In a blow to Republicans’ recruitment efforts, GOP Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said he would not run for Senate next year in the Green Mountain State following an announcement from longtime Sen. Patrick Leahy that he will not seek another term.
A spokesman for Scott told CNN that the governor “has been clear that he is not running for the U.S. Senate next year. That has not changed.”
Leahy announced Monday that he will not run for reelection in 2022, ending a Senate career spanning over four decades. His retirement will create a rare vacancy, with Democratic Rep. Peter Welch, the state’s lone congressional representative, seen as the most likely candidate to replace him. However, Welch has recently faced scrutiny in the state over his stock portfolio and co-sponsoring a law that officials said complicated their efforts to combat the state’s opioid epidemic. Some progressives in the state have noted that the decidedly liberal Vermont has never sent a woman to Congress and thus should seek a female candidate.
PATRICK LEAHY WON’T SEEK REELECTION AFTER 48 YEARS IN THE SENATE
Scott, a Republican governor in a reliably blue state, is nonetheless popular in Vermont and was reelected last year at a higher margin than President Joe Biden won. Scott was seen not just as Republican’s strongest possible Senate candidate, but perhaps the only Republican who could even in theory win the seat.
Another Republican governor in neighboring New Hampshire also recently declined a bid for the Senate. Gov. Chris Sununu was widely seen as the candidate who could pose the strongest challenge to the state’s freshman Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan next year, but he said last week he would not enter the Senate race and would instead seek reelection as governor of the Granite State.
In a Monday statement, Scott thanked Leahy “for his nearly five decades of service in the U.S. Senate, and for all he has done for Vermont over the course of his extraordinary career.”
“The Senator has been an incredible champion for Vermonters, and his leadership and experience has ensured our state is well represented in Congress,” Scott said. “It is thanks to him, and the funding he’s secured for our state, that Vermont is in a position to come out of this pandemic stronger than before and tackle big challenges from broadband and infrastructure to the opioid crisis. We are indebted to him.”
Scott added, “On a personal note, I greatly appreciate the Senator’s friendship and his willingness to work with me and my team over the last five years.”
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“It is with the greatest respect and gratitude that I wish him, Marcelle and their entire family all the best for a bright future, and — come January 2023 — enjoyment throughout a well-deserved retirement,” he said.
