SHOREHAM — Incumbent Rep. Terry Norris, I-Shoreham, has won re-election to his Vermont House seat in the Addison-Rutland district, which comprises Benson, Orwell, Shoreham and Whiting.
“I’m happy with the results, obviously,” Norris said Wednesday. “You never know how an election will go.”
Norris’s win was part of a county-wide sweep of incumbent legislative candidates — nine in the House and two in the Senate. Norris is the only Independent among them.
“Given the COVID restrictions on meeting people and communicating, campaigning was a difficult process,” Norris said. “I kept a low profile, put out some signs, and hoped that my previous two terms would define who I was as a candidate.”
Of the 2,312 votes cast, Norris won 1,281 (55.4%), according to the unofficial results posted by the Vermont Secretary of State’s office Wednesday morning. He was the top vote-getter in each of the district’s four towns.
Shoreham Democrat Ruth Shattuck Bernstein won 725 votes (31.4%) and Benson Independent Rick Lenchus won 157 (6.8%).
This will be the third term, and second full term, for Norris, who was appointed to the seat by Gov. Phil Scott in February 2017 and who after winning election outright in 2018 served on the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee.
With new leadership in the Vermont House and Senate, the next biennium is sure to be a “whole new ballgame,” Norris said.
“The biggest priority for most people is getting the economy back to full speed. COVID is probably going to get worse before it gets better, and we will continue to have limited revenue for a while.
“I’m fiscally conservative, so maybe I can jump in there.”