.
Aldrich told the Reformer Moore questioned the number of votes in Grafton, believing the write-ins for his House race were accidentally swapped with votes for a district Senate seat. She said Moore's suspicions were accurate and everything has been corrected. The Secretary of State's office has been notified and given the proper numbers, Aldrich said.
Some say Moore is changing parties in order to secure a seat by any means necessary but he said he will not change his positions and still plans to run with his fiscally conservative message.
"There are fiscal conservatives among Independents, Democrats and Republicans alike," he said.
Moore, a father of three children in the public school system, previously told the Reformer he wants to encourage individuals to obtain their college education and start their careers in the state by offering income tax credits that can help recent graduates pay down their student loan debt.
"Vermont's greatest export is its young people," he said last month, an export he would like to see less of.
He also would like to propose making the designated Bellows Falls downtown free from sales, room and meals taxes as a way of generating business and improve the economy.
Moore earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Northeastern University before getting his Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University and a masters of laws in intellectual property law from the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, N.H.
Domenic Poli can be reached at dpoli@reformer.com, or 802-254-2311, ext. 277.
