The rift has been evident for decades. Former Republican governor
Jim Douglas traces the split all the way back to the fight between the conservative Proctor wing of the party and the moderate Gibson-Aiken faction, in the days when Vermont Democrats were so scarce that GOP politics were just about the only politics around. In the 1946 primary, moderate
Ernest W. Gibson Jr. beat incumbent Republican governor
Mortimer Proctor in a hard-fought race then went on to beat the Democrat with 80 percent of the vote. Vermont Republicans have had a successful history, especially since the rise of a strong Democratic opposition in the 1960s, of papering over these divisions, which perhaps gives evidence they could do so again.
Thu, 01/07/2021 - 3:24pm tim
Governor Phil Scott is sworn into office outside the State House in Montpelier Thursday by Chief Justice Paul Reiber. Scott was joined by his wife Diana McTeague Scott, as Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray looks on. Gray received the oath in the Senate chamber. A security detail kept a watch over the proceedings. Courtesy governor s office.
Governor Scott to Deliver Inaugural Address Remotely tonight at 7 pm
Vermont Business Magazine Today at the State House in Montpelier, following a small swearing in ceremony of Vermont’s constitutional officers, Governor Phil Scott delivered remarks to the Vermont General Assembly to highlight the beginning of the upcoming legislative session.