Peter Durant sworn in as senator; GOP sees signs their ideas more 'viable' in Mass.

BOSTON ― After five and a half terms in the House, Spencer Republican Peter Durant moved across the hall to the Senate Wednesday after taking his oath of office from Gov. Maura Healey.

"One of the things that everybody always said was that in the Senate, you get to work more closely with your colleagues. There's a more congenial-type atmosphere, if you will. And I have to say that at least so far, that's been true," Durant said during an appearance with his new Senate Republican Caucus colleagues.

To the leader of the branch's little band of Republicans, Sen. Bruce Tarr, Durant's special election win represented proof that the state party's message can resonate.

"He has proven that the ideals that we share, the principles that we stand for, are viable in Massachusetts and the voters in his district spoke loud and clear about that," Tarr said at a caucus press conference before the swearing-in ceremony.

Durant faulted the state's approach to the migrant shelter crisis, which the governor is overseeing, during his special election race in which he defeated Democrat Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik of Gardner.

The Worcester and Hampshire Senate seat opened up with the springtime resignation of Democrat Sen. Anne Gobi.

Republican Sen. Ryan Fattman said his "very first call" after learning of Gobi's departure was to Durant, urging him to run for the seat. Fattman's district is directly to the south.

"And in Worcester County, there's a lot of good things that have happened over the course of the last few years, bringing balance back to our state. And Peter is just another example of that," Fattman told reporters.

Durant called his new terrain a "good-sized district" of 22 towns and said he's still "working to try to get to all of them and all of the select boards and the city councils and the town managers that we find along the way."

The Senate minority caucus has stood at three members since 2021, after Democrat John Cronin defeated Sen. Dean Tran in the 2020 election.

With Durant's arrival, "minority crescent" — as Sen. Tarr calls their seating area — saw a 33% population increase.

Tarr said that will help Republican senators distribute the work of myriad committee assignments, commission memberships and event attendance.

"For us, every member that we have is extremely, extremely significant because it helps to spread that workload and ensure that we can fulfill the mission that we've set out for ourselves," Tarr said.

Durant credited his wife, former Rep. Kate Campanale Durant, with being "the rock during this campaign." She held the family Bible on which Durant's left hand rested during the swearing-in in the governor's office.

Besides Tarr, Fattman, and Republican Sen. Patrick O'Connor, also on hand were Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis, Senate President Karen Spilka, Sen. Jacob Oliveira, Lt. Gov. Kimberley Driscoll and members of the Governor's Council, which certified election results Nov. 15.

"I've been reached out to from a number of the senators. Everybody's been very welcoming," Durant said. "...I'm sure we're going to argue a lot. I'm sure there's a lot of things that are going to happen where we don't agree. But you know, in the nature of trying to accomplish things and get things done for our district and the commonwealth, you know, that kind of camaraderie works and we look forward to that kind of work in the Senate as well."

Healey addressed the room only briefly, to welcome attendees to her office, before administering the oath to the new Republican senator.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Peter Durant sworn in as state senator as GOP picks up seat in Mass.