While Vermont has helped lead the country on progressive causes like same-sex marriage, recreational marijuana and the right to abortion, there is still one milestone it has yet to pass: The state has never sent a woman to represent its residents in either chamber of the U.S. Congress.
That is now set to change, with Democrat Becca Balint projected to beat out Republican nominee Liam Madden and several others to win Vermont’s lone seat in the House.
Balint will also make history as the first openly LGBTQ person to represent the state in Washington.
A former rock-climbing instructor and middle school teacher, Balint made the switch to a full-time career in politics when she joined the state Senate in 2015. She has been serving as the state Senate’s president pro tempore since last year.
Speaking to The Washington Post in August, Balint commented on the high level of anxiety she has been seeing in local communities during her campaign, as people deal with ongoing crises involving housing, addiction and economic inequality.
“What I’m seeing is deep anxiety and concern about the future that’s sort of overlaying everything. Whether we will be able to survive this moment when our democracy is clearly imperiled,” she said at the time.
The progressive Balint earned endorsements from the state’s most iconic left-wing leader, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), along with Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the ice cream makers behind Ben & Jerry’s. Her biggest competition in the Democratic primary earlier this year was a more moderate candidate, Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, who was backed by retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
With Leahy leaving the Senate, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) decided to run for his seat, leaving room for a fresh face to take Welch’s place in the House. Sanders is not up for reelection until 2024.