Dear Reader,

This summer, Vermonters turned to VTDigger in growing numbers to prepare for the primary election.

Tens of thousands of readers came to our election guide to learn about the candidates, understand the races and find the practical information they needed to cast their ballots. 

Now we’re getting ready to do it all again for the midterm election in November. A gift today during our Fall Member Drive will keep this coverage strong. We can’t do this work without you.

It takes a lot of work to report and write the kind of detailed, even-handed political stories VTDigger readers expect. I’ve put a lot of miles on my car this year driving around the state to interview candidates and attend events where I get to speak directly to voters. At my desk, I spend hours researching candidates’ backgrounds and fact-checking claims so that our readers can get clear, accurate information that cuts through the campaign bluster. 

In the next couple months, I’m excited to cover what is shaping up to be the most interesting, and potentially the most competitive, gubernatorial races Vermont has seen in years. I’m eager to dig deep into campaign fundraising data and hold candidates for every office, from governor to state representative to state’s attorney, accountable for what they promise or choose to ignore.

That’s all to say, there’s a lot more reporting ahead between now and Election Day. Your gift makes it possible.

Our job isn’t to tell you what to think or how to vote. It’s to ask questions, check claims, follow the money and give you the facts and context you need to make your own decisions.

And we want every Vermonter to have access to that reporting, whether they can afford to pay for news right now or not.

That’s why reader support matters.

This September marks VTDigger’s 17th birthday. For 17 years, readers have helped build and sustain a newsroom that shows up for Vermont during elections and every day in between.

We’re now working to raise $100,000 during our Fall Member Drive to keep that work strong.

If you value having independent reporters digging into the candidates and issues shaping Vermont’s future, please join the community that makes it possible.

Thank you for reading and sustaining VTDigger.

Sincerely,

Shaun Robinson

State government and politics reporter, VTDigger