Rep. Peter Durant to be sworn-in as state senator on Nov. 29, officials confirm

State Rep. Peter Durant will be sworn-in as a senator the afternoon of Nov. 29 after winning a special election for a Central Massachusetts seat last week, Senate President Karen Spilka’s office confirmed Wednesday.

Durant, a Spencer Republican, claimed victory over Rep. Jon Zlotnik, a Gardner Democrat who plans to run for reelection to his House seat next year. Durant succeeds Anne Gobi, a Democrat who left the Legislature to serve as rural affairs director for the Healey administration.

“I’m looking forward to our new role and we’re currently working on transition from the old district to make sure that no constituent issues fall through the cracks,” Durant said in a statement to the Herald Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Spilka said the ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. in a yet-to-be-determined location.

Durant will bring the total number of Republicans in the Senate to four, well below the number necessary to break Democrats’ veto-proof majority in the chamber.

But the Massachusetts Republican Party took a victory lap after the election, with MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale saying last week that Durant’s win “signals a comeback for the MassGOP.”

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