[S]cott Milne, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who nearly defeated Gov. Peter Shumlin in the 2014 campaign, has endorsed Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, who is mounting a gubernatorial run in 2016.
“I think Phil is going to be a good governor,” Milne said Tuesday. “I’m supporting him and I think he’s got a good chance of winning the race.”
Milne said that is why he won’t be running for governor in 2016, but he hopes to be involved in the 2016 election in some capacity.
“I haven’t taken anything off the table, but now I have taken running for governor off the table,” Milne said. “I’m looking forward to changing things in Vermont in 2016.”
Scott welcomed the endorsement from Milne, and said Milne was a smart business leader in Vermont. Milne runs the travel agency Milne Travel.
“I think he shares in my views on the importance of increasing economic activity in Vermont,” Scott said. “We need people who can think outside the box and who can work in unison with the Legislature to get Vermont firing on all cylinders again.”
Milne, who is 56, and Scott, 57, attended Spaulding High School in Barre at the same time and knew each other, though they were not very close, Milne said. He said their friendship blossomed in the 1990s.
“Somebody told me recently that had if I had gotten elected governor last year it would be the first time in U.S. history that a sitting governor and lieutenant governor had gone to the same high school,” Milne said.
Milne said he would not be an official adviser to Scott’s campaign, but that he would always be available to advise the campaign on an informal basis.
Scott faces a Republican primary challenge from Bruce Lisman, a retired Wall Street executive who founded the advocacy group Campaign for Vermont.
“The endorsement is indicative at that level that many of the Republican activists around the state are going to gravitate toward Phil Scott’s campaign,” said Eric Davis, professor emeritus of political science at Middlebury College. “It illustrates some of the challenges Lisman faces.”
Milne lost to Shumlin by 2,434 votes in the November election. Shumlin received 46.4 percent of the ballots cast, while Milne got 45.1 percent of the vote. Because neither candidate received 50 percent of the vote (plus one vote), the Legislature was required to choose the next governor. Shumlin won in a secret ballot on Jan. 8.
Former state Sen. Matt Dunne, former Transportation Secretary Sue Minter and House Speaker Shap Smith are seeking the Democratic nomination.
