Vermont’s Republican state senators ousted the leader of their caucus Tuesday — and took the unconventional step of replacing him with a senator who’s just been elected.
The GOP caucus chose Rep. Scott Beck, who in January will make the jump to the Caledonia County Senate seat after a decade representing St. Johnsbury in the House, to serve as the upper chamber’s next minority leader. Beck won out over the current minority leader, Franklin County Sen. Randy Brock, as well as a third candidate — Essex County Sen. Russ Ingalls.
The caucus did keep its sole other leadership position the same, reelecting Sen. Brian Collamore of Rutland County as assistant minority leader. Caucus leaders work with members of their party to determine, and sometimes enforce, legislative priorities.
Brock, who had served as minority leader since 2021 and was first elected to the body in 2017, did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
Beck will lead the state’s largest Senate GOP caucus in nearly a quarter-century. Including Beck, the party elected six new Republicans to the chamber on election night, giving it control of 13 seats starting next year. Democrats and Progressives will still control the Senate, with 17 seats, but GOP gains shattered the 23-7 supermajority the left coalition has held in the chamber since the start of the 2023 biennium.
Beck said he thinks he is a good fit for the minority leader role because he campaigned heavily on issues that delivered the state GOP its gains this year, including affordability, property taxes, housing and public safety.
“I thought about what my goals were, and what I thought the caucus’ goals were, and the administration’s goals,” he said, referring to Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s team. After that, Beck added, “I thought I might be a good fit.”
Tuesday’s vote was held by secret ballot, and the candidates weren’t provided a breakdown of how many votes each one of them received, according to Beck. He said that all 13 members of the caucus were present and cast a vote.
Beck said he pitched himself to colleagues as someone who could improve the caucus’ communication, both within the Statehouse and with members of the public. He said that could include, among other things, better strategizing over how to get senators on the other side of the aisle to join the GOP caucus on close votes.
That could be important in the upcoming biennium as Democrats and Progressives in the Senate may be able to spare just one member on party-line issues. That’s because the lieutenant governor — who can cast a tie-breaking vote in the chamber — is also set to be a Republican, after John Rodgers defeated incumbent Progressive/Democrat David Zuckerman.
Beck said he also pitched colleagues on relationships that he already has with the two senators Democrats nominated to their top leadership positions in the chamber earlier this month: President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, and Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D/P-Chittenden Southeast, the party’s newly elected majority leader.
Beck served in the House alongside Ram Hinsdale, he noted, and sat on the House Education Committee while Baruth chaired the Senate Education Committee.
Beck said there is “an open conversation” within his caucus, which started in earnest at Tuesday’s meeting, about whom Senate Republicans will back when the chamber officially elects the pro tem in January. Though Baruth again won his caucus’ nomination, he could face a challenge when all 30 members convene, if Democratic defectors join up with a united Republican caucus.
The new Republican leader also said that he plans to make addressing the state’s education funding system a priority early in the new biennium. Beck, who has served most recently on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, has been among the Legislature’s most vocal advocates for changing the way the system works — even floating his own plan earlier this year.
Paul Dame, chair of the Vermont Republican Party, said he thinks Tuesday’s vote can be attributed, in large part, to Beck’s work on that issue.
“This was (the caucus’) first vote as Senate-elect members. And I think they wanted to use that in a way that demonstrated, ‘we hear that people want change,’” Dame said. “And even though we’re the minority party, we’re putting someone in place who, I would say, is one of the most qualified people to address education financing that we have in the Republican caucus.”
Ingalls, the Essex County senator who sought the minority leader post, also praised Beck in an interview Wednesday and said he didn’t think the newly elected senator’s lack of experience in the chamber would be an issue.
“Scott’s been down there in the Statehouse for 10 years. He knows his way around,” Ingalls said. “I think he’ll do a great job.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Senate Republicans tap Scott Beck as new caucus leader.