Updated Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 11:41 a.m.
Democrats and Progressives have regained a supermajority in the state House of Representatives.
Those two parties also maintained a similar majority in the state Senate, meaning that they should have the power to reliably override vetoes from Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who won reelection to a fourth term on Tuesday.
Democrats and Progressives needed a combined 100 of the 150 House seats to secure a veto-proof majority. Republicans needed 51 seats to reliably sustain Scott’s vetoes.
As of Wednesday morning, with all but one precinct reporting, Democrats and Progressives had secured a combined 108 seats. That's compared to 99 seats held by the two parties in the 2021-2022 biennium.
House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, declared just before 11 p.m. Tuesday at a Vermont Democratic Party gathering in Burlington that they were poised to hit their target.
“I am so excited to share the news that we have a veto-proof majority,” she told the crowd.
At the time, the final tally was not yet confirmed — but the Vermont Republican Party was predicting the same outcome. Speaking as the GOP’s election night gathering in Barre was winding down around 11 p.m., party chair Paul Dame said he did not believe Republicans would have a path to 51 seats.
Dame said his expectation for the upcoming legislative biennium had shifted by late in the night to, effectively, more of the same.
“We're going to be in the same spot we were in last time,” he said. “I think we're going to have enough representatives to sustain the governor's veto when it makes sense, kind of like we did in the past where we've got a couple of ‘blue dog’ Democrats or independents who are on the same page as the governor.”
Republicans sweep most Franklin County races, picking up one seat
With the exception of Rep. Mike McCarthy, a Democratic incumbent who was reelected to the new single-member Franklin-3 district in St. Albans City, Franklin County Republicans swept the field Tuesday night.
Both parties had identified the county as a key battleground, with at least five competitive races that could influence the balance of power in the House. Ultimately, Republicans secured 10 of the county’s 11 seats, gaining one that was previously held by an independent, Rep. Barbara Murphy.
McCarthy won with 891 votes, defeating his Republican opponent, Joe Luneau, who earned 662 votes. The race held symbolic import: McCarthy has served three terms in Montpelier and is currently the House Democratic whip, while Luneau is a former chair of the Franklin County GOP.
Carolyn Branagan and Ashley Bartley, both Republicans, won two open seats in Franklin-1, a district that includes Fairfax and Georgia. Branagan received the most votes, with 2,249, and Bartley followed with 2,009. Two Democrats lost their bids for the seats: Alan "Al" Maynard and Devon Thomas received 1,817 votes and 1,409 votes, respectively.
Before redistricting this year, Fairfax and Georgia were separate, single-member districts.
James Gregoire, a Republican, was re-elected in the Franklin-6 district, which includes Fairfield, Bakersfield and Fletcher. Gregoire won with 1,223 votes. Churchill lost with 861 votes.
Gregoire, a two-term incumbent, described himself as a “more pragmatic” candidate, pledging during his campaign to focus on affordability, job creation and improving health care coverage. He voted against Proposal 5, which Churchill said she supported.
Churchill would have been the second openly transgender person, after Rep. Taylor Small, P/D-Winooski, to serve in the Legislature. This was Churchill’s first run for office. She is a Statehouse advocate for the LGBTQIA Alliance of Vermont, a member of the Bakersfield Selectboard and a board member of Northwest Fiberworx.
Allen “Penny” Demar, a Republican, won Franklin-7, an open single-member district that includes Enosburgh and Montgomery. Demar received 936 votes, while Cindy Weed, who served in the seat from 2012 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2014, received 616 votes. The district was previously represented by Rep. Felisha Leffler, R-Enosburgh.
Rep. Casey Toof, R-St. Albans, was re-elected to the new single-member Franklin-8 district, defeating Democrat Lauren Dees-Erickson. Toof won with 982 votes to Dees-Erickson’s 746 votes.
Dees-Erickson would have likely been the first woman of color elected to the Legislature from Franklin County. She works at an international development nonprofit and is the vice chair of St. Albans City’s planning commission. She ran after redistricting made Toof her sole representative and said she didn’t see herself or her family represented in Toof’s voting record, especially Toof’s decision to vote against Proposal 5.
Toof said he now supports Proposal 5, which voters approved on Tuesday evening. Toof was born and raised in St. Albans City and works as a community relations manager at Handy Toyota.
Democrat Monique Priestley wins seat vacated by Sarah Copeland Hanzas
Democrat Monique Priestley was elected Tuesday in the Orange-2 district, which includes Bradford, Fairlee and West Fairlee. Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford, vacated the seat to run for secretary of state and was elected Tuesday night.
Priestly, who was endorsed by Copeland Hanzas, won with 1,218 votes. Her Republican opponent, Zachary M. Lang, lost with 718 votes.
Larry Labor, appointed by Phil Scott last year, wins in Essex-Orleans
Republican incumbent Larry Labor was reelected Tuesday in the Essex-Orleans district, which includes twelve towns in the northeasternmost corner of the state.
Labor received 1,142 votes, beating Peggy Stevens, his Democratic challenger, who received 746 votes.
Though Labor is an incumbent, Tuesday marks his first election to office. Gov. Phil Scott appointed Labor in 2021 after former Rep. Lynn Batchelor, R-Derby, resigned.
Katherine Sims defeats Vicki Strong in House race that pit two incumbents against each other
In the only race in the state in which an incumbent was guaranteed to lose, Rep. Katherine Sims, D-Craftsbury, defeated Rep. Vicki Strong, R-Albany, by a margin of 60%-38%. Sims is now set to be the sole representative for the redrawn Orleans-4 district, which includes Albany, Craftsbury, Greensboro and Glover.
The two previously served alongside each other in the Vermont House, jointly representing a seven-town district in the Northeast Kingdom.
The candidates led very different campaigns. Sims — who previously led a rural economic development nonprofit called the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative for three years before her election to the House in 2018 — has said that she is a vocal supporter of Proposal 5, the abortion rights amendment passed by voters on Tuesday night.
Strong, on the other hand, voted against Proposal 5 when it came before the Legislature for approval in February, and has sponsored bills that would limit abortion access. Strong also vigorously opposed Covid-19 vaccine and masking requirements. The six-term incumbent focused her campaign around affordability and reducing taxes.
Republican Jarrod Sammis wins in new Castleton district
By 42 votes, Jarrod Sammis, a Republican, won Rutland-3, the newly-drawn single-member district serving Castleton. Sammis received 835 votes while Mary Droege, his Democratic challenger, received 793 votes.
Sammis, a marketing coordinator at his family’s real estate business, ran on reducing taxes and making Vermont more affordable. Past online videos, in which he questioned the 2020 election results and joked about shooting communists, sparked concern from Democrats. Sammis told VTDigger he made the posts private to protect friends and family members.
Droege, a faculty member at Castleton University, former member of the Fair Haven Union High School board and chair of the Castleton Democratic Committee, previously told VTDigger she planned to focus on local environmental issues and the strength of Castleton University.
First-time Democratic candidate Mike Rice wins in Bennington-Rutland district
Mike Rice, a Democrat, has been elected to represent the Bennington-Rutland district, which includes Dorset, Landgrove, Peru, Danby and Mount Tabor.
Rice won with 1,169 votes, while Republican William “Bill” Gaiotti earned 1,040 votes. The seat opened up following the retirement of Rep. Linda Joy Sullivan, a Democrat who has served in the House since 2017.
Rice, a first-time candidate, is the development director at the Northeast Organic Farming Association. During his campaign, he prioritized housing affordability, childcare affordability and the climate.
William “Bill” Gaiotti, of Mount Tabor, campaigned as a moderate Republican, ultimately gaining endorsements from Gov. Phil Scott and Sullivan. Gaiotti served on local school boards and the Mount Tabor Selectboard, and he worked for 12 years as a Rutland City police officer. During his campaign, he was vocal about his opposition to the clean heat standard and Proposal 5.
New single-member district in Southeastern Vermont elects Democrat Heather Chase
Heather Chase, a Democrat, won the new, single-member Windsor-Windham district, which serves Athens, Grafton, Windham and Chester.
Chase received 1,308 votes while her Republican opponent, Eva Ryan, a Republican, received 803 votes.
Democrats Kate McCann and Conor Casey win in Montpelier
Kate McCann and Conor Casey, both Democrats, have been elected to Montpelier’s two-seat district. McCann won 2,780 votes and Casey received 2,714 votes.
The pair represent the city’s first change in House representation in more than a decade. Both seats opened up this year after Reps. Mary Hooper and Warren Kitzmiller, both Democrats, announced they would step down. Kitzmiller died unexpectedly in July.
McCann is a math teacher at U-32 High School in East Montpelier, and Casey is a Montpelier city council member and the executive director of GunSense Vermont. The two campaigned as unofficial running mates in both the primary and the general election.
Other candidates included Dona Bate, an independent who received 1,004 votes; Gene Leon, a Republican who received 590 votes and Glennie Fitzgerald Sewell, a Progressive who garnered 512 votes.
Democrat Phil Pouech wins in single-member Hinesburg district
With 1,683 votes, Phil Pouech, a Democrat, won the single-member Chittenden-4 district, which includes most of Hinesburg. Republican candidate Sarah Toscano received 643 votes.
Both were first-time candidates vying for the seat opened up by the retirement of Democrat Rep. Bill Lippert, who has held the seat since 1994.
Republicans Anne Donahue and Kenneth Goslant win reelection in Washington-1
Incumbent Reps. Anne Donahue and Kenneth Goslant, both Republicans, were reelected in the two-member district representing Berlin and Northfield. Donahue received 1,910 votes and Goslant received 1,590 votes.
The Republicans edged out Laura Hill-Eubanks, a newcomer running as a Democrat/Progressive, who received 1,484 votes.
Donahue, first elected in 2002, has been a prominent spokesperson throughout the election for Vermonters for Good Government, a group that opposed Proposal 5. The constitutional amendment — which passed Tuesday night — would enshrine access to abortion into Vermont’s constitution.
Goslant has represented the district since 2019.
Independent Jed Lipsky dashes Dems’ hopes of flipping Stowe district
Jed Lipsky, an independent, has won Lamoille-1, Stowe’s single-member district, beating Democrat Scott Weathers by 22 points.
While President Joe Biden won 79% of the votes in Stowe, outgoing Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, a Republican, held onto the seat for 16 years. With Scheuermann retiring this year, Democrats hoped that if they claimed the spot, it would stay solidly blue.
Scheuermann had endorsed Lipsky, a logger and the former owner of the Stowe Inn. As an independent, Lipsky promised to bring “a balanced voice and common-sense approach” to the Statehouse.
Weathers had cited paid family leave, climate legislation, abortion rights, the housing crisis and gun reform as his top priorities for the post.
Former education secretary Rebecca Holcombe wins in two-member Windsor Orange 2 district
Democratic candidates Rebecca Holcombe and Jim Masland have won in the two-member Windsor Orange 2 district, which includes Norwich, Strafford, Thetford and Sharon.
Holcombe served as Vermont’s secretary of education from 2013 to 2018 and ran for governor as a Democrat in 2020, but lost to then-Lt. Gov. Dave Zuckerman in the primary.
Masland, who is from Thetford, has served in the House since 1999.
Shaun Robinson and Lola Duffort contributed reporting.
