Trump Vermont team leader Deb Billado said Republican leaders’ endorsement of Democratic crossover into the state primary helped give Nikki Haley her win Tuesday – but Trump will still get delegates to the National Convention.
By Guy Page
The head of the Donald Trump campaign team in Vermont is crying foul over Republican leaders’ endorsement of crossover Democrats voting for Nikki Haley in yesterday’s Republican presidential primary.
Haley defeated Trump 49% – 45%. Due to lack of a majority vote, the state’s 17 delegates will be split at the Republican Convention this summer. Those delegates will be selected at the state convention in May. It’s uncertain how many of the 17 will be dedicated to Haley and how many will go to Trump.
Trump team leader Deb Billado, a former state party chair, called the request by Gov. Phil Scott and others for Democrats to take a Republican ballot and vote for Haley a “dishonest mechanism.”
However, VT GOP Chair Paul Dame applauded Haley’s victory and Gov. Scott’s endorsement of her.
“Vermonters have always been independently-minded and tonight was no different,” Dame said. “They are proud to stand for what they believe is right, even if they stand alone. While President Trump has won his previous contests by large margins, Vermont primary voters instead chose Nikki Haley.
“Earlier this week Haley’s rally here in Vermont was focused on a positive vision of the future, getting our national debt under control and looking to a new generation of leaders, a message that obviously resonated with Vermont voters. It’s also clear that Gov. Phil Scott’s endorsement made a strong impact on the race. I am optimistic that he will use that endorsement power to help elect other Republicans here in Vermont this fall who will help support him and sustain his veto in the next legislative session,” Dame said.
But Billado sees Scott’s endorsement – especially his call for all Vermonters to ‘take a Republican ballot’ and vote for Haley – as a dilution of the actual Republican electorate.
“Republican leadership invited that very dishonest mechanism to get someone elected and nominated, only to have them drop out the next morning,” Billado said in a phone call to VDC Wednesday morning.
“If only Republicans had been allowed to vote, there’s no doubt Donald Trump would have won,” Billado said. She understands that opposing parties will sometimes cross over into the other’s primaries in order to weaken their chances in November. But in this case the VT GOP establishment invited the crossover – which Billado found disappointing.
“We’re out of synch with the rest of the nation.” Billado said. So far, Vermont will be the only one of the 50 states with any Haley delegates.
While it’s impossible to know how many Democrats crossed over, Billado believes the total exceeded the 3,025 margin separating Haley and Trump.
I worked the polls yesterday, I know the faces,” the longtime Essex Junction resident said. “ I know the faces. I had at least three people tell me that ‘we’re doing this to get the Orange Man out.’”