Republicans flip Grand Isle Senate seat

The Vermont Republican Party has had its eyes on the state Senate as its best option for disrupting the supermajority Democrats have held in both legislative chambers.

And around 9 p.m., the GOP had flipped its first seat, with Rep. Patrick Brennan, R-Colchester, ousting recently appointed Democratic Sen. Andy Julow in the Grand Isle district.

Brennan carried the seat with 51% of the vote to Julow’s 45.6%, according to preliminary results from the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office. 

Julow, of North Hero, was appointed to fill the late Sen. Dick Mazza’s seat in the single-member district in May. Brennan is a longtime member of the Vermont House.

Mazza, a moderate Democrat, held the seat for decades before his death this year. Both candidates modeled themselves after the late Dean of the Senate. 

Democrats entered the election season in control of more than 20 seats in the upper chamber. Six open seats, however, created an opportunity for Republicans to chip away at that stronghold. And in some districts, Democratic incumbents also faced steep competition.

In April, Mazza stepped down from his Grand Isle seat. And in June, Sen. Dick Sears, a longtime Bennington County Democrat, died. The retirements of Sens. Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia; Brian Campion, D-Bennington; Dick McCormack, D-Windsor; and Bobby Starr, D-Orleans, presented additional opportunities for newcomers to join the upper chamber. 

The open seats, several of which fell in purple districts, became a particular focus of the Vermont Republican Party, which sought to end Democrats’ supermajority in the upper chamber and allow Republican Gov. Phil Scott to veto bills without the current risk of being overridden. 

The five most competitive Senate races, in the Caledonia, Chittenden North, Grand Isle, Orange and Orleans districts, garnered tens of thousands in donations from wealthy Burlington-area families. 

Scott campaigned harder than in recent years for fellow party mates, including in the five high-spending races

This story will be updated.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Republicans flip Grand Isle Senate seat.