Vermont elects its second Democratic senator in history

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Vermont elected a Democratic senator on Tuesday — only the second time in the state's history.

Rep. Peter Welch is slated for a promotion to the U.S. Senate after running away with a Tuesday victory over Republican opponent Gerald Malloy.

Welch won the election with approximately 67% of the vote to Malloy's 27%, with 99% reporting.

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Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., joins Protect Our Care to speak during a press conference on Sept. 21, 2022, in Washington, D.C.  (Brian Stukes/Getty Images for Protect Our Care)

Beginning with Sens. Solomon Foot and Jacob Collamer in 1854, Vermont was a devout Republican stronghold state. 

Elected in 1974, outgoing Sen. Patrick Leahy became the first Democratic Party senator in the state's history. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist and repeat candidate on the Democratic Party ticket, is a registered independent elected in 2006. 

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Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., joins Protect Our Care to speak during a press conference on Sept. 21, 2022, in Washington, D.C.  (Brian Stukes/Getty Images for Protect Our Care)

Vermont voters also chose Tuesday their first woman to serve in the state’s Congressional delegation.

The state is the only one in the country that has never sent a woman or a member of a minority group to represent it in Congress.

However, in Tuesday’s voting, Democratic state Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, a former teacher who would be the first openly gay person to represent Vermont, trounced Republican Liam Madden for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.