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Rodgers wins Senate seat, House incumbents re-elected

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John Rodgers and Tim de la Bruere do some last-minute campaigning in Newport on Election Day. Photo by Paul Lefebvre

copyright the Chronicle 11-7-12

In one of the closest local races of the night, incumbent Democrat Bobby Starr of North Troy and Democrat John Rodgers of Glover won the two seats in the sprawling Essex-Orleans Senate district.

The unofficial tally at the Chronicle was 8,210 for Mr. Starr, 7,360 for Mr. Rodgers, 7,234 for Representative Robert Lewis of Derby, and 4,077 for Jay Dudley of Barton.

That tally was based on results reported from 34 of the 35 towns in the district.  The only town that did not report results Tuesday night in the Senate district was Victory, which had 66 voters on the checklist in 2008.

“A huge thank-you,” said Mr. Rodgers.  He said he had a tremendous amount of help.  The challenge was reaching the far corners of the district.

“I’d like to just thank the other candidates.  It was a good clean race,” said Senator Starr.  He said he also would like to thank the voters in the district.

 Illuzzi loses bid for auditor

 Senator Vince Illuzzi of Derby lost his first bid for a statewide office to Doug Hoffer of Burlington.  Mr. Hoffer, who ran as a Democrat and Progressive, was elected state auditor by winning roughly 51 percent of the vote.

“That’s the way it goes,” said Mr. Illuzzi whose defeat Tuesday was the first time he has lost an election since he was elected to the Vermont Senate in 1980.

“I did the best I could, and that’s all I could do,” he said in a brief interview late Tuesday night.

Mr. Illuzzi also noted that it was a tough year for Republicans as statewide office seekers like Randy Brock for governor and Wendy Wilton for treasurer also lost.

Voters in Essex and Orleans counties bucked a statewide trend and heavily backed Republican candidates for state offices.

On the other hand, voters in the two counties overwhelmingly supported President Barack Obama, who carried every town except Maidstone.

Voter turnout was down compared to the last presidential election four years ago.  This year 63 percent of the registered voters in the two counties came out to the polls as opposed to about 70 percent in 2008.

 Incumbents re-elected in Orleans 2

A pair of Independents challenged the two Republican incumbents in the Orleans 2 House district, but the voters decided they liked things as they were.  Representatives Mike Marcotte of Coventry and Duncan Kilmartin of Newport won handily over Newport Mayor Paul Monette and Newport Alderman Tim de la Bruere.

Orleans 2 covers Newport City, Newport Center, Irasburg, Coventry and Troy.

Mr. Marcotte led the field with 1,962 votes, followed by Mr. Kilmartin with 1,440.  Mr. de la Bruere had 1,213 votes and Mr. Monette followed closely with 1,199.

When reached with the results Mr. Marcotte said, “I’m happy the voters have given me another two years.”

He said he hopes to be back on the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on which he has served as vice-chairman.

Mr. Marcotte said he’s interested in seeing the makeup of the House after the election.  However it turns out he said he feels comfortable working with both sides of the aisle.

 Higley keeps seat in Orleans-Lamoille

 In the Orleans-Lamoille House district, incumbent Republican Mark Higley fended off a challenge from Katherine Sims, a political newcomer who was running as a Progressive and Democrat.

The final vote was 920-887 with Ms. Sims winning in Jay, Troy and Eden.  In Lowell, however, hometown to both candidates, Mr. Higley won 265-112.

The two candidates could hardly be more different on many of the issues, with Mr. Higley generally taking a more conservative stance.

Ms. Sims is founder and director of the Green Mountain Farm-to-School program.  Mr. Higley is a contractor.

“I feel fortunate to have won and to get back to Montpelier and work for my constituents,” he said Tuesday night.”

He said he knew the race would be close.  “Katherine worked hard.  She was out there door-to-door, very active.  Sometimes we’d run into each other on the campaign trail.”

Mr. Higley said he’s not sure what accounted for his squeaker of a victory — perhaps just the fact that he’s got a little more experience in Montpelier.

For complete election results, see the Chronicle’s digital edition.  For more free stories like this one, please take a look at our Editor’s Picks section.

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