politics

Scott urges Vermonters to ‘take a Republican ballot’ and pick Haley over Trump

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Gov. Phil Scott (top, foreground) and large crowd clap support for presidential candidate Nikki Haley yesterday in South Burlington. Bottom left, Rep. Patti McCoy behind Haley and another supporter. Haley campaign photos.

By Guy Page

Gov. Phil Scott appeared to urge Vermonters of all political perspectives to help give presidential candidate Nikki Haley her first state victory over Donald Trump tomorrow, March 5, Super Tuesday.

“If you want to help stop Donald Trump, please, please show up on Tuesday, take a Republican ballot and vote for Nikki Haley,” Scott told a packed crowd at Haley’s Vermont campaign stop Sunday afternoon at the DoubleTree Hilton in South Burlington.  

Scott’s comment wasn’t the only indication Sunday afternoon of a likely crossover vote. VT Digger reported a Middlesex attendee who identified as at LGBTQ+ Democrat who was planning to vote for Haley over either Trump or Biden. 

The Haley campaign has welcomed ‘crossover’ support from Democrats in other states, including neighboring New Hampshire. However, she also has a significant number of endorsements from current and former elected Republicans. 

Last month, with an eye towards tomorrow’s presidential primary, Haley announced her Vermont state leadership team, including nearly a dozen state legislators and former Gov. James Douglas.

Sunday afternoon, many were present at her South Burlington campaign rally. Also present was Gov. Phil Scott, who endorsed her months ago but is not an official member of the Haley campaign leadership team. 

According to a campaign press release, the team is chaired by the Republican Leader for the Vermont House of Representatives, Pattie McCoy; the Republican Whip for the Vermont House of Representatives, Casey Toof; State Representative Ashley Bartley; and former Governor Jim Douglas. Before announcing her leadership team, Haley also received the endorsement of Vermont Governor Phil Scott earlier this year ahead of the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary.

“It’s time for a new generation of leadership in this country, and Nikki Haley is leading the charge,” said Rep. Bartley of Georiga. “She’s the only candidate who can break through the drama and chaos and actually deliver on the issues that are facing this country. Vermonters are looking for someone who can bring freedom and unity, and that’s absolutely Nikki Haley.”

“We need a president who is going to get us back to the basics: making sure that our economy is strong and that we’re protecting the liberties of all Americans,” said Douglas. “Nikki Haley’s experience as South Carolina’s chief executive is what this country needs.”

“Nikki Haley is the last woman standing between the rematch the majority of Vermonters – and Americans – do not want. She is a new generational conservative leader who will get our country back on track, secure both sides of the border, grow the economy, and make sure our children are set up for success,” said McCoy.

Haley’s Vermont Leadership Team includes:

Co-Chairs

  • Ashley Bartley, State Representative (Franklin-1)
  • Pattie McCoy , State Representative (Rutland-1), House Republican Leader
  • Casey Toof, State Representative (Franklin-8), House Republican Whip
  • Jim Douglas, Former Governor
  • Mary and Tom Evslin, Businessman, Former Vermont Secretary of Transportation
  • Joe Benning, Former State Senate Republican Leader
  • Bruce Lisman, Business Leader & Founder of Campaign for Vermont

Endorsers

  • Scott Beck, State Representative (Caledonia-Essex)
  • Carolyn Branagan, State Representative (Franklin-1)
  • Pat Brennan, State Representative (Chittenden-19)
  • Tom Burditt, State Representative (Rutland-2)
  • Lynn Dickinson, State Representative (Franklin-2)
  • Rodney Graham, State Representative (Orange-3)
  • Jim Harrison, State Representative (Rutland-11)
  • Woodman Page, State Representative (Orleans-2)
  • Butch Shaw, State Representative (Rutland-8)
  • Larry Cupoli, Former State Representative (Rutland-5-2)
  • Peter Fagan, Former State Representative (Rutland-5-1)
  • Marty Feltus, Former State Representative (Caledonia-4)
  • John Mitchell, Former State Representative (Franklin-2)
  • Steve Larabee, Former Vermont GOP Chair, Former State Representative (Caledonia-Washington-1)
  • Jeff Bartley, Former Vermont GOP Executive Director
  • Dawn Terrill, Former Vermont Secretary of Transportation, Former Finance Chair for Vermont GOP, Business Owner
  • Stephen Trahan, Former Franklin County GOP Chair
  • John MacGovern, Windsor County GOP Chair
  • George Brakeley, Grassroots Leader
  • Pamela Cowan, Grassroots Leader
  • Andrew Crossman, Grassroots Leader
  • Mike Donohue, Grassroots and Business Industry Leader
  • Chad Dunbar , Grassroots Leader
  • Cynthia Duprey, Grassroots Leader
  • Eric Gershman, Grassroots Leader
  • Tim Hayward, Chief of Staff to Former Governor Douglas
  • Susan Hayward, Gubernatorial Appointee
  • Jon Hughes, Grassroots Leader
  • Mark Johnston, Grassroots Leader
  • Peter Judge, Grassroots Leader
  • Dolores Norris, Grassroots Leader
  • Tony O’Rourke, Grassroots Leader
  • Ronald Pal, Grassroots Leader
  • Andrew Shaw, Grassroots Leader
  • Lane Shea, Grassroots Leader
  • Mark Shepard, Grassroots Leader
  • John Whitman, Grassroots Leader
  • Deborah and Gordon Winters, Business Leaders

Names of VT GOP supporters provided by Nikki Haley campaign.

Categories: politics

58 replies »

  1. thank you for the list of losers/// remember these names at election time///

    • I agree – we now know who supports war, benefits from war, and endorses a warhawk who will have us in a blood bath here and abroad. She is Hillary with slightly less stench attached. Look out climate change cult, the cluster bombs will be dropping in your neighborhood and what a mess that will make. The stain of McCain and company is all over them for all to see.

    • Dame is so in love with his position, you’ll notice he didn’t’ say anything?

      He’s hoping he can keep his position for years to come. My hunch is there will be a cleansing of the party in 2025…..it will not go unnoticed. The whole nation will see clearly what is going on in Vermont, seems to be very similar to Washington D. C…….birds of feather flock together….tells a story that is not very flattering.

  2. So let me get this straight. Our Republican governor is requesting people from the various political parties to break from their affiliated party to vote for Haley to ensure Trump doesn’t win the primary. I consider this election interference.

    • You have it straight. haley is the preferred GOPe-RNC candidate. She represents the interests of the corporation, not the citizen. She is akin to mcconnell, graham, ryan and hundreds of other RINO politicians, whom put their corporate interests before ours.
      Should just one of the myriad of lawfare actions take Trump out, she’s been positioned to capitalize upon that at our expense.

  3. What a list.

    Too funny. This shows how out of touch and how connected Vermont is with Washington swamp.

    Clearly the only reason people are supporting her is because they are intending upon taking Donald J Trump out of the picture, legally, physically or by committing crimes against him and the people.

    Why would anyone bet against Trump on the R side? He’s a runaway, clear winner. So, they must know some insider trading…..or perhaps it’s a demonstration to how far and effective propaganda works in our Green Mountain State.

  4. Hey…..That’s the same room where they stabbed Keith Stern in the back! I watched them refuse to introduce him at the summer event. Introduced ALL the other candidates, but not Keith.

    Apparently, Vermont has been “fixing” things for some time! Just like our schools, affordability, drug issues…..they keep “fixing” those things and elections and guess what…..it’s always getting worse.

    • the GOP has become irrelevant here and it won’t change because they can’t see what’s in front of them. you take a president who brought border security, tax reductions, peace world-wide, record low unemployment for minorities, and energy security and say we can’t have that chaos anymore. how can you take that seriously?
      when I ran against Phil and told them that he wasn’t the person to lead the party the majority didn’t listen. now the GOP is irrelevant here. and they haven’t learned a thing from it.

  5. trumper thumper///trumper thumper/// trumper thumper/// any questions//

  6. Who cares? Vermont will have no impact on the Presidential election or Federal election. Dems will win across the board.

    If you believe Vermont will impact Federal Elections, then you should also believe Vermont can impact the climate.

    Focus on figuring out how to win local elections.

    • You are correct, but it is a question if integrity and voter disenfranchisement. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump can run as a candidate whether you like him or not. The truth is that Trump took America out of various United Nations treaties such as the Paris Accord. Multiple governor’s from a cross the country, including Governor Scott, became members of the US Climate Alliance to circumvent Trump removing America from these UN agreements. A government watch dog called GAO reported that the US Climate Alliance is paying politicians and for staff to implement its 2030 Sustainable Development agenda. Vermont is receiving payments from this UN entity. This is really what this is about. If Trump is reelected he will stop the UN’s agenda.

    • Your last sentence is accurate in a state like Vermont but you can’t just be “liberal on everything except taxes” and win.

  7. Nikki Haley is not a “conservative” in any sense of the word. She caved to the cultural leftists in South Carolina and she posted on social media, while our cities were burning and our law enforcement was under attack, that we all need to feel the “pain” of George Floyd’s death. Her policies are whatever globalist corporations want them to be. Trump is not perfect, but Nikki Haley does not deserve Republicans’ support.

  8. Our Gov. is only a Republican when it suits him. I’d like to kick him out with others! This is election interference! I have no respect for him!

  9. There’s rumors floating around that she’s already canceled all advertisements and appearances for the 2024 election….

    Good luck.

    Also Puck Phil Scott. With a hockey stick.

    Who cares what he says he’s a traitor, has been since before he signed that bill on the front lawn….

  10. Unfortunately, this state is becoming identified by the extremists on both ends of the political spectrum. The ones that want their way or no way. Look no further than some of these comments. My bet is few if any of the people behind the posts have ever made the effort to actively engage in the political process beyond hurling insults from the safety of their keyboard. It’s counterproductive and not representative of the majority of residents that seek a safe, affordable, and clean environment to call home. Rarely does the loudest person in the room make the most sense.

    • The real problem is the “Tony’s” of the room who refuse to see Phil Scott as what he is…

      He’s a Democrat in most areas and a progressive in others, the only thing Republican about him is the R he hides until voting time!

      Oh and let’s hear it, he’s “fiscally conservative”!

      Yet we have a 20% increase in property tax looming and a continually larger education liability for retirement packages, and everything is more expensive in VT than anywhere I go.

    • You are incorrect. As I know some of the people commenting and many have engaged in the political process. Funny, NPR uses the same political rhetoric, stating that Republicans refuse to come to the table to discuss issues. This is a lie meant to deceive uninformed citizens.

    • Right, Christine. It was the incumbent reps who were too “uncomfortable” to attend a public forum with others, including me, who were vying for their offices. And the Reformer wouldn’t publish my response to their candidate questionnaire.

      So, Tony, we are absolutely willing to talk, run, and engage. Unfortunately, we are shut out all over the state, and especially under the dome, where people and organizations with viewpoints contrary to the agenda are not allowed to testify before committees.

    • tony very few conservatives can speak up publicly, more so if working for any state agency, see they cancel you if you speak against the borg. most can’t say whom they vote for in public, because so many chastise others if they don’t follow the progressive shtick. Ask the coach who was fired, ask the principal….

      You’ll notice may are afraid to even use their first names on a friendly site, for fear of being found to have a differing opinion

  11. Stop Trump from what? Defeating Communism? Governor is doing syand-up again.

  12. Flip Flop Phil is a RINO! He voted for brain-dead Biden and is in lock-step with the current radical Biden, Obama regime. Phil sickens my stomach! He is a modern-day liberal Socialist (commie) wearing the mask of a Republican conservative. Progressives are radicals, dedicated to a project of deep social transformation called ideological subversion, refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to sabotage the established social order and its structures of power, authority, tradition, hierarchy, and social norms. Remember, Obama said he wants to “fundamentally change America.” The DOJ has been weaponized by the socialist Biden (Obama) regime. The radicals stand behind the Mad Hatter Bernie Sanders. Vermont politics are run by radical progressives like David Zuckerman who worship Mad Man Sanders the communist. WAKE-UP! Vermont! It’s time to fight back and save our Republic from these traders!

  13. She has lost every primary even in her home state of South Carolina. She’s done and refuses to accept it

  14. Re: “If you want to help stop Donald Trump, please, please show up on Tuesday, take a Republican ballot and vote for Nikki Haley,” Scott told a packed crowd at Haley’s Vermont campaign stop Sunday afternoon at the DoubleTree Hilton in South Burlington.

    Help stop Trump? She already lost and she knows it.

  15. “Queen of the swamp” attracts the RINOS in Vermont. Any doubt?

  16. She could not win her own state. That is about all I need to know about her.

    • …and no one really cares what Vermont says about it anyhow.
      I’m voting for the big orange middle finger, and now it points toward Montpelier.

  18. Wonder how much of Soros’s money lined the pockets of the Gop? After all… it’s Soros’s money that is keeping Haley going.

    • Exactly. Nikki’s funders will need to finance any and all opposition to Trump. VT Uniparty, step right up, kiss the ring, and extend your hands.

  19. Douglas cites “Nikki Haley’s experience as South Carolina’s chief executive” – for which the people of SC (also an open primary) overwhelmingly rejected her in favor of Trump. It’s remarkable that these pols who think of themselves as “moderates” are so deranged by a hatred of or fear of Trump and his supporters that they embrace one of the most anti-worker and pro-war establishment Republicans out there. And they call pro-worker anti-war Trump and his supporters the extremists!

  20. Save the list of Haley endorsers they are the who’s who of Vermont RINOs .

    • There is one name I did not see on the list that surprises me, unless it got by me, and that is Paul Dame.

  22. Poor shortsighted judgement from all who support Haley…even in her home state, she got pounded!

    Now is the time to unite, and show party discipline, and vote for Team Trump.

    I’ve been watching Haley closely and have come to the conclusion that there is something seriously wrong with that women.

    She seems unhinged to me, and in all my political days, and they have been many, I’ve never seen such a fake, and false, almost glued on, smile, on a candidate….never… and I’ve seen a lot.

    I just do not trust such a false person, to take the reins of a nation divided, and in turmoil, let along a world ready to bust out in wars, on many fronts.

    Vote Team Trump…a proven track record of defusing wars and forcing our NATO allies to step up and pay their fair share and adhere to their signed commitments with NATO and the US…not to mention supporting states rights.

    • I would like to add to my post that I am sure the Dems /progressives, are feeling in their wallets, the impact of Dem policies, on their families, so I say to them; it is not too late to switch your support to Team Trump, who will govern from a platform of common sense, so families can afford to live… so Dems, now’s your chance. Quietly switch parties, and vote Team Trump, for a better future for your families, and disregard the spin from the DNC. It’s all lies anyway. Don’t tell your Dem friends,they don’t have to know.Vote Trump!

  23. Wow, this is disappointing! I knew Phil Scott was probably unredeemable, but I’m surprised to see Jim Douglas, Joe Benning, Scott Beck, and Steve Larabee all lining up behind Nikki Haley. It makes me wonder whether they are serious people, whether they understand the nature of the threat we’re facing.

  24. I commend Nikki Haley’s determination but if she really cared about the future of the Party- she would step aside with her head held high. VT GOP we in MA are counting on you to do the right thing and Vote Trump.

    • She is as determined as the squirrels that can’t get at the suet at my house. Determination doesn’t make her smart.

    • Noses, maybe. I think that, more likely, they are following the money and playing a useful role for their handlers, like Nikki.

  26. There is no Republican Party in Vermont the Jellyfish should replace the Elephant as the logo for the Vermont Republican Party. It fits perfectly, spineless, brainless, heartless, eats its own, craps thru its mouth and is full of poison.

  27. Scott must drink a lot before bedtime, otherwise how would he be able to sleep at night?

  28. AND THIS Ladies and gentlemen is why the VTGOP is DEAD in Vermont. They are demoprogressives in sheeps clothing. I’m sending my donation dollars elsewhere.

  29. She has quit every important position she has had…. Sorry neither one appeals to me. As Much as I hate to admit it I’m strongly looking at Kennedy, If they allow him to live to the election

    • I completely understand. Kenny represents a populist movement and will not go along with international agenda.

  30. Shes as sneaky as they come.. its obvious that they do not want Trump to win the nomination because he is the swamps worst nightmare..
    She is as fake as Kennedy and dont fall for this political bribery.. Their track record soeaks for itself

  31. Phil Scott (and the rest of this sorry group) do not represent my views – and, judging from the many comments here, he does not represent many other Vermonters.
    He previously lost my complete respect when he agreed with allowing abortion right up to the time of birth!

    I am so surprised – and disappointed – to see that (former) Governor Douglas has jumped on this band wagon.

    Even a few representatives from the northeast kingdom have their names on this list. I guess we can no longer consider this corner of Vermont “the only area of common sense” left in the state.

    It’s past time to drain the Vermont Swamp!

  32. One has to wonder that if DonaldTrump, the clear leader in the nomination process, evokes this kind of back stabbing what exactly are they afraid of if he were to be elected? Hatred of the man is only cover for a deep fear he may undo a century of progressive march to socialism from which they have all benefited from our tax dollars. Thanks Phil. Go home and stay there.

  33. Haley is McCain all over again…trying to give the election away. Watch the McCain v. Obama debates again…he totally gave us away… Scott is on that RINO America-hating team.

    • The swamp is sooo deep and sooo wide! Vote Trump if you care at all about this country!

  34. 50 comments/// in my view we are looking at a r. i. c. o. criminal over throw of the vermont constitution/// these clowns are not held to their oath of office///are they taking bribes from the united nations/// are they paid off by big pharma/// if trump wins, his first job will be to place vermont under a federal investigation for racketeering/// this is way over due/// this is the reason they fear trump///

  35. Hey Phil I don’t trust anyone that you endorse especially Haley. You voted for Biden how did that work out for you??????