NEWPORT — Russ Ingalls of Newport will join Robert Starr of North Troy in Montpelier this January after both picked up over 20 percent of the vote in the two-seat Essex-Orleans Senate District race.
Starr, a Democrat, received 8,668 votes, and Ingalls, a Republican, picked up 7,739.
Other candidates in the five-person race all received about 13 percent of the vote, with John Rodgers, running this time around as an Independent, finishing fifth with just 5,032 votes.
Jonathan Morin, a Republican, received 5,354 votes, and Democrat Ron Horton got 5,100.
Starr, a longtime legislator was expected to keep his seat, and Ingalls, although a political newcomer, was favored to pick up the second seat after a strong showing during the August primaries.
In August, Ingalls received the most votes of any of the candidates at 3,318.
