Vermont election results: Voters elect Balint to House, Welch to Senate

Staff and wire reports

Becca Balint made Vermont history Tuesday night, becoming the state's first woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and headlining a year of significant turnover in Vermont's leadership. Balint is also the first openly gay person to represent the state in Congress.

"Tonight we reaffirm that Vermont and the nation is still a place where anything is possible," Balint said at a victory party Tuesday night. "We are all still capable of change and promise and progress, and tonight, after 231 years, Vermonters are sending a woman to Congress."

Phil Scott won a fourth term as Vermont's governor, according to the Associated Press. Scott, a Republican, easily defeated his Democratic challenger, Brenda Siegel, with more than 70% of the vote, according to unofficial results being reported by the Vermont Secretary of State.

Seconds after the polls closed at 7 p.m., the Associated Press declared Peter Welch the winner in the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Patrick Leahy, who is retiring. Welch received nearly 67% of the vote, according to the Secretary of State, defeating Republican challenger Gerald Malloy.

Welch issued a statement, saying he was "excited and honored to have received such broad support from Vermonters."

"It's been an incredible privilege to have served Vermont in the U.S. House for the past 16 years where I've worked to bring the 'Vermont Way' of mutual respect, civility, and finding common ground to Washington, D.C.," Welch added. "I am ready to bring that approach and get to work on Day One in the Senate to address the urgent challenges we face − higher prices hurting our working families, a climate in crisis, reproductive rights under threat, and an imperiled democracy."

By Wednesday morning, the Associated Press had also confirmed that two proposed changes to the state constitution that would protect abortion rights and fully ban slavery had passed, and that Democrat Charity Clark won the race for state attorney general; Democrat Doug Hoffer won the race for state auditor; Democrat Mike Pieciak won the race for state treasurer; Progressive/Democrat Dave Zuckerman won the race for lieutenant governor; and Democrat Sarah Copeland Hanzas won the race for Secretary of State.

Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund celebrated the passage of the reproductive liberty amendment protecting abortion in a statement made before the AP made its call: "Vermonters have spoken, and they have been clear about their support for reproductive rights."

Here are details of key races using unofficial results from the Vermont Secretary of State's website reflecting 282 of 283 districts reporting.

Local bond result:Burlington voters say yes to new high school

Beverly Behrmann, of Brattleboro fills out her ballot at the Brattleboro polling station located at the American Legion during the midterm elections on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.

U.S. House

Becca Balint, 54, president of the Vermont Senate and a former teacher, defeated Republican Liam Madden, a 38-year-old Marine Corps veteran and antiwar activist, who describes himself as an independent, and who did not have the backing of the state GOP. 

Balint is the first woman and the first openly gay person to represent Vermont in Congress. Vermont had been the only remaining U.S. state that has never sent a woman to Congress. Reflecting on her campaign Tuesday night, Balint said she heard from many Vermonters who said they didn't want to hate or fear their neighbors, and she said "everyday courage" could knit the nation back together.

"We have to find our strength, we have to lift each other up," Balint said to supporters Tuesday night, "Because even if we get good news in the midterms, the work is not over. We have a democracy to save."

Balint came to Vermont to be a rock-climbing instructor in 1994 and moved to the Green Mountain State permanently in 1997, according to Associated Press reporting. She taught history and social studies in the rural communities of Londonderry, Marlboro, Guilford and Washington, as well as at the Community College of Vermont. She has a master's degree in education from Harvard University and a master's degree in history from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She was elected to the Vermont Senate in 2014.

Becca Balint, left, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House for Vermont, stands with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), center, and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), on Oct. 22, 2022, at a campaign rally in Barre, Vt. Balint faces Liam Madden, an Independent who won the Vermont Republican primary. Welch, is running for the Vermont U.S. Senate seat currently held by the retiring Patrick Leahy.

Full candidate list:

  • Becca Balint, Brattleboro (Democrat) − winner, according to the Associated Press. Unofficial results showed 60% with 282 of 283 districts reporting.
  • Liam Madden, Rockingham (Republican) − 27%
  • Ericka Redic, Burlington (Libertarian) − 4%
  • Matt Druzba, Burlington (Independent) − 2%
  • Luke Talbot, Brighton (Independent) − 2%
  • Adam Ortiz, Rutland City (Independent) − 1%
Liam Madden, an Independent who won the Vermont Republican primary for the U.S. House, poses on Oct. 19, 2022, in Waterbury, Vt. Madden faces Democrat Becca Balint in the general election.

U.S. Senate

Rep. Peter Welch, who was first elected to Congress in 2006, won the U.S. Senate seat and will succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, according to the Associated Press, which called the race immediately after polls closed.

Welch, 75, of Norwich, said before the election that if elected to the Senate, he would continue to try to find common ground with Republicans despite the current hyperpartisan political climate.

Democrat Peter Welch waves, Tuesday night, Nov. 8, 2022, in Burlington after being elected to the U.S. Senate for Vermont.

Welch was born in Massachusetts and moved to Vermont in 1974, where he first worked as a public defender. He was a longtime member of the Vermont Senate, and was its first Democratic Senate president pro tempore. In 2006, he won the U.S. House seat, which became vacant when Bernie Sanders moved from the House to the Senate.

Welch's Republican opponent was retired U.S. Army officer and political newcomer Gerald Malloy, of Perkinsville, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Full candidate list:

  • Peter Welch, Norwich (Democrat) - winner, according to the Associated Press. Unofficial results showed 67% of the vote with 282 of 283 districts reporting.
  • Gerald Malloy, Weathersfield (Republican) − 27%
  • Dawn Marie Ellis, Burlington (Independent) − 1%
  • Kerry Patrick Raheb, Bennington (Independent) − 1%
  • Natasha Diamondstone-Kohout, Dummerston (Green Mountain) − 1%
  • Mark Coester, Westminster (Independent) − 0.48%
  • Stephen Duke, Calais (Independent) − 0.41%
  • Ms. Cris Ericson, Chester (Independent) − 0.38%

Governor

Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, was first elected in 2016 and won a fourth term.

Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott prepares to cast his ballot at the Town Clerk's office in his home town of Berlin on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Scott's first ballot was rejected after he had incorrectly filled out a portion of it. He was given a new ballot, which after his filled it out, he then successfully fed into the machine. Scott is seeking his fourth two-year term as governor of deep blue Vermont.

Brenda Siegel, Scott's Democratic challenger, is an activist who has most recently advocated for Vermonters experiencing homelessness.

Full candidate list:

  • Phil Scott, Berlin (Republican, incumbent) - winner, according to the Associated Press. Unofficial results showed 70% with 282 of 283 districts reporting.
  • Brenda Siegel, Newfane (Progressive/Democrat) − 23%
  • Kevin Hoyt, Bennington (Independent) − 2%
  • Peter Duval, Underhill (Independent) − 2%
  • Bernard Peters, Irasburg (Independent) − 1%
Democrat/Progressive Vermont gubernatorial candidate Brenda Siegel of Newfane puts her ballot into a tabulator at the Newfane polling location during the midterm elections on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.

Lieutenant governor

Progressive/Democrat David Zuckerman defeated Republican state Sen. Joe Benning for the lieutenant governor's office, according to the Associated Press. Zuckerman previously served four years as lieutenant governor and ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2020.

Joe Benning, state senator seeking the Republican nomination in the race for Vermont lieutenant governor, participates in the Essex Memorial Day parade on May 28, 2022.

Full candidate list:

  • David Zuckerman, Hinesburg (Progressive/Democrat) − winner, according to the Associated Press. Unofficial results showed 54% of the vote at 282 of 283 districts reporting.
  • Joe Benning, Lyndon (Republican) − 41%
  • Ian G. Diamondstone, Putney (Green Mountain) − 3%
Vermont Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, who is running for governor as a Democrat, poses at his farm Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, in Hinesburg, Vt.

Attorney general

Full candidate list:

  • Charity R. Clark, Williston (Democrat) − winner, according to the Associated Press. Unofficial results showed 65% of the vote at 282 of 283 towns reporting.
  • Michael Tagliavia, Corinth (Republican) − 33%
Mike Pieciak, former commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation and now seeking the Democratic nomination in the race for state treasurer, walks in the Essex Memorial Day parade on May 28, 2022.

Treasurer

Full candidate list:

  • Mike Pieciak, Winooski (Democrat) − winner, according to the Associated Press. Unofficial results showed 66% of the vote with 282 of 283 districts reporting.
  • H. Brooke Paige, Washington (Republican) − 33%
Five early afternoon voters at the Williston Armory took part in the democratic process during the mid-term election on November 8, 2022 at the Williston Armory.

Auditor

Full candidate list:

  • Doug Hoffer, Burlington (Democrat/Progressive, incumbent) − winner, according to the Associated Press. Unofficial results showed 65% of the vote with 282 of 283 districts reporting.
  • Richard "Rick" Morton, Brattleboro (Republican) − 32%

Secretary of state

Full candidate list:

  • Sarah Copeland Hanzas, Bradford (Democrat) − winner, according to the Associated Press. Unofficial results showed 65% with 282 of 283 districts reporting.
  • H. Brook Paige, Washington (Republican) − 33%
Rep. Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, D-Bradford, introduced a bill  on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, that would strengthen protections for Vermont workers facing sexual harassment and allow state authorities to visit businesses to investigate their compliance with sexual harassment laws.

Chittenden County state’s attorney

Sarah George of Williston ran unopposed for reelection. In an interview on Town Meeting TV, George said she hopes to change the way she interacts with the community in the coming two-year term.

"The challenge that I faced was disinformation," George said of her contested Democratic primary election in August, "so I think that something I really want to focus on going forward is finding ways to be more accessible to the community, to fact-check things that they hear."

Constitutional amendment: slavery

Proposal 2 amends the state Constitution to add language saying slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited. It would repeal language that allows enslavement of people under the age of 21 and those bound by their own consent, according to Abolish Slavery Vermont. An exception clause currently in the constitution permits the enslavement of those “bound for payment of debts, damages, fines, costs or the like.”

The Associated Press reported the amendment had passed at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Constitutional amendment: abortion and reproductive autonomy

The second statewide ballot item, Proposal 5, adds language to the state constitution saying "an individual's right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one's own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means."

The Associated Press confirmed the amendment had passed at 12:26 a.m. Wednesday morning.

More:Why Vermonters are voting to prohibit slavery and codify abortion rights in 2022

Chittenden Solid Waste District bond vote

Towns within Chittenden County were asked whether to approve spending for a new recycling center. The Chittenden Solid Waste District asked voters to approve a $22 million bond for a new materials recovery facility that would be paid for using the district's own budget.

Unofficial results provided by CSWD showed that the measure passed with 82% voting in favor. In all, 24,848 voted yes with 5,354 voting no. The ballot item had substantially fewer voters participating, a turnout of about 24%, likely due to the fact that municipal district items were not included on the ballots voters received in the mail. The number of registered voters making up the district was 127,312; the number who voted was 30,202.