Republican incumbent state senator from Rutland County arrested last week loses reelection bid

An incumbent Republican Rutland County state senator arrested last week on a charge of domestic assault has lost his bid for reelection, ousted by an independent candidate who served in the state Senate over 30 years ago. 

Republicans also suffered setbacks in House districts in Rutland County, with four seats flipping to Democratic candidates. 

Sen. Terry Williams, from Poultney, had been running for his third two-year term. Last Wednesday, Williams was in court pleading not guilty to a misdemeanor charge accusing him of striking a woman in the face during an argument.

Williams finished in fourth place with 11,175 votes Tuesday in the race for three Rutland County state Senate seats, according to unofficial results from the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office.

Incumbent Sen. Brian Collamore, R-Rutland, bested the four-person field with 15,731 votes, earning another two-year term in office. He has served as a Rutland County senator for the past 12 years.

Collamore was followed by challenger David Wolk, an independent and former Castleton University president who previously served in the state Senate as a Democrat from 1988 to 1992, with 14,329 votes Tuesday.

Incumbent Sen. David Weeks, R-Rutand, earned the third Rutland County state Senate seat and his third two-year term with 13,301 votes, according to the unofficial results. 

Despite his loss, Williams earned the most votes in Benson, Middletown Springs, Pawlet and his home town of Poultney. Wolk led the pack in Rutland City, Killington and Chittenden. 

“I am especially proud that I carried my towns in Western Rutland County. It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to represent the good people of these communities in the Vermont Senate,” Williams wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday regarding his defeat. 

Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Republicans Collamore, Weeks and Williams also appeared on the ballot as Democrats having won as write-ins during the August primary with no Democratic candidates running.

The three incumbent Republicans engaged in a hard fought race, and it was a disappointment for Vermont Republicans that the national blue wave seeped into Vermont’s local and countywide political outcomes, Steven Thompson, chair of the Rutland County Republican Party, said on Wednesday. 

“We got pretty all beat up,” Thompson said. “I think Washington spilled over into Vermont as it spilled over into a lot of other states.”

While not beneficial for Williams’ odds, Thompson said he is unsure if the allegations against Williams had a huge bearing on the outcome of his race. He added that he thought Wolk was a strong and well-known candidate and he hopes the independent will work together with the two reelected Republicans. 

A nonpartisan independent, Wolk said in an interview with VTDigger last month that he plans to caucus with the Democratic or Republican party during discussions of public policy issues, but will not caucus with either party during political strategizing meetings.  

The Democratic Party in Vermont won back its supermajority in both the state Senate and House of Representatives, after a red wave broke the supermajority in 2024. 

In the historically Republican “red” Rutland County, the Democratic Party maintained its sole House seat representing Rutland-6, previously occupied by longtime legislator Mary Howard. Chris Siliski, the Democratic House candidate for Rutland-6, won with 735 votes, against Republican Cindy Laskevich. 

Rutland County Democratic candidate Jeff Haylon picked up the Rutland-9 House seat, representing Brandon, winning against Republican candidate Aida Neilson after her husband Rep. Todd Neilson, R-Brandon, stepped down from that seat.

Some Democratic candidates running for House districts comprising municipalities straddling Rutland County and other counties also won this time around. 

Democratic candidate Jonathan Hescock gained the Addison-Rutland House seat, against Republican Jim Casey. Democrat Phoebe Tucker won the Rutland-Windsor seat against the Republican Kevin Winter. Former Representative Mike Rice won back the Bennington-Rutland House seat he lost two years ago against incumbent Sandra Pinsonault.

Rutland County Democrats’ Chair Thomas Fagan said that he is glad to see “new blood” in the legislature and more balanced political representation in the House coming out of Rutland County. The Democratic candidates that won ran strong campaigns and were able to channel the national energy that favored Democrats candidates this time around, Fagan said. 

Thompson is “scared to death” by the return of a Democratic supermajority, but he hopes that the newly reelected Republican Gov. Phil Scott can find common ground with the Democratic Party, he said. He hopes “we don’t go backwards” on land use planning and climate policy issues that he believes would take a toll on affordability for Vermonters, he added. 

“We’re going to have to see what the leaders of the House and Senate have for us, and you know, try to work with them the best we can to impact change,” Thompson said. 

Fagan said that it is important that the Democratic Party still works with Gov. Scott despite the supermajority, or likely “next round it’ll switch back.”

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