Democrats Lose Supermajority in Vermont House, Senate 

Updated on November 6, 2024.

Democrats lost their supermajority in the Vermont legislature during Tuesday’s election as voters threw their support behind Republican candidates who pledged to lower the cost of living in the state.

As of Wednesday morning, Republicans were in position to pick up six seats in the 30-member Senate and approximately 15 more in the 150-member House, unofficial results showed.

“I’m not gonna lie. It’s a tough night,” Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth (D/P-Burlington) said at a Democratic election night party in South Burlington. "We're going to have majorities in the House and in the Senate, but they are going to be thinner."

Democrats and Progressive currently hold a combined 109 seats, more than the 100 votes needed to override vetoes by Gov. Phil Scott. In the Senate, meanwhile, Democrats and Progressives currently have 23 seats.

But by the end of election night, Democrats had lost their grip in both chambers, giving Scott much more leverage. The governor, who cruised to reelection on Tuesday night, campaigned vigorously this cycle for other Republicans he said would help him bring affordability to the state.

The losses included longtime Democrats such as Sen. Mark MacDonald of Orange County, who lost to first-time Republican candidate Larry Hart, and newer Democratic members such as Sen. Andy Julow, who was appointed to represent Grand Isle County and Colchester over the summer.

On Tuesday night, Julow took his loss in stride. The North Hero resident was appointed to fill a seat that belonged to longtime Colchester senator Dick Mazza, who died in May. But Julow was unable to defend it against longtime Republican Pat Brennan, a longtime state rep from Colchester.

“It’s disappointing,” Julow said of the unofficial results, which showed him losing by more than 700 votes.

While Julow is a well-known economic development official in the Champlain Islands, Brennan had other things working in his favor: more than 20 years serving in the House, ties to one of the district’s population centers and a distinct fundraising advantage.

“We were outgunned, we knew that from the start,” Julow said, citing a flood of campaign cash to Brennan from prominent Chittenden County business interests and Republican donors.

Republican Scott Beck of St. Johnsbury was also on track to win a Caledonia County Senate seat, long held by retired Democratic senator Jane Kitchell. Beck was one of the sharpest critics of the state’s education finance system and its impact on property taxes.

In Orleans County, Republican Sam Douglass won a seat once held by Democratic senator Bobby Starr, who retired. Douglass, a real estate agent and crisis counselor from Troy, campaigned on restoring balance to the Statehouse. Douglass raised about $42,000, including large contributions from Chittenden County business interests, including commercial real estate developer Doug Nedde, several members of the Pizzagalli family, and the families of prominent Republican donors Jerry Tarrant and Bruce Lisman.

And in a surprise, Sen. Chris Bray (D-Addison County), chair of the influential Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, lost his seat. He was running third in his two-seat district early Wednesday. Bray’s support for the controversial Clean Heat Standard and its possible impact on heating costs gave Republican Steve Heffernan, a member of the Vermont National Guard and business owner from Bristol, fodder to attack the incumbent as contributing to the affordability crisis.

In another upset, Republican Rep. Chris Mattos of Milton beat incumbent Democratic Sen. Irene Wrenner of Essex for the Chittenden North seat. Wrenner has only served one term in the Senate. Mattos, who has served in the House since 2017, strongly criticized Wrenner for allowing property taxes to increase an average of 14 percent this year.

Democrats in the House of Representatives saw their losses deepen as the evening wore on. Even members of the House leadership team were not immune. Committee chairs Rep. Mike McCarthy (D-St. Albans) and Diane Lanpher (D-Vergennes) both lost their seats.

Democratic Rep. Carl Demrow of Corinth lost to Republican Michael Tagliavia, a retired business owner who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2022.

First-term Rep. Mike Rice, a Democrat from Dorset, lost to Republican Sandra Pinsonault, the longtime town clerk in Dorset.

Incumbent Democrat Josie Leavitt of Grand Isle lost her seat, as former Republican state rep Leland Morgan reclaimed his.

Even Rep. Mary Morrissey, a Republican from Bennington who was caught on video repeatedly dousing a Democratic colleagues’ bag with water, was re-elected. The owner of the bag, Jim Carroll, was not.

And Rep. Will Notte of Rutland City lost following another a stiff challenge from a Republican: Chris Keyser, who comes from a family with a long political pedigree. He is the son of former Vermont governor F. Ray Keyser Jr. and the grandson of former Vermont Supreme Court justice F. Ray Keyser Sr.

Chis Keyser retired in 2019 from his family’s fuel oil business.

House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) told attendees at a Democratic election night party at Higher Ground that watching results trickle in was difficult. “But what I want Vermonters to know is that we still have your back,” Krowinski said.