Gov. Phil Scott is running for reelection. But he won’t be campaigning “until the state of emergency is over,” he wrote in an announcement Thursday morning.
“As our state and nation continue to navigate a once-in-a-century challenge, Vermonters need and deserve a full-time governor who is focused on leading Vermont through the public health and economic crisis COVID-19 has created,” he wrote.
Scott, 61, will be seeking his third term as Vermont’s governor. But he’ll be doing it without a campaign staff, fundraising or campaign events, for now.
“I know this may seem a bit odd coming from someone in my position,” Scott wrote, “but I can honestly say the least favorite part of my experience in public service has been the politics.”
Scott had previously said that he would not make his decision known until the 2020 legislative session was finished, but that schedule was undermined by the coronavirus. The Legislature is now planning on working through the summer, with budgeting all but impossible until there is clarity on federal assistance.
John Klar, who is leading a coalition of “Agri-publican” candidates to run for statewide and local offices, will challenge Scott in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
Three Democratic candidates — Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, former Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe, and attorney Patrick Winburn — will face off in the Democratic primary in August.
Rep. Jim Harrison, R-North Chittenden, who is close with the governor, believes Scott feels a sense of responsibility to continue to oversee the state’s response to Covid-19.
“This is a different time, and the Covid situation is going to require a lot of tough decisions in many areas and this is not the time to walk away. And I got to believe he’s got to be feeling that,” Harrison said.
“No governor wants to preside over an economy that is struggling and falling apart and looking at potential budget rescissions. No one signs up to do that,” Harrison added. “But there’s a sense of duty.”
Sen. Minority Leader Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, said that with Covid-19, Scott has been faced with “the biggest crisis in the state’s history” and that his leadership is still needed.
“I am confident that he will get us back to where we were prior to Covid-19,” Benning said.
“And this is a time when revenue sources are going to be extremely strained that we need somebody who is experienced at the helm, and can make solid recommendations going forward,” Benning said.
Benning praised the governor’s stewardship during the pandemic and how he has kept cases from spiking, despite the fact that the state borders Massachusetts and New York —“epicenters of the virus.”
And he said that now is not the time for Scott to walk away from state government.
“So if I was in his shoes I would certainly think ‘You know I’m not going to abandon the ship at this critical point in time, I’m going to see this through to the end,’” Benning said.
Many political observers say that besting Scott in November will be a challenge for Democrats. Scott’s approval rating was high even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit — 65%, according to a Morning Consult poll at the end of 2019.
And his handling of the pandemic has earned bipartisan praise — a recent national U.S. survey found that 75% of 158 Vermonters polled approve of how Scott has handled the Covid-19 crisis — only 7% disapproved.
Zuckerman, a progressive Democrat who hopes to challenge Scott in November, said that while Scott deserves “plenty of credit and good marks” for his handling of the Covid-19 crisis, his approach is not suited to lead Vermont’s recovery efforts.
During his time in office Scott has opposed new taxes and fees, and recently proposed 8% budget cuts for the first quarter of the next fiscal year, in response to projections showing plummeting state revenues.
Zuckerman said that now is not the time to cut state programs and services.
He is in favor of instituting a temporary, progressive tax to raise revenue to help the state through the crisis — “to make sure that we don’t use Covid-19 economy as an excuse for an austerity and cuts right-wing budget.”
“We cannot put any further burden on the 90,000 families whose belts have already been tightened by the economic struggles created by the emergency orders,” Zuckerman said, referring to Vermonters who have had to go on unemployment.
The lieutenant governor has also criticized the governor for not acting fast enough to address backlogs of unemployment claims at the Department of Labor.
Holcombe said that going forward, the campaign for governor will focus largely on the debate around how the state should respond to the economic crisis spurred by the pandemic.
She said that Scott has yet to put forward a recovery proposal that will make Vermont “stronger and more equitable than we were before we went in.”
She criticized his proposed budget cuts, and his proposal to require school districts to revote their budgets over the summer to find savings.
“This kind of a blunt austerity-focused strategy has the effect of harming those with the least to spare, but it also hampers our ability to recover and get our businesses back on their feet,” Holcombe said.
Holcombe added that she’s concerned that the governor hasn’t proposed enough financial assistance that will go directly to Vermont families facing economic stress.
Last week, the governor pitched a $400 million Covid-19 relief package, which largely included aid for businesses.
“It’s not clear how when that money goes to businesses, how that translates into support for workers and families,” she said.
While Scott says he won’t begin his campaign, or fundraising immediately, the Republican Governors Association has already started spending on the race.
The organization ran an ad earlier this month praising Scott’s response to Covid-19 and has already placed $100,000 in a political action committee that spends on the governor’s behalf.
In 2018, the PAC spent nearly $700,000 on Scott’s behalf — largely on television and online advertisements.
Matthew Dickinson, professor of political science at Middlebury College, said that as an incumbent running for governor during a state of emergency, holding off on campaigning isn’t a disadvantage.
With three press conferences per week and a crisis to manage, Scott has the opportunity to speak to the public in “a non-political way that appears to be above partisanship.”
“And so he gets the best of both possible worlds. He gets great exposure, he reminds people of the job that he’s doing as governor, and he doesn’t actually have to campaign,” Dickinson said.
Dickinson added that while Scott wants to avoid campaigning for now, campaigns are an important part of the democratic process.
He said that the governor should engage in campaign activities, such as debates, eventually.
“You can’t hide it under the Golden Dome forever,” he said. “At some point, I think it’s in the public interest to have him begin campaigning, no matter how much genuine distaste he has for politics and believes it’s inappropriate at the time.”
Thom Lauzon, the former mayor of Barre, who is a friend of Scott’s and was a part of a task force that pitched a $400 million Covid-19 relief package last week, said it will be hard for anyone to unseat Scott, regardless of party.
“Phil Scott has in my opinion has done an extraordinary job, leading Vermont through this crisis. And if we need anything. If we crave anything as a state and as a country, it’s normalcy, it’s continuity.”
This story was updated at 1 p.m. Thursday.
