Sen. Brian Collamore, left, and James McNeil were the top vote-getters in the Republican primary race for Vermont Senate.
As of 11 p.m., 28 of 31 districts had reported in and Sen. David Soucy, R-Rutland, was last among the five Republican candidates for the three seats in the primary. Soucy, 61, has served a single year in the Senate, having been appointed to finish Kevin Mullin’s term after Mullin stepped down last year to take over the Green Mountain Care Board.
“I don’t know,” Soucy said when asked what he thought happened. “I think the voters of Rutland County are more familiar with their names and thought (the other candidates) would better represent them.”
With the retirement of Sen. Peg Flory, R-Rutland, the county will send two new faces to the Senate.
Sen. Brian Collamore, R-Rutland, was not only in first place but had a healthy lead. Collamore, 67, has served two terms and will be Rutland County’s senior senator if he returns to Montpelier for a third.
“I look forward to a good general campaign,” he said. “Both parties, the Republicans and Democrats, will probably take a deep breath, maybe take a month off and then start campaigning in October.”
Collamore said the voters’ rejection of Soucy surprised him. He said the junior senator had done excellent work during his year in Montpelier.
“I am at a total loss to explain that,” he said. “I can’t figure it out for the life of me.”
James McNeil appeared to have the second nomination sewn up, but the competition for the third spot between Ed Larson and Terry Williams appeared too close to call as of 10:45 p.m. — Larson led by 22 votes. Williams’ performance elsewhere in the county indicated he had a likely edge in such smaller towns.
Results were not available from only three towns at deadline: Proctor, Chittenden and Middletown Springs. As of 11 p.m., the county vote totals were 3,243 for Collamore, 2,616 for McNeil, 1,908 for Larson, 1,886 for Williams and 1,520 for Soucy.
None of the three could be immediately reached for comment Tuesday night.
Collamore carried the city with 947 votes. McNeil followed with 826 and Larson took 654. Soucy got 406 and Williams brought up the rear with 243.
McNeil, 60, previously represented Rutland Town in the House and is co-owner of McNeil & Reedy in Rutland. He was also Flory’s choice to succeed her when she announced her retirement.
Larson, 70, is a retired police officer and former city alderman. He ran on his diverse experience and the importance of Rutland County maintaining a strong Republican presence in the Legislature.
Williams, 66, is an Afghanistan veteran, farmer and Poultney Select Board member. He said he would bring organizational skills to the Legislature and represent the perspective of people in the county’s smaller towns.
Larson beat Williams solidly in the city, by a margin of 654-243, and Williams had the fewest votes in each ward. It was a different story in the outlying towns. Williams took first place in Poultney, Castleton, Hubbardton, Fair Haven, Pawlet, Wells, Benson, Danby and Mount Tabor. When Larson beat Williams in the smaller towns, it was usually by a narrow margin.
Soucy won his hometown of Killington and came in third in neighboring Mendon.
Who the Republican nominees will face was not immediately clear Tuesday night. Nobody turned in petitions to run on the Democratic ballot, but the Rutland County Democrats recommended a trio of write-in candidates — Greg Cox, Cheryl Hooker and Scott Garen. Those results were not available Tuesday night.
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