Haley takes Vermont GOP primary

In addition to voting on and discussing local municipal and school matters, Vermonters on Town Meeting Day gave Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley her single state primary election victory.

Haley took 49 percent of Vermont’s primary votes to beat former president Donald Trump, who garnered 45 percent, in one of 15 states’ Super Tuesday primary elections, held March 5.

President Joe Biden handily won the state’s Democratic primary, with nearly 83 percent of the vote.

Here’s how Lamoille County towns voted in the presidential primary, according to the Vermont Secretary of State website, which notes the results are still preliminary:

• Belvidere Republican primary: Haley 21, Trump 17, Vivek Ramaswamy 2. Belvidere Democratic primary: Biden 18 votes, Marianne Williamson 1 vote.
• Cambridge Republican primary: Haley 222, Trump 135, Chris Christie 7, Ron DeSantis 3, Ramaswamy 3. Cambridge Democratic primary: Biden 294, Williamson 11, Phillips 10, Mark Stewart Greenstein 5, Uygur 2.
• Eden Republican primary: Trump 52, Haley 31, DeSantis 3, Ramaswamy 2. Eden Democratic primary: Biden 35, Williamson 2, Cenk Uygur 2, Dean Phillips 1.
• Elmore Republican primary: Haley 44, Trump 30, Christie 2. Elmore Democratic primary: Biden 67, Williamson 4, Uygur 1, Palmer 1.
• Hyde Park Republican primary: Trump 164, Haley 151, Christie 2, DeSantis 2, Ramaswamy 2. Hyde Park Democratic primary: Biden 210, Phillips, 7, Williamson 7, Greenstein 4, Palmer 1.
• Johnson Republican primary: Haley 136, Trump 107, DeSantis 6, Ramaswamy 3, Christie 2, Ryan Binkley 1. Johnson Democratic primary: Biden 165, Williamson 17, Phillips 5, Palmer 2, Greenstein 1.
• Morristown Republican primary: Haley 277, Trump 171, DeSantis 5, Christie 2, Binkley 2, Ramaswamy 2. Morristown Democratic primary: Biden 269, Williamson 19, Phillips 15, Uygur 5, Greenstein 3, Palmer 2.
• Stowe Republican primary: Haley 423, Trump 157, Christie 9, DeSantis 3, Ramaswamy 3, Binkley 1. Stowe Democratic primary: Biden 586, Williamson 24, Phillips 11, Uygur 5, Palmer 1.
• Waterville Republican primary: Trump 58, Haley 36, Christie 1, DeSantis 1. Waterville Democratic primary: Biden 36, Jason Michael Palmer 1.
• Wolcott Republican primary: Trump 73, Haley 57, DeSantis 1, Binkley 1, Ramaswamy 1. Wolcott Democratic primary: Biden 111, Williamson 7, Greenstein 2, Phillips 1, Uygur 1, Palmer 1.

Haley made the rare presidential campaign stop in Vermont, hosting a rally in South Burlington just two days before Super Tuesday.

In an interview with VTDigger at Haley’s event, Mike Margolis, a Middlesex resident who identified as a Democrat and LGBTQ, said that he has never voted for a Republican in a presidential race but was now considering voting for Haley because Biden and Trump are too old.

“Not only is she super cool, but she’s not 80,” Margolis said.

Margolis said that he considered Haley “more moderate” and “more tolerable” than either Trump or Biden.

Trevor Stachecki, a first-year student at Middlebury College who said he “leans Republican,” told VTDigger that he preferred Haley’s brand of conservatism to Trump’s, adding he will likely vote for Trump over Biden in November if the former president becomes the Republican nominee.