Republicans victorious in two of three local State House seats In Chester, incumbent Chase loses to newcomer Charlton

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Republican candidates found enough traction Tuesday to flip two local State House seats held by Democrats, while a Democratic candidate was victorious in a district that has been held by independents for a decade.

Anger over higher school and property taxes — and a perceived dysfunction in Montpelier, where legislative vetoes by Republican Gov. Phil Scott have been routinely overridden by the legislature’s Democratic supermajority — were just some of the motivating factors that gave the edge to Republicans in House districts that have long felt ignored by the power brokers of Montpelier.

While this surprising turn puts three new representatives in Montpelier, none will go to the State House with the experience, cache or connections that will give them immediate influence into the chamber’s inner workings.

NOTE: All results listed here are considered unofficial until confirmed by the state.

Windsor-Windham Representative
Heather Chase (D) incumbent v. Thomas Charlton (R)

Incumbent Heather Chase of Chester lost a squeaker of a race to newcomer Tom Charlton, also of Chester, in a tight race that saw each carry two of the four towns that make up the district. The margin was 42 votes out of 2,646 votes cast solely for them.  The district is comprised of Chester, Grafton, Athens and Windham.

On Tuesday night after Chester’s votes had been counted Charlton told The Telegraph “It’s too soon to be certain, but it’s a job to represent everybody. The whole town counts.”

	CHASE	CHARLTON
Athens	105	115
Chester	823	904
Grafton	223	197
Windham	151	128
TOTAL	1,302	1,344

Windsor-2 Representative
Mark Yuengling (D) v. V.L. Coffin (R)

Republican V.L. Coffin of Cavendish captured the Windsor-2 District seat held by Democrat John Arrison, who decided not to seek re-election, from Democrat Mark Yuengling. In a narrow victory, Yuengling was able to hold onto a slight margin in his hometown of Weathersfield. In addition to Weathersfield, the district is made up of Cavendish and Baltimore.

	YUENGLING	COFFIN
Baltimore	56	85
Cavendish	326	469
Weathersfield	891	863
TOTAL:	1,273	1,417

Windham-Windsor-Bennington Representative
Chris Morrow (D) v. Jan Payne (R)

Democratic candidate Chris Morrow of Weston handily defeated Republican Jan Payne of Andover with more than 60 percent of the votes.

Payne did carry her hometown of Andover by 20 votes. Londonderry and Winhall also make up the district that had been represented by Independents Kelly Pajala and Oliver Olsen for many years.

	MORROW	PAYNE
Andover	171	191
Londonderry	687	404
Weston	318	110
Winhall	409	231
TOTAL:	1,585	936

Cynthia Prairie contributed to this report.