Rebecca A. "Becca" Balint (born May 4, 1968) is an American politician who is a member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
from
Vermont's at-large congressional district
Vermont has been represented in the United States House of Representatives by a single at-large congressional district since the 1930 census, when the state lost its second seat, obsoleting its 1st and 2nd congressional districts. There were on ...
as a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. She served as a member of the
Vermont Senate
The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...
from
Windham County from 2015 to 2023, as majority leader from 2017 to 2021, and as
president pro tempore
A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...
from 2021 to 2023.
Balint was born in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, and raised in
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fro ...
. She was educated at
Walter Panas High School
Walter Panas High School is a comprehensive, four-year public high school serving students in grades 9–12 in Cortlandt Manor, New York, USA. It was opened in 1972, becoming the second high school to serve the Lakeland Central School District. It ...
,
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
. She moved to Vermont in 1994, and worked at the
Community College of Vermont
The Community College of Vermont (CCV) is a community college in Vermont. It is Vermont's second largest college, serving 7,000 students each semester and is part of the Vermont State Colleges System. The college has 12 locations throughout Vermo ...
in
Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...
.
She served as a
town meeting
Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...
representative and on the Development Review Board in Brattleboro. She was elected to the state senate alongside
Jeanette White
Jeanette White (born May 2, 1943) is an American politician. A Democrat, she has served in the Vermont Senate from the Windham district since 2003.
Biography
White was born on May 2, 1943, in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. White moved to Verm ...
in 2014, becoming the first lesbian to serve in the state senate. Balint was selected to serve as majority leader by the Democratic caucus in 2017, and as the president pro tempore in 2021. She is the first woman and openly
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
person to serve as president pro tempore in Vermont.
Balint was elected to the U.S. House in the
2022 election. She is the first woman and openly
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
person to represent Vermont in Congress. This was also a national milestone, as her victory meant that women have been elected to Congress from every U.S. state.
Early life and education
Rebecca A. Balint was born in a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
hospital in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, on May 4, 1968, to Peter and Sandra Balint, and was raised in
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fro ...
. Her grandfather was killed during
the Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
and her
Hungarian-Jewish
The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...
father immigrated to the United States in 1957. She graduated from
Walter Panas High School
Walter Panas High School is a comprehensive, four-year public high school serving students in grades 9–12 in Cortlandt Manor, New York, USA. It was opened in 1972, becoming the second high school to serve the Lakeland Central School District. It ...
in 1986. Balint graduated
magna cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
from
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree, a
Master of Education
The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...
degree from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1995, and with a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in history from the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
. She later worked at the
Community College of Vermont
The Community College of Vermont (CCV) is a community college in Vermont. It is Vermont's second largest college, serving 7,000 students each semester and is part of the Vermont State Colleges System. The college has 12 locations throughout Vermo ...
in
Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...
.
Balint came out as a lesbian in the sixth grade, although she came out formally after high school, after she was bullied for telling another girl she had a crush on her, with "lezzie" written on her locker. She moved to Vermont in 1994. She met Elizabeth Wohl in 2000, formed a
civil union
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
with her in 2004, moved to Brattleboro with her in 2007, and married her in 2009, after same-sex marriage was legalized in Vermont. The couple have two children.
Balint supported the
Vermont Progressive Party
The Vermont Progressive Party, formerly the Progressive Coalition, is a progressive political party in the United States founded in 1999 and active only in the state of Vermont. As of 2019, the party has two members in the Vermont Senate and sev ...
in the 2000s, and supported their gubernatorial nominee,
Anthony Pollina
Anthony Pollina (born February 17, 1952) is an American Progressive politician who has served as a member of the Vermont Senate since 2011.
Biography
Anthony Pollina was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey on February 17, 1952, the son of Salvatore P ...
, in the
2000 election.
She served as a
town meeting
Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...
representative and on the Development Review Board in Brattleboro.
Career
Vermont Senate
Elections
Balint announced her campaign for the Democratic nomination for a seat in the
Vermont Senate
The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...
against
Peter Galbraith
Peter Woodard Galbraith (born December 31, 1950) is an American author, academic, commentator, politician, policy advisor, and former diplomat.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he helped uncover Saddam Hussein's gassing of the Kurds. From 1993 ...
, who retired, and
Jeanette White
Jeanette White (born May 2, 1943) is an American politician. A Democrat, she has served in the Vermont Senate from the Windham district since 2003.
Biography
White was born on May 2, 1943, in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. White moved to Verm ...
in
the 2014 elections.
She raised the most money in the race, around $13,000, with donations from people such as
Jane Lynch
Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series ''Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recogni ...
, and was endorsed by Majority Leader
Philip Baruth. Brandon Batham, the chair of the Democratic Party in Windham County, served as her campaign manager and later as the campaign manager for
Kesha Ram's lieutenant gubernatorial campaign. Balint won the Democratic nomination alongside White and placed second in the general election ahead of an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
and two
Liberty Union candidates.
Her election made her the first lesbian to serve in the state senate.
She was reelected in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, and
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
against independent, Liberty Union, and
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidates.
Tenure
In 2017, the state senate voted 20 to 10, with Balint in favor, to suspend Senator
Norman H. McAllister
Norman H. McAllister (born 1951) is an American politician who was a member of the Vermont Senate. He represented the Alburgh, Vermont, Alburgh-Franklin County, Vermont, Franklin district in Northwest Vermont. He was elected to the state legisla ...
following accusations of sexual assault, his arrest in May 2015, in the
Vermont State House
The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Vermont. It is the seat of the Vermont General Assembly. The current Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the Sta ...
, and a criminal trial against him. Balint served as the chair of the Senate Sexual Harassment Panel. During her tenure in the state senate she has served on the Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs, Finance, and Rules committees.
The Democratic caucus unanimously voted to make Balint majority leader in 2017.
In 2020, the Democratic caucus selected her to replace
Tim Ashe
Timothy R. Ashe (born December 10, 1976) is an American politician who ran for a wide range of political offices in Vermont and served as a Democrat/Progressive in the Vermont State Senate from Chittenden County from 2009 to 2021 and as Presiden ...
as
president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate The President ''pro tempore'' of the Vermont Senate presides over the Senate of the U.S. state of Vermont in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor. The President ''pro tempore'' also sets the policy priorities and legislative agenda for the Senat ...
, and she became the first woman and
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
person to serve in the role.
During the 2016 election she was a member of the Victory Leaders Councils formed by the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
. During the
2020 Democratic presidential primaries she and other members of the
Vermont General Assembly
The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...
declined to endorse any candidate for president.
U.S House of Representatives
Elections
2022
On November 15, 2021, Senator
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
announced that he would not seek reelection to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
.
Peter Welch
Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Vermont, and the current U.S. representative for since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a major figure i ...
, a member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
from
Vermont's at-large congressional district
Vermont has been represented in the United States House of Representatives by a single at-large congressional district since the 1930 census, when the state lost its second seat, obsoleting its 1st and 2nd congressional districts. There were on ...
, announced that he would run to replace Leahy.
On December 13, Balint announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination to succeed Welch in the
2022 election.
Natalie Silver was selected as her campaign manager.
She raised over $125,000 within 24 hours of her announcement. Balint said she would follow
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
's example by not accepting campaign contributions from corporate
political action committees, but accepting political action committee donations from labor unions. The
Campaign Legal Center
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) government watchdog group in the United States. CLC supports strong enforcement of United States campaign finance laws. Trevor Potter, former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Comm ...
stated that her campaign website was using
red-boxing
Red-boxing is a tactic used by American political candidates to coordinate with their political action committees (PACs) in a way that circumvents Campaign finance in the United States, campaign finance laws. Political campaigns place statement ...
, a practice that allows a campaign to coordinate with super PACs.
During the primary, the
LGBTQ Victory Fund
The LGBTQ Victory Fund (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund), commonly shortened to Victory Fund, is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBTQ public officials in the United States. Victory F ...
spent around $1 million on Balint's behalf, with most of it coming from a $1.1 million donation from
FTX executive
Nishad Singh
The Nishad are a Hindu caste, found in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
In Bihar, the term refers to a group of around 20 communities whose traditional occupations centred on rivers, such as the Mallah. There have been demands for ...
.
Sam Bankman-Fried
Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried (born March 6, 1992), also known by the initialism SBF, is an American suspected fraudster, entrepreneur, investor, and former billionaire. Bankman-Fried was the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX ...
donated $26,100 to Balint.
Balint won the Democratic nomination with 59.6% of the vote. She won the general election, defeating the Republican nominee, former
U.S. Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...
Liam Madden
Liam Madden (born 1983/1984) is an American United States Marine Corps, Marine veteran, entrepreneur, and anti-war activist. Although a political independent, he was the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party nominee in the 2022 United ...
, with over 60% of the vote.
Caucus memberships
*
Congressional Progressive Caucus
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most Left-wing politics, left-leaning faction of the ...
Political positions
Balint sponsored legislation to limit police involvement with immigration enforcement by the federal government, opposing President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's support for a federal registry on religious and immigration status. She voted to expand background checks on gun sales in 2018. The Vermont Conservation Voters gave her a lifetime score of 100%.
Balint opposes
voter identification on the grounds that voter fraud is extremely rare and that voter ID laws are used to restrict people from voting. She supported legislation that sent all voters
mail-in ballots and said that it was a part of Vermont's legacy of making voting easier. She sponsored legislation to implement
ranked choice voting for presidential and congressional elections in Vermont.
Balint supported legislation to
prohibit conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...
on minors. She supported legislation banning the
gay panic defense
The gay panic defense or homosexual advance defence is a legal strategy in which a defendant claims to have acted in a state of violent, temporary insanity, committing assault or murder, because of unwanted same-sex sexual advances, usually bet ...
, which passed unanimously in the state senate, but was unable to vote for it because she was presiding in place of Lieutenant Governor
Molly Gray
Molly Rose Gray (born March 18, 1984) is an American attorney and politician serving as the 83rd and current lieutenant governor of Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, she was an assistant attorney general for Vermont from 2018 to 2021.
A ...
. She and Speaker
Jill Krowinski gave an apology for Vermont's involvement in
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
, including legislation from 1931 that supported a eugenics study conducted by
Henry Farnham Perkins. In 2021, an amendment to the
Constitution of Vermont
The Constitution of the State of Vermont is the fundamental body of law of the U.S. state of Vermont, describing and framing its government. It was adopted in 1793 following Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791 and is largely based upon the ...
to codify ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' passed in the state senate, 26 to 4, with Balint in favor.
In 2016, Balint opposed legislation to legalize marijuana despite her support for legalization, saying that she "believed this bill does not leave room for the home-grown and the small growers who would like to be a part of this new economy." She initially voted against marijuana legalization in a 16 to 13 vote in 2017, but became the only member in the state senate to change her vote after an amendment by Senator
John S. Rodgers
John S. Rodgers (born July 29, 1965) is an American politician who served in the Vermont Senate from the Essex County, Vermont, Essex-Orleans County, Vermont, Orleans district from 2013 to 2021. He previously served in the Vermont House of Repres ...
reduced the cultivation application fee that ranged from $15,000 to $25,000 to $3,000 to $7,500.
Electoral history
See also
*
List of first openly LGBT politicians in the United States
This is a list of the first openly LGBTQ+ people to have held political office in the United States. No openly LGBTQ+ person has served as president or vice president of the United States or as a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States ...
References
External links
Becca Balint for Congresscampaign website
Senator Becca Balintofficial legislative website
*
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balint, Becca
1968 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century LGBT people
American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni
Jewish American people in Vermont politics
Lesbian politicians
LGBT state legislators in Vermont
Living people
Majority leaders of the Vermont Senate
People from Brattleboro, Vermont
Smith College alumni
University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni
Democratic Party Vermont state senators
Women state legislators in Vermont