I don’t know if there’s a fire, but there’s suddenly a hell of a lot of smoke around the Vermont Democratic Party. It’s not a great look at the beginning of a very important election season.

Within the last few days, some harsh criticism of party policies and leadership has come from four Democrats not known as troublemakers. Three are longtime Democrats who have held positions of responsibility in the party or in public office. The fourth is a respected figure in local politics whose bid for higher office had been strongly promoted by the party. The list in brief, followed by details:

• One of the two leading Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor has accused the VDP of actively favoring the other top contender.
• One of the Democrats’ best hopes for regaining a state Senate seat has cut short his campaign, citing “irreconcilable differences” with the party over fundraising and strategy.
• A current Senate candidate has accused the party of violating the tradition of neutrality in primary contests and effectively selling its favor to chosen candidates.
• A 2024 Senate hopeful says the VDP failed to deliver promised support to his candidacy through its much-touted “Coordinated Campaign.”

If one or two of these things had happened, you might chalk it off to sore losers or misunderstandings. But four, in a matter of days? That’s either a remarkable coincidence or a troubling pattern.

Now, let’s get to the particulars.

McLaren campaign cries foul. The campaign of Ryan McLaren, candidate for lieutenant governor, has accused the VDP of “unfair, selective, and unauthorized conduct” against his campaign “to the benefit of others,” presumably meaning Molly Gray. The allegations are made in a letter to VDP leadership, dated March 27 and signed by McLaren campaign manager Molly Moore, which was forwarded to me by a trusted source.

McLaren is no hothead. He’s been on Peter Welch’s Congressional staff for years, and has held positions of influence within the party. He’s not the type to just fire shots at the VDP for no reason.

The main assertion: Democrats who endorsed McLaren have been pressured to withdraw their support, while no such pressure has been applied to those who endorsed someone else (cough, Gray). The letter also claims that “party resources have apparently been unequally shared with some candidates but not others.”

McLaren’s campaign wants the party to “correct its unauthorized and prejudicial actions” by issuing a public apology and disavowing “the pretend policy” barring Democratic officials from issuing endorsements in a primary contest. The letter closes with a threat of legal action if the party doesn’t reverse course.

It’s stunning stuff. It would be, coming from anyone in the party. Even more so, coming from someone like Ryan McLaren.

And he’s far from alone in raising concerns about how the VDP conducts its business.

Bathalon withdraws from Orleans Senate race. Gaston Bathalon’s candidacy for the state Senate seat won by Republican Sam Douglass in 2024, announced way back in October, was seen as a major step in the Dems’ efforts to rebuild its Senate majority. Bathalon is a military veteran whose agenda was clearly aimed the centrist rural electorate that kept Bobby Starr in office for decades.

However. On March 30, the Vermont Daily Chronicle posted a short piece with the news of Bathalon’s withdrawal. According to The Chronicle, Bathalon cited “irreconcilable differences with party infrastructure over how campaigns should be run, mainly regarding fundraising and how much campaigns should spend.” The story didn’t offer any specifics beyond that, but Bathalon clearly had major problems with how the party supports, or doesn’t, its candidates for office — so much so that he just pulled the plug on the entire enterprise.

I suspect that this seat is fairly safe Republican territory and would have been years ago, if not for the familiar presence of Starr on the ballot. But if the Dems are ever going to win back this seat, 2026 is their best opportunity. The Republican incumbent is gone in disgrace, and his appointed replacement John Morley will be on the ballot for the first time. Can the Democrats scrounge up a replacement for Bathalon and mount a credible campaign? I think Bathalon himself would say “No.”

Grossman calls out primary bias. Joanna Grossman is a longtime Democratic campaign operative, former chair of the Chittenden County Democratic Committee, and co-host of the “There’s No ‘A’ In Creemee” podcast. She’s running for state Senate in the Chittenden Southeast district, effectively challenging the three Democratic incumbents: Kesha Ram Hinsdale, Thomas Chittenden, and Ginny Lyons.

On the latest edition of the podcast, Grossman slammed the Vermont Democratic Party for violating the customary stance of neutrality in primary elections. In the past, she said, the party would stay neutral through the primary and then support the winning candidates through the “Coordinated Campaign.” Candidates have to help pay the costs; if they do, they’re included in Democratic mailers and other bumpf, and get support with canvassing and other activities.

Now, she says, preferred candidates can buy in early and enjoy the benefits of the Coordinated Campaign before the primary, to the detriment of any candidates who don’t buy in or aren’t allowed to.

So the Party is kinda, well, not-so-kinda selling its endorsement. Seems a little hinky.

Grossman noted that county parties and the national Democratic Party are committed to primary neutrality. She is a member of the VDP’s state committee, and has taken her concerns to that body — so far, without getting satisfaction. Grossman implied, but did not directly say, that the party is backing the three Chittenden Southeast incumbents to the detriment of her own candidacy.

Julow spills the tea. Grossman’s complaint prompted her “Creemee” co-host Andy Julow to air some laundry of his own. Julow was appointed to the Senate after the 2024 death of Dick Mazza. He ran for a full term that November, and lost to Republican Patrick Brennan.

Well, Julow now says the VDP broke promises about the Coordinated Campaign and failed to provide much-needed support in his race against Brennan. Here’s a back-and-forth between Julow and Grossman, who managed his 2024 Senate campaign.

JG: We didn’t get a ton of help in the general.

AJ: We did not.

JG: It definitely wasn’t what was promised… The Coordinated Campaign says they’re going to do all these things and they never follow up.

AJ They threw out some numbers about what they could provide, and I thought, ‘I am all set.’ And I was not.

Well now. Kind of shines a different light on the party’s poor performance in 2024, doesn’t it? Maybe it wasn’t just a tax revolt that sank the Dems. Maybe it was partly the VDP failing to deliver the support it accepted money for.

You can take Julow’s comments as blamecasting by a losing candidate. But he doesn’t seem like the type to kick the shit for no reason. He and Grossman remain committed Democrats who are greatly disappointed in their party.

There are common themes in these four stories: The party playing favorites in primaries, demanding contributions from its candidates, and failing to deliver on promised support. That doesn’t sound like a healthy party, and it sure as hell makes me wonder if the VDP is prepared for the coming campaign, which should provide a golden opportunity to ride the anti-Trump wave and regain the ground it lost in 2024.