Vermont State Senate Chittenden Southeast District

Vermont State Senate Chittenden Southeast District is represented by Thomas Chittenden (D), Virginia Lyons (D), and Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Vermont state senators represented an average of 21,450 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 21,011 residents.

About the office

Members of the Vermont State Senate serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Vermont legislators assume office the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January.

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

The Vermont Constitution states, "No person shall be elected a Representative or a Senator until the person has resided in this State two years, the last year of which shall be in the legislative district for which the person is elected."^[1]

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024^[2]
Salary	Per diem
$843.32/week during session	No per diem paid during session. Members can receive $168.66/day in per diem outside of session.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Vermont General Assembly, the governor must select a replacement to fill the vacant seat.

The governor must select a replacement that will serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. There are no deadlines set by statute on when a vacancy has to be filled.^[3]^[4]

See sources: Vermont Const. Chap. 2, Art. 45, Vermont Stat. Ann. tit. 2, §4, and Vermont Stat. Ann. tit. 2, §9

District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in Vermont after the 2020 census

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed H722 on April 6, 2022, enacting new legislative districts for the state House and Senate.^[5] The Vermont House of Representatives voted 129-13 to advance the state legislative redistricting bill on March 16.^[6] On March 25, the Vermont State Senate unanimously approved H722, sending it to Scott.^[7] These maps took effect for Vermont's 2022 legislative elections.

How does redistricting in Vermont work? Because Vermont has only one congressional district, congressional redistricting is not necessary. The state legislature draws state legislative district lines with the assistance of an advisory commission. This advisory commission consists of the following members:^[8]

The governor appoints one member each from the state's political parties. To qualify for consideration in this context, a political party must have had "at least three state legislators for six of the previous 10 years."
The chairs of the aforementioned political parties each appoint an additional member.
The chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court appoints the commission's chair.

Commissioners cannot be legislators, nor can they be employed by the legislature. The commission may make recommendations to the legislature, but these recommendations are non-binding.^[8]

State law requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and compact and that they "adhere to county and other political subdivision boundaries, except where necessary to comply with other legal requirements." In addition, state statutes specify that districts should account for "patterns of geography, social interaction, trade, political ties, and common interests."^[8]

Vermont State Senate Chittenden Southeast District
starting January 4, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Vermont State Senate Chittenden Southeast District (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Vermont State Senate Chittenden Southeast District on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Chittenden (D)	26.8	28,729
✔		Virginia Lyons (D)	23.2	24,922
✔		Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D)	20.0	21,498
		Bruce Roy (R)	15.0	16,080
	Submit photo	Rohan St. Marthe (R)	8.0	8,619
	Submit photo	Taylor Craven (Independent)	6.6	7,107
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	290

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 107,245
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Chittenden Southeast District (3 seats)

Incumbent Virginia Lyons, incumbent Thomas Chittenden, and incumbent Kesha Ram Hinsdale defeated Louis Meyers in the Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Chittenden Southeast District on August 13, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Virginia Lyons	30.4	6,111
✔	Thomas Chittenden	28.3	5,678
✔	Kesha Ram Hinsdale	27.1	5,440
	Louis Meyers	13.6	2,735
	Other/Write-in votes	0.6	117

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,081
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Vermont State Senate Chittenden Southeast District (3 seats)

Bruce Roy advanced from the Republican primary for Vermont State Senate Chittenden Southeast District on August 13, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Bruce Roy	90.0	1,527
	Other/Write-in votes	10.0	169

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,696
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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