Not a bad night for VDB’s candidates out on the Primary trail. True, Nate Freeman came up well short, but Nate has nothing to be ashamed of in taking 40% of the vote first time out of the statewide box. Candidates far better known have done far worse in the recent past. But some other good folks locked down their nominations but good, and are gearing up to do full-scale electoral battle in November.

Novelist Suzi Wizowaty, of Round Barn fame, pulled off the night’s biggest upset, bumping four-term incumbent Bill Keogh in Burlington’s Ward 5. Suzi more than doubled Bill’s total, not too shabby for a political newcomer.

A classic example of a somewhat perfunctory incumbent campaign trounced by a fresh face with real energy.

The sad part? Keogh let it be known that he might well run as an Independent come November, which strikes VDB as the worst sort of bad faith.

Liebermaniacal bad faith, in fact.

You had four terms, Bill, and Democrats to thank for them. Threatening a three-way race will do nothing but convince voters in your ward that they were right to retire you in the first place.

So we’ll say what Keogh didn’t: congratulations, Suzi. Very well done, indeed.

Over in the wilds of Waterbury and Duxbury, in the race for Washington-Chittenden 1, Tom Stevens romped over Gordon Miller, to win the right to join Sue Minter on the ballot in November.

Some strange shenanigans in the run-up to the primary out there (which VDB watched carefully but never reported), but all for nought. Tom’s Schlegel-powered campaign was all but unstoppable.

And in the free-for-all Chittenden Senate primary, Denise Begins Barnard secured a ballot slot, allowing her to move forward with a full-scale county-wide campaign.

Clearly, Denise will need a more powerful showing in Burlington to pull it out in November, but this primary proves she’s a focused, serious contender for the seat Jim Condos will be vacating.

Our heartfelt congratulations, one and all.