MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Early voting is already underway in Vermont ahead of the November 5 election. Republican Governor Phil Scott is seeking a fifth term in office and is facing a challenge from Democrat Esther Charlestin.
In the race for Vermont’s top office Governor Phil Scott and political Esther Charlestin say that housing, the state’s demographic problems, and affordability are all big issues but have radically different approaches to solving them.
“Affordability is the biggest issue facing Vermonters,” Scott said.
“Housing is big on the map for folks,” Charlestin said.
Charlestin, a relative political newcomer, served as a member of the Middlebury Selectboard and as the dean of culture and climate at Middlebury Union Middle School. She says a tax on Vermont’s top earners is an untapped resource that could help fund critical programs in state government like housing. “I would say a fair share is based on your assets and what you bring in,” she said.
Governor Scott, a longtime racecar driver, construction company owner, and former state lawmaker has long advocated on holding the line on new taxes and fees. He says a wealth tax will force people to leave Vermont. “They’ll still visit Vermont, coming back to the place they may have grown up in, but they won’t be Vermonters and they won’t be paying that wealth tax,” he said.
The last two years at the Statehouse have been defined by clashes between what polls have deemed the nation’s most popular governor and the largest Democratic supermajority in state history, which Charlestin says she will work with. “The biggest thing is I will show up to the table. Right now, his leadership is defined by vetoes and blaming legislators, blaming part-time staff is not okay when you’re the head of state,” she said.
Scott says his attention isn’t on Charlestin.
Reporter Calvin Cutler: Have you spoken with your opponent, Esther Chalestin? Have you met her?
Gov. Phil Scott: I have not. I look forward to meeting her.
For the first time in years, the governor is hitting the campaign trail with Republicans in key state senate districts in an attempt to elect enough GOP moderates to sustain his vetoes in the Senate. That included recently dipping into his hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign coffers for an $80,000 TV ad buy.
Charlestin has raised about $35,000 this cycle and has about $4,000 on hand. She says she plans to draw distinctions between her and the governor in front of Vermonters. “My plan is to push back in the debates,” she said.
Polling continues to show Scott as very popular across party lines. But there’s a historical precedent for near upsets against an incumbent, including a decade ago when then-Governor Peter Shumlin almost lost to GOP businessman Scott Milne by a mere 2,000 votes.