Vermont Gov. Phil Scott frequently refers to himself as a fiscally conservative, socially liberal Republican — a moderate, centrist member of the GOP in the same vein as Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. And he has been vocal about his disagreements with the pro-Donald Trump wing of the party. (Scott voted for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.)
“The party doesn’t define me,” Scott said at a recent gubernatorial debate on Vermont Public, when asked why he keeps an ‘R’ next to his name. He repeated the line verbatim during a subsequent NBC5 debate, at which he was again asked the same question.
Whether or not the party defines Scott, his fortunes rest with its success. In this year’s state House and Senate races, Democrats and Republicans alike have made clear that their topline goal is getting enough votes to make — or break — Scott’s vetoes in the upcoming legislative session, should he win reelection in November.
The governor’s critics have pressed the point that Scott is the party’s standard-bearer, arguing that he should do more to denounce the views of more extreme candidates on the GOP ticket. But while Scott has attempted to stay above the fray, the election season has offered reminders that the governor’s agenda could very well depend on candidates who represent the party’s fringes when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
On Saturday, Orange County Senate candidate John Klar posted a photo on Facebook featuring himself and Scott, standing alongside a range of Republican candidates. The photo was taken last Friday evening at a fundraiser in Ferrisburgh for Scott and state Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor.
In addition to two Scott endorsees — Benning and Rob North, a House candidate from Ferrisburgh — the photo included several candidates who have staked out far more conservative positions, including U.S. Senate nominee Gerald Malloy and Vermont House candidates Jon Christiano, Lynn Dike and Lloyd Dike.
Asked about the photo at a press conference on Tuesday, Scott suggested there was little connection between himself and those pictured.
“I was as surprised as anyone to find so many candidates from across the state attending what was a fundraiser for me,” Scott said. “Obviously, they don’t — most of them — don’t support me. And I don’t support them. But they were there. And as far as the picture goes, I get a lot of pictures taken of me as governor.”
Jim Dandeneau, the executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, argues that the picture is indeed quite meaningful.
“He can talk all he wants about not supporting MAGA Republicans and about how he cares about civility and decency,” Dandeneau said. “But if he’s going to campaign events with John Klar, and with a gaggle of election deniers, then he’s showing us with his actions what he really cares about.”
A former gubernatorial candidate who unsuccessfully challenged Phil Scott for the Republican nomination in 2020, Klar now represents one of the GOP’s best chances of flipping a state Senate seat this cycle. (His opponent, incumbent Sen. Mark MacDonald, D-Orange, has been sidelined by a stroke in the final weeks of the race.)
A self-styled populist, Klar lists bread-and-butter issues such as making “Vermont more affordable” and pensions as top issues on his campaign website. But much of his on-the-ground activism has centered on taking aim at trans rights and anti-racist work in local schools.
Asked in a recent local candidates’ forum in Vershire whether he believed Biden had been duly elected president, Klar appeared to dodge the question — and then suggested the audience watch “2,000 Mules.” The widely debunked documentary, directed by Dinesh D’Souza, falsely makes the case that the 2020 election was rife with voter fraud. (Trump screened the film at Mar-a-Lago, according to the New York Times.)
“Is ‘maybe’ not an option?,” Klar replied when an audience member pressed him to answer the question with a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ “I mean, I want people to look at the facts themselves.”
Klar did not respond to a request for an interview. But another local candidate pictured with Scott at the Ferrisburgh event did not equivocate when asked about the 2020 election.
“I think (Trump) did win. I think it was stolen,” Christiano, a House candidate from New Haven, told VTDigger on Monday. “If you’ve ever watched ‘2,000 Mules,’ I think you would have to agree.”
Christiano’s race has been highlighted as a key one by the state Republican party, which has made clear that getting to 51 votes in the Vermont House — enough to sustain Scott’s vetoes — is a top priority. His one-seat district, Addison-5, is currently the lone district held by the GOP in Addison County, and the incumbent, Rep. Harvey Smith, R-New Haven, is not running for reelection.
“If Republicans are going to make an impact in Montpelier, we need to make sure we don’t lose ground in districts like this,” Vermont GOP chair Paul Dame wrote in a September fundraising email spotlighting Christiano.
In an interview, Dame said he wasn’t aware of any Republicans, including those pictured with Scott during the weekend event, who denied the validity of the 2020 election. But he also argued it might not be particularly relevant anyway.
“I think what matters most is what the candidates are talking about on the campaign trail. That’s what they’re actually running on. And that’s what they would do in Montpelier,” he said. “One of the things I don’t understand is why this conversation keeps coming up. Because there’s nothing that any candidate would do about it in Montpelier.”
Scott, who was one of the first high-ranking Republicans in the country to call for Trump’s ouster after the Jan. 6 riot, said Tuesday that he does not support candidates who repeat the former president’s false claims of a stolen election. But he stopped short of saying such beliefs were disqualifying.
“I think we live in a country where you can run for office,” Scott said. “I don’t think there are any real disqualifying issues. I don’t know of any others.”
Asked whether he hoped election deniers are not seated in the Legislature next year, Scott said, “No, I’m saying I’m not supporting them.”
Christiano told VTDigger he never asked Scott for an endorsement, nor has he received one. But he said he took the governor standing by him for a picture at Friday’s event as a sign of tacit support.
“By my virtue of he and I being there, I guess I would say I asked for and he agreed to support me,” Christiano said. “I don’t have anything in writing to that effect. But that’s sort of, you know — a picture’s worth 1,000 words.”
And at the end of the day, Christiano said, he thinks Scott and he are basically on the same team.
“Republicans suffer greatly because we can’t seem to agree on much of anything. And the Democrats, whether they agree or not, again, in my opinion, they do seem to work and stand together. A valuable way to go,” he said.
Last month, Klar posted another picture to his campaign Facebook page, of himself and Benning, a Scott-aligned moderate, posing together at the Tunbridge World’s Fair.
In the comments, Klar found himself defending the snapshot to his supporters, many of whom were upset at the apparent betrayal — noting, for example, Benning’s record of voting in favor of abortion rights. He had many disagreements with Benning, Klar wrote, but Republicans needed to present a unified front.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” he said.
