This is a much younger Jace Laquerre (age 17 at the time), seen here with his beau ideal during the 2016 Republican convention. As he said at the time, “I got involved in politics through Senator Rand Paul, who inspired me to get involved through his principles of liberty and limited government.” At the time, Laquerre boasted of his involvement in “Young Americans for Liberty, Students for Life and the NRA.”

Fast forward to 2026, and Laquerre, now in his late 20s and sporting a J.D. Vance-style close-cropped beard, has just been chosen by the Chittenden County Republicans to run against incumbent Democratic State’s Attorney Sarah Fair George. This, despite the fact that (1) he’s not an attorney, and (2) he doesn’t actually want the job. (He is, according to his LinkedIn page, a software engineer. Something something relevant skills and experience.)

See, the Republicans didn’t field a candidate for the position. George’s Democratic primary opponent Bram Kranichfeld won the Republican nomination thanks to write-in votes from Republican voters who failed to heed (or misunderstood) Gov. Phil Scott’s advice to vote for Kranichfeld in the Democratic primary in order to defeat George. Kranichfeld then declined the “honor” of the Republican nomination, which allowed the county Republican committee to name anyone else as a replacement.

Anyone, it would seem. Including someone who isn’t qualified and, need I repeat myself, doesn’t want the job.

Laquerrre explains that he’s running because the voters “deserve a choice in this election.” But the “choice” he offers isn’t between George and himself; it’s between George and a state’s attorney to be named later. If elected, he says, “I will resign from the office after taking the necessary steps to ensure an orderly transition.” Meaning he’d give the governor a chance to nominate George’s successor, presumably from a field of candidates who are qualified and actually want the job.

The irony in all of this, which was not noted by Laquerre, is that Phil Scott was the one who chose George in the first place. He elevated George in January 2017 after her successor, TJ Donovan, became Vermont’s attorney general. The cherry on this particular sundae: The county Democratic committee sent three names to Scott and identified George as its third choice. Scott chose her anyway. The other two options presented to the governor were Ted Kenney and Kranichfeld, who mounted unsuccessful primary bids to unseat the incumbent in 2022 and 2026 respectively.

Just a thought, but after all this failure, maybe the governor should try finding ways to work with George instead of constantly seeking to undermine her and getting blown up, Wile E. Coyote-style, every damn time.