After tabulations from the state’s final primary were completed, the Vermont Republican Party listed 22 new candidates for the state House race, on top of the 74 already on the ballot for the 150-member chamber.
While nationally considered a blue state, Chairman of the Republican Party of Vermont Paul Dame said there is an unusual development, given the state’s real penchant for blurring partisan lines.
He cited the GOP’s push for the state’s recent “double-digit” property tax hikes, as well as re-focusing voters in the presidential race.
“I’m really ready to take the seats from where we’ve been, there seems to be more energy and cohesion on the Republican side than we’ve had in some,” said Dame.
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Vermont Governor Phil Scott (Philscott.org)
Gov. Phil Scott, a moderate Republican ranked as the state’s most popular official at 81%, is also involved in party work, Dame said. A request for comment from Scott was not immediately returned.
Dame said she has spoken to several new candidates, including someone from Colchester, who had been on the fence when the petition was circulated in May.
“During the summer, you always prepare your children to enroll in school. And they say, ‘You know what – now Vermont is going to be our home. We’re going to make a commitment to stay here. In that case, , I want to run away and change my path that we passed,'” Dame recalled.
In Vermont, many late voters appear to be following a similar timeline.
After the primary ballot is completed in May, voters realize that there is a vacancy on the last ballot and can then try to organize a write-in campaign.
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If 25 voters write in the same name for a House seat, or 50 voters for a state Senate seat, that name will appear in the November general election.
While 96 Republicans is still a far cry from two decades ago when Vermont saw 130 Republicans on the ballot, the important thing is that Vermonters are stepping up to serve.
“This is a story about ordinary voters, seeing the need for change and deciding that they are willing to step forward and be part of that change,” he said.
“It’s definitely inflation and affordability. I think it’s kind of national … but then Vermont adds a new layer on top.”
With Democrats recently gaining a supermajority in the legislature, Scott has issued a record number of vetoes and Democratic lawmakers in turn have issued a record number of veto overrides.
Thus there is a case in the property tax debate, with Scott calling for “tax relief now,” when House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Chittenden, said the governor failed to offer an adequate alternative plan.
As for the prospects of the GOP in November, Vermont is prone to ideologically divergent election results.
Scott is just as much a heavy favorite as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a self-described “democratic socialist.”
“Vermonters vote for authenticity,” Dame added.
“And Gov. Phil Scott and Sen. Bernie Sanders have such a relationship with Vermonters that Vermonters know that they believe what they’re saying — they’re saying very different things, but they know that they can trust what they’re saying there and I’m not pandering.”
Scott and Sanders are not afraid to criticize their own party.
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Peter Duval, left, and Esther Charlestin are two Democrats vying to run against Vermont GOP Gov. Phil Scott.
Sanders has criticized President Biden and members of the Democratic caucus in Congress, while Scott became the first GOP governor to support an impeachment inquiry against former President Trump.
In the latest University of New Hampshire poll, Sanders leads Republican challenger Gerald Malloy 66-25%. Scott leads Democrat Esther Charlestin by an equal 55-28%.
Former Sen. Jim Jeffords, R-Vt., who notably ceded Republican control of the Senate when he switched to Democratic-caucusing-Independent in 2001, is the last GOP member of Congress from the Green Mountain State.
Fox News Digital contacted the Vermont Democratic Party for comment but did not hear back by press time.
