In run for Congress, Balint focuses on unity, working families
The U.S. and Vermont flags flying in Bridgewater, Vt. (Gareth Henderson File Photo)
In a time of division, Vermont Sen. Becca Balint is looking to bring people together — and now she hopes to do that in Washington as Vermont’s next representative to Congress.
She announced her candidacy for the U.S. House on Monday, a week after fellow Democrat Lt. Gov. Molly Gray did the same. They'll square off in the Democratic primary next year for the opportunity to become the first woman to serve Vermont in Congress. The incumbent, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), is running for Senate for the seat that will be vacated when longtime U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) retires next year.
Balint is no stranger to breaking barriers. In January, she became the first woman and the first openly gay Vermonter to serve as the state Senate’s president pro tempore. For the first time, the top four leadership roles in Vermont’s General Assembly are all held by women.
In Balint’s U.S. House campaign, the needs of working families are front and center. She often hears from Vermonters who are exhausted from dealing with the pandemic and its many impacts.
“Many folks are at their wits’ end dealing with childcare center closures, COVID infections at their kids’ schools, and having to miss work due to quarantining,” Balint said in an email Wednesday. “Our businesses, our schools, and even our medical centers are struggling. I’m going to DC to fight for Vermont working families. We need a progressive agenda that lifts up working people.”
Balint, who was first elected to the Senate in 2014, said we need to be dedicated to working together to succeed.
“We can’t tackle these challenges if we remain divided,” Balint said. “We have deep — sometimes dangerous — divisions in our country, our state, and sometimes even with our neighbors and families. But despite all the darkness around us, I know we can still get to a better place.”
She expressed a perseverance in working with others, even with those who disagree.
“As a leader, I know that the way to make change and to bring people together is to keep showing up. To never turn away from one another,” Balint said. “Growing up I knew I was gay, and I felt like I didn’t belong. I learned that even with people who said hateful things, if I had the courage to keep showing up and engaging, change was possible.”
In her prior role as Senate majority leader, she worked intensively on paid family leave legislation, which ran into a veto from Gov. Phil Scott, but the issue remains a top priority for Balint. She was also a key part of the effort to pass a minimum wage increase. Additionally, Balint was involved in passing the state’s largest-ever investment in affordable housing. As pro tem, she worked to make a huge $150 million investment in broadband access for rural Vermonters.
“These were all tough fights,” Balint said. “But I never turned away from those who disagreed, and I stayed in the fight. That’s who I am. That’s everyday courage. If there was ever a place that needed everyday courage right now it’s Washington.”
Balint, 53, lives in Brattleboro with her wife and two children and represents Windham County in the Senate. Balint has earned degrees from Smith College, the School of Education at Harvard University, and, after teaching social studies for several years, a master’s degree in history from the University of Massachusetts.
— Gareth Henderson
