First-term incumbent state Reps. Charlton, Coffin lose as blue wave hits Windsor County Hoser, Yuengling, Morrow all win State House seats

By Shawn Cunningham
and Cynthia Prairie
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The blue wave washing over the United States on Tuesday reached down into Vermont’s State House races, reversing gains that Republicans made 2024 in both the Windsor 2 and Windsor-Windham and districts, with both V.L. Coffin and Tom Charlton losing their seats in the House of Representatives by wider margins than they won them two years ago.

Voters came out in numbers larger than the 2022 mid-terms but smaller than those seen in the 2024 presidential election, when anger at the Covid related inflation under the Biden administration pushed enough Republicans over the top in Vermont to take away the veto-proof majority that Democrats in the Legislature had been enjoying.

And while the excesses of the Trump administration including masked ICE raids, corruption, the war in Iran and related high fuel costs, tariffs and high grocery prices were called out by area Democrats at a succession of demonstrations throughout the state, the economy seems to have had the same galvanizing effect in this cycle as it did two years ago.

The numbers seem to show that not only did more voters cast their ballots for Democrats, but also that a substantial number of voters in the Republican camp sat out the contest.

Windsor-Windham Representative
Thomas Charlton (R) incumbent v. William Hoser (D)

The Windsor-Windham race was notable not only for its civil tone, but for the number of times the candidates met together in forums, allowing the public to see and hear from them. But of the two Chester residents, it was William Hoser who ended up beating incumbent Thomas Charlton 1,344 to 916, by a wide margin of 428 votes.

In 2024, when Republicans were out in force to support Donald Trump for president, Charlton bested incumbent Democratic Rep. Heather Chase for the seat by 42 votes, polling 904 in his hometown of Chester. This time, however, he garnered 291 fewer votes in Chester. And Charlton did not win any of the other three towns in the district, which is comprised of Chester, Grafton, Athens and Windham.

This will be the second consecutive time that district voters have ejected an incumbent after only one-term. Hoser,  a physician assistant, will be sworn in with other state representatives to a two-year term in January.

Please note: All results are considered unofficial until confirmed by the State of Vermont.

TOWNS	CHARLTON	HOSER
Athens	80	104
Chester	613	855
Grafton	132	227
Windham	91	158
TOTAL	916	1,344

Windsor-2 Representative
V.L. Coffin (R) incumbent v. Mark Yuengling (D) 

The race between incumbent Rep. V.L. Coffin and Mark Yuengling was a rematch of 2024 when Coffin beat Yuengling 1,417 to 1,273 and the only town Yuengling took was his hometown of Weathersfield, by just 28 votes. At the time, Coffin won Cavendish by 141 votes, and the entire three-town district by 144 votes.

This time around, Coffin beat Yuengling in Cavendish by 13 and in Baltimore by 9. But Yuengling, proving that the second time around is the charm, came charging back in Weathersfield, winning his hometown by 295 votes, which gave him enough votes for a margin of victory of 273 votes.

Please note: All results are considered unofficial until confirmed by the State of Vermont.

TOWNS	COFFIN	YUENGLING
Baltimore	57	48
Cavendish	329	316
Weathersfield	611	906
TOTAL:	997	1,270

Windham-Windsor-Bennington Representative
Chris Morrow (D) incumbent v. E. Stuart Coleman (R)

Incumbent Chris Morrow of Weston took his race walking away. Running against Stuart Coleman, Morrow won handily in Weston, Andover, Winhall and Londonderry besting his opponent 1,374 to 863. In 2024, running against Jan Payne of Andover, Morrow won three of four of the towns in the district. Only in Andover did Morrow come in second by 20 votes. This year, Morrow took the majority of the votes in each town, including from Coleman’s hometown of Winhall, by 34 votes.

Please note: All results are considered unofficial until confirmed by the State of Vermont.

TOWNS	MORROW	COLEMAN
Andover	181	141
Londonderry	594	359
Weston	289	87
Winhall	310	276
TOTAL:	1,374	863