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Leahy's Re-election Decision Could Shake Up Vermont Politics

Rep. Welch and Sen. Leahy, left and right
WAMC/Pat Bradley
Rep. Welch and Sen. Leahy, left and right

It may be several months before Vermont U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy decides whether to seek a ninth term next year. And as WAMC’s Ian Pickus reports, the state’s political class is holding its breath.

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy is 81. He has been in the Senate since 1975, and is now third in line to the presidency.

Speaking with reporters in Burlington in mid-June, Leahy was asked about his plans for 2022.

“I don’t even think of it and I really put it out of my mind until the winter before,” Leahy said. “Too many senators, Republicans and Democrats alike, who almost from the day they get sworn in are worried about ‘oh how can I vote on this? What will it do to my election?’ If you’re hampered by worrying on every single vote and worrying about re-election all the time, you’re not a very effective senator. I look at the most effective senators, both Republicans and Democrats, they worried about the Senate first and foremost.” 

Leahy’s fellow Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is turning 80 later this year. The state’s at-large Congressman, Democrat Peter Welch, is 74. The former state Senator has been in the House since 2007, when Sanders went to the Senate.

Welch would be one logical choice to move to the U.S. Senate if Leahy opts not to seek re-election. On WAMC’s Congressional Corner, he said he hopes Leahy does run again:

“Let’s wait and let Patrick make his decision,” Welch told WAMC. “I feel like I’ve got the best job in the world. I’m part of, a lot of Vermonters say this and so I’ll say it, the best Congressional delegation in the country, with Bernie, Patrick and me. And it’s so wonderful to be working with two people that I’ve known for years and that I admire and respect. We work as a team for Vermont. I’m hoping Patrick runs. He’s the chair of the appropriations committee. And he’s been incredible. An incredible benefit for Vermont. So let’s just let Patrick decide and we’ll see what happens when he does. But he’s been a gift to us in Vermont.” 

Other names that could be in the mix if a shakeup happens in Vermont’s Washington delegation include Democratic Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray, former Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman – who has run on the Progressive and Democratic party lines – as well as Senate Pro Tem Becca Balint, a Brattleboro Democrat.

Balint spoke with WAMC after the regular legislative session wound down in early June:

“Yes, it's definitely something that I'm thinking about,” Balint said. “I want to be really, really clear that if Senator Leahy wants to continue to run for office, and you've got Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders all doing a great job. And we see that in the amount of federal dollars we were able to get to do so much of our agenda this session. And so I would never run against one of the incumbents. They are all doing a wonderful job for our state. If there is an opening it's something I would very seriously consider. I feel called to this work as a woman, as an openly gay person, as a child of an immigrant. I absolutely know that conversations change when you have a variety of people in the seats looking at policy. And so I'd have to have a lot of conversations with my family still and but yeah, I would definitely think about it. Absolutely.”

For his part, Leahy was asked by WAMC about the behind the scenes jockeying as he ponders his future:

“I’m intrigued," he said. 

Correction: This article originally misstated Bernie Sanders' age. He is 79.

A lifelong resident of the Capital Region, Ian joined WAMC in late 2008 and became news director in 2013. He began working on Morning Edition and has produced The Capitol Connection, Congressional Corner, and several other WAMC programs. Ian can also be heard as the host of the WAMC News Podcast and on The Roundtable and various newscasts. Ian holds a BA in English and journalism and an MA in English, both from the University at Albany, where he has taught journalism since 2013.
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