(This story was updated and expanded Nov. 9 at 1:35 a.m.)
[R]epublican Phil Scott won the race for Vermont governor Tuesday night, defeating Democrat Sue Minter by a wide margin.
With 269 out of 275 precincts reporting, Scott held an 8.5-point lead over Minter.
He cruised to victory despite the state’s left-leaning electorate and a controversial candidate at the top of his party’s ticket.
Scott won the state’s more rural areas and dominated in populous Chittenden County. The popular three-term lieutenant governor and race car driver even won Minter’s hometown of Waterbury and several other towns in the Mad River Valley.
While Minter had the most votes in Chittenden County, Scott won Williston, Colchester, Essex and Milton.
Liberty Union candidate Bill “Spaceman” Lee, a former Red Sox pitcher, earned nearly 3 percent of the vote after a series of wacky debate performances filled with proverbs and wisecracks.
Scott’s win continues the Vermont tradition stretching back to the early 1960s in which the office has alternated between the two major parties. He will succeed Gov. Peter Shumlin, a three-term Democrat who opted against seeking a fourth term.
Scott’s win buoyed an otherwise dismal night for Vermont Republicans, who gathered at the Sheraton in South Burlington. The Democrats won every other statewide race and picked up enough seats in the Vermont House so that Scott may not be able to have a veto sustained in the lower chamber. The Republicans went into Tuesday’s election with 53 seats in the 150-member House.
“She congratulated me and said she didn’t want to wait any longer,” Scott said. “She thanked me for the campaign we ran and wished me the best as the next governor of Vermont.”
Scott said he would focus on the economy and fight to make Vermont more affordable, but he made sure to reach out to the other side politically.
“In my administration, there will be room for everybody that has a good idea that will make the economy stronger and the state more affordable,” Scott said, telling the crowd he would create an administration that was “by your side.”
“It’s not easy to make me look good, and they did a great job of doing it,” Scott said of his campaign team, half joking. “They didn’t let the uphill challenge” of running in a Democratic state deter them, and “when the other side went negative, we stayed positive.”
As Scott concluded his victory speech, a man yelled out “Governor!” and the crowd roared in appreciation. Scott quickly told members of his campaign team they would be back at work early Wednesday.
Supporters credited Scott’s win to his popularity, his focus on economic issues and a desire to have a Republican in an otherwise completely blue state electorally. In addition to Democratic victories for the other statewide offices, Sen. Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch won easily.
“It’s been a long night, and it’s been an amazing journey,” Minter said to Democratic supporters before congratulating Scott on his campaign. “I’m proud of our campaigns,” she said. “Here in Vermont we can still disagree without being disagreeable.”
Minter put on a brave face and made generous remarks about her opponent but was in tears as she left the stage.
It was the most expensive gubernatorial race in state history. The candidates, political action committees and parties spent $13 million.
The Republican Governors Association backed a pro-Scott super PAC with more than $3 million.
“Throughout his gubernatorial campaign, Phil resonated with voters, touting how he will use his experience to revitalize the economy and reform state government,” said RGA Chair Susana Martinez, the governor of New Mexico, in a statement early Wednesday. “With Phil Scott as governor, Vermont’s future is bright. The Republican Governors Association is proud to congratulate Gov.-elect Phil Scott on his victory.”
Scott’s “crossover appeal”
Throughout the evening, Scott wandered through the crowd of 300 at the Sheraton, shaking hands and smiling.
“We think we’re where we should be,” he said early in the evening, but wanted to see more results before declaring victory. “We’ll just have to see.”
Rep. Patti Komline, of Dorset, said Scott won crossover votes from Democrats who voted for Hillary Clinton for president because they were familiar with Scott’s “core” and knew he had rejected GOP nominee Donald Trump.
“People say he’s a great guy,” said Komline, who is leaving office. “What they really mean is he’s a good humble man. Vermont’s ready for a good humble man. He’s not running on ego. He’s stepping up.”
Trump didn’t drag down Scott’s numbers, Komline said, because voters consider each office and candidate. Komline was an outspoken opponent of Trump.
“Very impressive,” said former Gov. Jim Douglas, who said he thought the race would be closer. Scott, he said, has “tremendous crossover appeal, he’s down-to-earth, and he works hard.”
Douglas said Scott wasn’t hurt by Trump because Scott spoke out against him early and clearly.
The former governor and others at the event said the high-profile endorsements Minter received from President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were a “turnoff to a lot of Vermonters.” They didn’t sound genuine, Douglas said.
With a smile, Douglas noted that one columnist, Paul Heintz of Seven Days, lined up all the supporters Minter had “and said all Phil had was me.”
“I’ll have to send him a note,” Douglas said.
Others said they thought the advertisements by the national Planned Parenthood group attacking Scott, who is pro-choice but supports parental notification and banning certain late-term procedures, had backfired.
Longtime friend and campaign treasurer Glen Wright said Scott won because of his focus on economic issues. Wright also said Scott ran a positive campaign, despite some on Team Scott who wanted him to run negative ads against Minter. The Republican Governors Association-backed political action committee ran ads against Minter.
“He wouldn’t do it. He’d rather lose than not stay positive,” Wright said.
Wright said Scott also benefited from the depth of his experience in Montpelier: six years in the lieutenant governor’s job and 10 years before that in the state Senate.
“He’s had a lot of different jobs down there, and I just don’t think she had the experience he did,” Wright said, also mentioning Scott’s experience running a business.
But in the end, Wright said, Scott’s appeal was in direct proportion to how deeply Vermonters are struggling financially.
“The cost of living is just too high,” Wright said. “That’s what the race was all about.”
It was also about trust, Wright said. “There was name recognition, but also, people trust him. In other contests, that’s been a big issue,” he said, referring to the presidential race.
Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, said she knew Scott would win when he won her hometown, but she expressed concern Scott could win and the House Republicans might not have enough votes to uphold a gubernatorial veto. Scott has said he would veto any state budget that exceeded the rate of state growth.
“That’s a real concern,” she said, watching the returns come in.
Earlier in the evening, before the numbers started to come in, House Minority Leader Don Turner tried to rev up the crowd and said: “This is supposed to be a party, not a wake.”
“I wish we could turn this tide tonight” of Democratic dominance in Vermont, including the Statehouse, “but this is only the beginning,” he said. He praised the leadership of party Chairman David Sunderland. “I wasn’t sure we were going to have a party six years ago.”
Sunderland said the party had raised more than $600,000 in the last election cycle and had run a record number of statewide candidates. He also bragged the party had more Facebook friends than the Democratic Party.
Turner also noted before the numbers came in that no matter what, the state Republicans would honor the outcome of the elections, unlike Trump.
Republican primary candidate Bruce Lisman, who lost to Scott in August, made a brief and early appearance at the Republican Party event and was hesitant to talk to a reporter. He said he was happy to have been out of the political spotlight, had just returned from a trip to Italy and wanted to stay out of the fray.
Pressed, he said: “I think Phil ran a good campaign. I think he focused on the right issues and had a good message.”
Lisman said Scott was right to focus on the economy “and what I hear people saying is they want a new direction” from the current Democratic administration.
Asked if he had any regrets about the campaign he ran against Scott, which included charges that Scott had a conflict of interest because of his ownership in a company that does business with the state, Lisman said flatly: “Not one.”
Minter’s “new beginning”
At the Vermont Democratic Party’s election night gathering at the Burlington Hilton, Minter was holed up in her suite on the seventh floor as vote totals trickled in.
“I know that he is a person who already has served our state with distinction and will continue to do so,” Minter told the crowd of diehard Democrats who stayed for her speech.
In her five-minute address, Minter expressed no regrets in her campaign, saying, “We have left it all on the field.”
She continued to advocate for the issues she highlighted in her campaign, including “the issues that are really making Vermont a difficult place to afford — affordable child care and affordable college.”
“Every ending is a new beginning,” Minter concluded.
Several Democrats blamed negative ads from the Republican Governors Association for Minter’s loss.
Sen. Phil Baruth, D-Chittenden, said Scott was always the front-runner. “She ran an amazing campaign. It was an underdog campaign,” Baruth said.
Baruth said the Republican Governors Association ads were particularly damaging. “As a woman running, the portrayal as a bobblehead was hard to shake off,” he said.
“It’s evident that Citizens United has taken a deep, deep hold in Vermont,” Baruth said.
Shap Smith, the outgoing House speaker, said Minter ran a great campaign. Scott, he said, was a tough opponent. “It’s hard to run against such a nice guy,” Smith said.
Smith said the RGA ads defined Minter “before she had a chance to define herself, and that was a challenge.”
Rep. Bill Lippert, D-Hinesburg, said Madeleine Kunin and Richard Snelling, two former governors, also lost their first statewide races. “She has the intelligence, commitment, energy and vision that Vermont deserves,” Lippert said. “I think we’ll see her again.”