State Sen. Peter Durant’s victory earlier this month in a special Senate election “affirmatively answers” the question of whether or not Republican campaigns are viable in Massachusetts, the top Senate Republican said minutes before Durant was sworn into his new role.

Durant handily beat Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, a Gardner Democrat, by more than 2,000 votes in an election for a Central Massachusetts Senate seat last held by Sen. Anne Gobi, who left the Legislature for a job in the Healey administration.

Massachusetts Republicans viewed the district as their best chance to add to their three-member caucus in the 40-member Senate, and have gone on a victory parade of sorts since Durant’s win.

“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,” Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr told reporters before Gov. Maura Healey swore Durant in as a state senator Wednesday.

MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said Tarr’s take is “right on point.”

“We think that the election of Sen. Durant shows that races can be competitive in Massachusetts when you have a strong candidate who is well-known in the district and can work cooperatively with a state party,” Carnevale told the Herald. “Those races can be winnable and we’ll be looking ahead to next fall to target additional seats.”

Two Republicans have already thrown their hats into the ring for Durant’s old House seat, which covers Spencer, Charlton, Southbridge, and Dudley.

Carnvale said John Marsi, a Dudley selectman, and David Adams, a Southbridge town councilor, seek the post. Adams filed paperwork at the start of November to run for the House seat as a Republican.

Carnevale said the MassGOP’s “immediate focus” is on the potential upcoming special election for Durant’s old House seat. House Speaker Ronald Mariano has the power to call a special election.

But the party is already eyeing other House and Senate races across the state, though she declined to name specific seats other than a race in the “northeast area” and “down on Cape Cod.”

“We’ll be competitive,” Carnevale said. “I would just kind of preface it, with being a presidential election year, that’s a year that is typically more difficult for Republicans in Massachusetts. We’re going into this with a little bit of lower expectations than what it might be in a non-presidential election year.”

Many of the municipalities in the district went for Durant, including his hometown of Spencer by more than 500 votes, according to unofficial results. And even though he lost Gardner and a sliver of Worcester, the vote margins were just enough to keep his victory plausible.

Durant largely built his campaign around immigration and Second Amendment issues, loudly backing controversial changes to the state’s right-to-shelter law, which requires Massachusetts provide temporary housing to eligible families with children and pregnant people.

The Spencer Republican’s victory marks the first time in six years that the Senate Republican caucus has added a member. Durant said he looks forward to a “more congenial atmosphere.”

“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,” he said. “But you know, in the nature of trying to accomplish things and get things done for our districts and for the commonwealth, that kind of camaraderie works. And we look forward to that kind of work in the Senate.”

State Sen. Ryan Fattman, a Sutton Republican who declared in May that the MassGOP would win the Senate seat, said he encouraged Durant to run when he first heard Gobi was leaving the Legislature.

“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. We’ve been a cohesive team as a Senate Republican Caucus. We will continue to be that way. And we’re very excited about the coming session in January,” he said.

The new state senator steps out in the State House. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)