Vermont Republican Party

Vermont Republican Party
Chairman	Paul Dame
Governor	Phil Scott
Senate Minority Leader	Randy Brock
House Minority Leader	Patricia McCoy
Founded	July 13, 1854; 170 years ago (1854-07-13)
Headquarters	Montpelier, Vermont
Ideology	Conservatism
National affiliation	Republican Party
Colors	Red
Seats in the U.S. Senate	0 / 2
Seats in the U.S. House	0 / 1
Statewide Offices	2 / 6
Seats in the State Senate	13 / 30
Seats in the State House	56 / 150
Elected County Judges	7 / 42
Countywide Offices	5 / 42
Mayorships	1 / 8
Burlington City Council	0 / 12
Election symbol
Website
www.vtgop.org
Politics of Vermont Elections

The Vermont Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Vermont and has been active since its foundation in the 1860s. The party is the second largest in the state behind the Vermont Democratic Party, but ahead of the Vermont Progressive Party. The party historically dominated Vermont politics until the mid-20th century, but was replaced by the Vermont Democratic Party. The party currently has very weak federal electoral power in the state, controlling none of Vermont's federal elected offices. The two statewide offices that the party currently controls are the governorship, held by Phil Scott, and the lieutenant governorship, held by John S. Rodgers.

Unlike most other state affiliates of the Republican Party, the Vermont Republican Party tends to hold more moderate views. This is because Vermont is widely regarded as one of the most liberal and progressive states in the nation.^[1] Vermont Republicans also tend to be more anti-Trumpist than Republicans in other states; indeed, Republican Governor Phil Scott voted for Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election^[2][3][4] and acknowledged his victory^[5] (despite many Republicans claiming the election was rigged).

In the 2024 primaries, the Vermont primary was one of only two races that Donald Trump did not carry (the other being the District of Columbia primary).^[6][7][8]

History

Newspaper editor Eliakim Persons Walton condemned the 1854 Whig Convention for not being against slavery strongly. The first convention of the Vermont Republican Party was held on July 13, 1854, in Montpelier, Vermont. The party was organized, nominated candidates for office, selected delegates to the Republican National Convention, and approved a platform. The convention was meant to be held on July 4, but was delayed to July 13 as to be on the anniversary of the Northwest Ordinance. Had the convention been held on July 4, it would have been the first Republican convention held instead of the one conducted by the Michigan Republican Party.^{[9][10][11][12]} Lawrence Brainerd was selected to serve as president of the convention.^[13]

Walton was initially selected to serve as the party's gubernatorial nominee in the 1854 election, but he withdrew and the party selected to give its nomination to Stephen Royce, who was a member of the Whig Party and had already been nominated to serve as their gubernatorial candidate.^[14][15] Royce accepted the party's nomination and won the 1854 gubernatorial election.^[16][17] The Whig Party of Vermont disbanded and merged with the Republicans in 1854, and Joyce won reelected in the 1855 gubernatorial election with the Republican nomination.^{[18][19][20][21]}

The party won every statewide election from 1854 to 1958, won every presidential election from 1856 to 1960, and held the governorship from 1854 to 1963.^[22][23]

William H. Meyer won election to the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's at-large congressional district in 1958, becoming the first Democrat to win statewide since 1853. Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential nominee for the 1964 presidential election, became the first Republican to not win Vermont in a presidential election as he lost the state to incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson.^[22][24] Philip H. Hoff's victory in the 1962 gubernatorial election made him the first member of the Democratic Party to hold Vermont's governorship since the 1853 gubernatorial election.^[24]

Vermont only elected Republicans to the United States Senate for 118 years.^[25] Patrick Leahy's victory in the 1974 Senate election made him the first member of the Democratic Party elected to the United States Senate from Vermont.^[24] Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party on May 24, 2001, to become an independent and caucus with the Democratic Party which gave them the majority in the United States Senate.^[26]

The party controlled all of the seats in the Vermont Senate after the 1924 election. The Democrats gained control of the state senate for the first time after the 1986 election.^[27] The party received its lowest amount of seats in the state senate since its foundation in the 2018 election.^[28]

In the 2024 elections, owing to strong coattails from Scott, the party won the lieutenant gubernatorial election with John S. Rodgers, and also made significant gains in the state Senate as well as the House, breaking Democratic supermajorities in both chambers. They won 13 of 30 Senate districts - their best total since the 2000s - with Democrats and Progressives combining for the other 17.^[29]

Current elected officials

The Vermont Republican Party controls two of the six statewide offices.

Members of Congress

• None

Statewide offices

• 
  Governor Phil Scott

Legislative

• Vermont Senate
  • Minority Leader: Randy Brock
• Vermont House of Representatives
  • Minority Leader: Patricia McCoy

Municipal

• David Allaire (Rutland Mayor)

Electoral performance

State legislature

House Election year No. of overall seats won +/– Governor Reference 1876 205 / 241 Asahel Peck [30] 1878 175 / 241 30 Horace Fairbanks [30] 1880 217 / 241 42 Redfield Proctor [30] 1882 183 / 241 34 Redfield Proctor [30] 1884 195 / 241 12 John L. Barstow [30] 1886 206 / 241 11 Samuel E. Pingree [30] 1888 219 / 241 13 Ebenezer J. Ormsbee [30] 1890 172 / 241 47 William P. Dillingham [30] 1892 200 / 241 28 Carroll S. Page [30] 1894 228 / 241 28 Levi K. Fuller [30] 1896 224 / 241 4 Urban A. Woodbury [30] 1898 203 / 241 21 Josiah Grout [30] 1900 196 / 241 7 Edward Curtis Smith [30] 1902 192 / 241 4 William W. Stickney [30] 1904 206 / 241 14 John G. McCullough [30] 1906 199 / 241 7 Charles J. Bell [30] 1908 201 / 241 2 Fletcher D. Proctor [30] 1910 194 / 241 7 George H. Prouty [30] 1912 146 / 241 48 John A. Mead [30] 1914 174 / 241 28 Allen M. Fletcher [30] 1916 195 / 241 21 Charles W. Gates [30] 1918 211 / 241 16 Horace F. Graham [30] 1920 215 / 241 4 Percival W. Clement [30]

Senate Election year No. of overall seats won +/– Governor Reference 1876 30 / 30 Asahel Peck [30] 1878 29 / 30 1 Horace Fairbanks [30] 1880 30 / 30 1 Redfield Proctor [30] 1882 28 / 30 2 Redfield Proctor [30] 1884 27 / 30 1 John L. Barstow [30] 1886 29 / 30 2 Samuel E. Pingree [30] 1888 30 / 30 1 Ebenezer J. Ormsbee [30] 1890 29 / 30 1 William P. Dillingham [30] 1892 30 / 30 1 Carroll S. Page [30] 1894 30 / 30 Levi K. Fuller [30] 1896 30 / 30 Urban A. Woodbury [30] 1898 30 / 30 Josiah Grout [30] 1900 30 / 30 Edward Curtis Smith [30] 1902 25 / 30 5 William W. Stickney [30] 1904 30 / 30 5 John G. McCullough [30] 1906 30 / 30 Charles J. Bell [30] 1908 28 / 30 2 Fletcher D. Proctor [30] 1910 30 / 30 2 George H. Prouty [30] 1912 27 / 30 3 John A. Mead [30] 1914 30 / 30 3 Allen M. Fletcher [30] 1916 30 / 30 Charles W. Gates [30] 1918 29 / 30 1 Horace F. Graham [30] 1920 29 / 30 Percival W. Clement [30]

References

1. "Joe Benning: To succeed, Vermont Republican Party must be center-right". VTDigger. November 23, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
2. Mastrangelo, Dominick (November 3, 2020). "Vermont's GOP governor says he voted for Biden". The Hill. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
3. "Vermont's Phil Scott is the only GOP governor to vote Biden". The Independent. November 4, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
4. "'I had to vote against': Republican Gov. Phil Scott votes for Biden over Trump". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
5. "Statement from Governor Phil Scott on the Presidential Election | Office of Governor Phil Scott". governor.vermont.gov. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
6. "Anti-Trump Republicans in Vermont recalibrate after Haley drops out of race". Vermont Public. March 15, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
7. Heintz, Emma Cotton, Paul (March 6, 2024). "Nikki Haley wins Vermont, the only state to spurn Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary". VTDigger. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
8. Dorn, Sara. "Haley Wins Vermont Republican Primary In Upset—Foiling Trump's Super Tuesday Sweep". Forbes. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
9. "The Mass Convention". Middlebury Register. July 19, 1854. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "The Second Amalgamation Convention". The Burlington Weekly Sentinel. July 20, 1854. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "The GOP Is Born". Rutland Herald. March 3, 1991. p. 56. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Doyle 1992, p. 132.
13. "Death of Hon. Lawrence Brainerd". Rutland Herald. May 12, 1870. p. 4. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Vermont Whig Convention". Daily National Era. June 8, 1854. p. 3. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Republican Party Gives Its Nomination To Stephen Royce". The Burlington Weekly Sentinel. August 18, 1854. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Letters of Acceptance, from Judge Royce and Gen. Fletcher". The Burlington Weekly Sentinel. August 23, 1854. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "1854 Vermont gubernatorial election". The Burlington Weekly Sentinel. October 26, 1854. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "The Lesson of the November Elections". Vermont Weekly Tribune. November 24, 1854. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "The Whig Party Defunct". Argus and Patriot. May 17, 1855. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "1855 Republican Convention". Vermont Watchman and State Journal. July 20, 1855. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "1855 Vermont gubernatorial election". Vermont Chronicle. October 16, 1855. p. 3. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Green Old Party". Seven Days. July 2, 2003. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021.
23. "'New' Vermont Is Liberal, but 'Old' Vermont Is Still There". FiveThirtyEight. October 1, 2012. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021.
24. "The First Half-Century of Republican Rule". Rutland Herald. March 3, 1993. p. 56. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
25. "Leahy Edges Mallary In Nip-and-tuck Race". The Burlington Free Press. November 6, 1974. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
26. "Jeffords bolts GOP; Democrats poised to take over". CNN. May 24, 2001. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021.
27. "Vermont's Legislature Shows A Growing Pattern of Change". Rutland Herald. September 18, 1994. p. 46. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
28. "McCoy elected as new House minority leader; Benning back in the Senate". Vermont Digger. November 29, 2018. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
29. Weinstein, Ethan (November 6, 2024). "Republicans flip six seats in the Vermont Senate, shattering Democratic supermajority". VTDigger. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
30. Hand, Marshall & Sanford 1985, p. 151.

Works cited

• Doyle, William (1992). The Vermont Political Tradition: And Those Who Helped Make It. ISBN 0961548614.
• Hand, Samuel; Marshall, Jeffrey; Sanford, D. (1985). ""Little Republics" The Structure of State Politics in Vermont, 1854-1920" (PDF). 53 (3). Vermont Historical Society. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links

• Vermont Republican Party