Randolph D. "Randy" Brock III (born September 28, 1943) is an American politician from the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and a member of the Republican Party. He currently serves in the Vermont Senate and is the first African American caucus leader in Vermont. He served as the Vermont Auditor of Accounts from 2005 to 2007 and as a member of the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

from 2009 to 2013, and was the Republican nominee for

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, losing to Democratic incumbent

Peter Shumlin Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to ...

. He ran unopposed for the 2016 Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont. In December 2017, Governor

Phil Scott Philip Brian Scott (born August 4, 1958) is an American politician, businessman, and Stock car racing, stock car racer who has been the List of governors of Vermont, 82nd governor of Vermont since 2017. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...

announced that he had appointed Brock to the Vermont Senate, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Dustin Allard Degree.

Early and personal life

Brock was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He holds a B.A. from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

and an M.A. from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. Brock served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, attaining the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He saw action in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, earning a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and an

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

. He is a retired executive vice president for

Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments, formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR), owned by FMR LLC and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, provides financial services. Established in 1946, the company is one of the largest asset managers in the ...

. He is married to Andrea Forrest Brock, and the couple has two children.

State Auditor

2004 election

Brock was elected as Auditor in 2004, defeating Democratic incumbent Elizabeth M. Ready in her bid for re-re-election.

2006 election and recount

In the November 7, 2006 election, Brock was challenged by Democratic candidate Thomas M. Salmon, the son of former Vermont Governor

Thomas P. Salmon Thomas Paul Salmon (August 19, 1932 – January 14, 2025) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 75th governor of Vermont from 1973 to 1977. Early life Thomas P. Salmon was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 19, 1932, th ...

. The initial vote tally put Brock ahead by 137 votes. However, Salmon requested a recount, and on December 21, 2006, Salmon was declared the winner by a margin of 102 votes.

State Senate

In 2008, Brock was elected to the Vermont State Senate. He was re-elected in 2010.

2012 gubernatorial election

On December 7, 2011, Brock announced his candidacy for

in the 2012 gubernatorial election. He received the Republican nomination unopposed and ran against incumbent Democratic Governor

. Brock, however, only received 37.7% of the vote; Shumlin was easily re-elected, with 170,598 votes to Brock's 110,940.

2016 Lieutenant Governor election

Brock ran unopposed for the 2016 Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont, and faced Senator David Zuckerman in the general election. He lost in the general election, receiving 139,344 votes to Zuckerman's 159,738.

Return to State Senate

In November 2017, Republican Dustin Allard Degree resigned from the Vermont Senate to accept a position as special assistant to Governor

. In December, Scott interviewed three candidates recommended by the Franklin County Republican Party. On December 27, Scott announced that he had selected Brock to fill the vacancy. In November 2020, Brock was elected minority leader in the state senate. He is the first African-American caucus leader in Vermont ever.

Political positions

Brock is viewed as a moderate-leaning Republican, considering Vermont’s politically progressive reputation, but he takes more conservative positions on certain issues. He opposes same-sex marriage, voting against legislation to legalize it in Vermont in 2009; however, during his 2012 gubernatorial campaign, he supported the Vermont Supreme Court’s decision to allow civil unions between same-sex couples. He is against gun-control legislation, voting against 2018 legislation that was signed by fellow Republican Governor Phil Scott that expanded background checks for gun buyers to include private firearms sales, set limits on the size of magazines for handguns and long guns, raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm in Vermont to 21, and banned bump stocks. However, he is pro-choice, supported ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...

,'' and opposes the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions. According to Vote Smart’s 2020 election analysis of his positions, Brock supported pro-choice legislation, opposes marijuana legalization, opposes tax increases, supported voter identification requirements and automatic voter registration, opposed capital punishment and other tough-on-crime policies, supported government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions, supported government funding for development of renewable energy, opposes gun-control legislation, supports Medicaid expansion, supports the inclusion of gender identity and sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws, supported both government spending and lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth, opposes raising the minimum wage, and supports state funding for charter schools.

References

External links

Official campaign website
* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brock, Randy 1943 births 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the Vermont General Assembly African-American people in Vermont politics African-American state legislators in Vermont Black conservatism in the United States Living people Middlebury College alumni Military personnel from Philadelphia Politicians from Philadelphia Republican Party Vermont state senators State auditors of Vermont United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Yale University alumni