Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., calls himself a proud Democrat, but says he’ll accept the Republican congressional nomination.
Welch says he was surprised to receive enough write-in votes on Republican ballots to secure the nomination of a party that didn’t put up a candidate of its own.
Last week’s primary had the lowest statewide turnout in decades, with just 8.5 percent of registered voters heading to the polls. Turnout ranged from 16.1 percent in Essex County down to 3.9 percent in Lamoille County.
Democratic state Auditor of Accounts Tom Salmon also picked up the Republican nomination, as Republicans failed to run a candidate for that job, either.