[S]cott Milne issued a statement to the press on Thursday thanking 317 supporters who encouraged him to run for U.S. Senate or the governorship.
Milne, a Republican, has previously run for statewide office twice: once for governor in 2014 and for U.S. Senate in 2016. In both instances, he ran remarkably low-budget campaigns that focused on vociferous criticism of his Democratic opponents.
In an interview, Milne said he seriously considered a run against Republican Gov. Phil Scott, but he had trouble putting “together a team that would credibly represent my campaign.”
“I would have been a favorite in the primary,” Milne said. More than 300 people urged the Pomfret businessman to run, he said.
Milne acknowledged that he would have had the backing of pro gun Vermonters who are angry with Scott over new firearms restrictions.
“I disagree with the way he’s done things, but I do think he is better than the alternative,” he said.
Ultimately, Milne had hoped to run against the junior U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
In a letter to well-wishers, which cited a quote from Plato and Socrates, Milne took a parting shot at Sanders who he said “is far short of what we need.”
“Although Sanders is right about a lot of what ails us, his solutions are arthritic and driven by politics,” Milne said in a statement. “With his next term, I believe he has a final opportunity to prove that he is not just another flavor of the careerist politicians who’ve gotten us into this mess.”
Milne failed in a bid against senior U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in the last election cycle.
But the Pomfret businessman came within shooting distance of beating sitting Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin in 2014: He lost by 2,434. After the election, Milne refused to concede the race and pressed for a vote of the Legislature on the election results. Milne argued that the popular vote didn’t matter because he won the overwhelming majority of towns and ultimately it was incumbent on lawmakers to make the final call. Milne went down in defeat in the Legislature.
Milne told supporters that empty promises from politicians “undermines faith in government.”
“Without faith in government, all of our futures are at risk,” Milne said.
