U.S. Representative Peter Welch Announces Candidacy for United States Senate 

U.S. Representative Peter Welch Announces Candidacy for United  States Senate 

BURLINGTON, Vt. — U.S. Rep. Peter Welch on Monday announced he is running for U.S.  Senate. Welch called on Vermonters to join him in fighting for a progressive agenda in the  Senate. 

“We are at a pivotal moment,” Welch said. “Vermont families are struggling through multiple  crises: a global pandemic, the consequences of climate change, and a racial reckoning  generations in the making. The result of this election will determine control of the Senate and  with it, what we can accomplish for Vermont families. If Vermonters elect me to the U.S.  Senate, I will be ready to fight for progressive change on day one.” 

Welch reaffirmed his focus on ensuring Vermont’s working families have access to childcare  and paid family leave, passing a Green New Deal, lowering health care and prescription drug  costs, ensuring that women continue to have control over their own health care decisions, and  protecting voting rights and our democracy.  

“I was there on January 6th when the Capitol was stormed by a violent mob fueled by the former  president’s lies. Too many Senate Republicans stood behind him instead of telling the truth: It  was an attack on our democracy and an attempt to overturn a free and fair election. Senate  Republicans continue to sow division for their own political gain instead of working together to  get things done.”  

Welch said even in the face of these challenges, he is optimistic. “I’ve seen Vermonters come  together to solve problems. We focus on solutions, not who gets credit. That’s the Vermont way.  That’s how I’ve gotten things done as Vermont’s congressman, and how I will get things done if  I am elected to the U.S. Senate.” 

Welch will announce campaign events in the coming weeks. Visit www.welchforvermont.com for information about how to get involved with the campaign.  

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Launch Video Transcript: 

Here in Vermont, we listen more than we talk. 

I got into politics as a community organizer, after I saw what housing discrimination was doing  to communities in Chicago. And I learned that the best way to help people is to start by  listening. To focus on the solutions – not who gets the credit. That’s the Vermont way. 

It’s how I get things done as Vermont’s congressman. And it’s how I’ll get things done if  Vermont elects me your Senator. 

It’s a difficult time for all Vermonters. The coronavirus has been long and hard. 

But it shouldn’t be hard for your government to help people. And yet everything – voting rights,  Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, lowering prescription drug costs, reproductive justice,  racial and economic justice, everything – gets filibustered and blocked by the Mitch McConnell  Republicans in the Senate. 

They’re fighting for failure. 

I’m Peter Welch, and I’m running for the United States Senate to work for you, for Vermont, for  our country, and for our imperiled democracy. 

Powerful outside interests will come to Vermont to try to advance their interests, not ours. 

They know an open seat in Vermont could be the difference between passing our positive  agenda and Mitch McConnell controlling the Senate again. 

The Senate hangs in the balance – and the whole country will be looking to Vermont. We’re ready. We’re ready to fight and win this Senate seat. Join us.

Background 

Peter Welch has represented Vermonters in Congress since 2007. In an era of  partisanship and division, he is widely recognized as a progressive leader and a skillful  legislator who chooses governing over gridlock. 

He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and graduated from the College of the Holy  Cross. As a member of the first class of Robert F. Kennedy Fellows, he fought housing  discrimination in Chicago after college and went on to earn a law degree from the  University of California, Berkeley. After law school, he settled in Vermont’s Upper  Valley where he worked as a public defender and then founded a small law practice. He was elected to the Vermont Senate in 1980 and later was selected to lead the chamber,  becoming the first Democrat in Vermont’s history to hold the position of Senate  President Pro Tempore. 

In Congress, Peter is a cosponsor of the Green New Deal and is a leading advocate for  lowering the cost of prescription drugs, providing affordable childcare, expanding access  to broadband in rural America, and protecting our imperiled democracy. He serves as a chief deputy whip for the House Democratic Caucus and is a senior  member of the influential Energy and Commerce Committee and Oversight and Reform  Committee. He also serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. 

Peter is married to Margaret Cheney. They share a home in Norwich, Vermont.