Did Republican crossover help progressive newcomer defeat insider Richards?

By Guy Page and Sam Douglass

Political newcomer Amanda Janoo narrowly defeated Aly Richards in Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, setting up a November contest between two candidates with sharply different backgrounds, political allies and approaches to taxes, health care, education and the role of state government.

Janoo, a Vermont native who worked for the United Nations in industrial development policy’ before moving back to Vermont in 2018, received 39,077 votes, or 44.74%, compared with 37,027, or 42.39%, for Richards, according to unofficial results. The margin was 2,050 votes out of 87,347 cast in the Democratic governor’s race. Another 3,436 votes, or 3.93%, were write-ins.

The write-in total included at least some votes for Republican Gov. Phil Scott, as co-author Page observed while counting write-in ballots as a justice of the peace in Berlin last night. That raises an unanswered question about crossover voting in Vermont’s open primary: whether some Republicans took Democratic ballots to vote for Scott — or potentially voted for Janoo believing the more progressive candidate would be easier for Scott to defeat in November. Several GOP-backing pundits, including Behind the Lines political commentator Rob Roper, were recommending this plan of action. There is no available evidence showing how widespread either practice was or whether crossover voting affected the outcome.

Janoo, 38, entered the race in March with little statewide name recognition and had never before run for public office. She nevertheless defeated Richards, the former CEO of Let’s Grow Kids and a former deputy chief of staff to Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin.

Janoo campaigned as an outsider willing to challenge established political and economic interests. She decried campaign spending, called for reforms to campaign finance, and pledged to rely on non-PAC funding. During the campaign, Janoo proposed new taxes on advertising revenue and large online marketplaces, and she called for additional state oversight of large data centers.

Her victory continues a recent trend in which Vermont Democrats have turned to candidates without state-level political experience. In 2024, the party nominated Esther Charlestin to run against incumbent Phil Scott, who also had not previously held state office.

Phil Scott has remained broadly popular with voters, including many Democrats, and has not faced a serious general-election challenge since taking office. It’s now up to Janoo and her supporters to convince Vermonters to accept sweeping changes across multiple areas in Vermont.

Richards’ campaign was not without controversy. In the late days of the race, Richards’ received substantial late-stage outside support. A political action committee backing her candidacy spent more than $200,000 on digital advertising in the final days of the primary. The PAC spending was not affiliated with Richards’ campaign. Richards’ campaign raised $439,144.71 in contributions

Janoo’s win doesn’t come entirely by surprise. Polling conducted by the University of New Hampshire in July placed her ahead of her opponent and there has been a trend of progressive candidates notching up wins against moderate or establishment Democrats in primary races, from recent Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan to three Mamdani-backed far-left candidates in New York earlier this year. Janoo’s win may similarly indicate shifting trends in Vermont’s Democratic party.

Vermont Republican party chair Paul Dame issued a comment to the Vermont Daily Chronicle late yesterday evening in which he described Janoo as “an undercover Progressive” and said that her win is the takeover of the Democratic party.

“For the rest of the election, every down ticket Democrat is going to have to justify Janoo’s far-left plans for increasing taxes as well as the size and scope of Government,” wrote Dame.

Background – Janoo grew up in South Strafford in a working-class, biracial family. Her father immigrated from Malaysia and worked as a civil engineer, while her mother taught her rural Vermont skills including raising sheep, tapping maple trees and gardening.

Her professional career took her far from Vermont politics. Janoo worked in international economic development and industrial policy, including with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Germany’s GIZ development agency and the African Development Bank. She returned permanently to Vermont in 2018 and helped found the Wellbeing Economy Alliance of Vermont, which advocates judging economic success by social and environmental wellbeing rather than measures such as GDP alone.

Her political and organizational ties also place her considerably to Scott’s left. According to a recent statement, the Wellbeing Economy Alliance of Vermont is currently a partnership between the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, UVM GUND Institute for Environment, Abundant Sun LLC, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Public Assets Institute, and the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll). Several of these groups support renewable power mandates and rural development restrictions, which Scott opposes. 

Her campaign calls for free universal primary health care, higher taxes on wealthy Vermonters, restrictions aimed at real-estate speculation and corporate housing ownership, and opposition to forced school consolidation. Janoo supports the “Fair Share for Vermont” proposal for a 3% income-tax surcharge on income above $500,000, with revenue helping finance universal primary and preventive health care.

Scott has built much of his political identity around the opposite fiscal argument: limiting taxes and state spending, reducing property-tax pressures and restructuring government and education to control costs. His administration has pushed school-district consolidation and other structural education changes as enrollment declines, while Janoo argues that small schools should be preserved and that health-care costs are a major underlying driver of education spending.

The contrast extends beyond policy to political experience. Scott, a Republican and former lieutenant governor and state senator, is seeking a sixth two-year term as governor. Janoo is an economist, activist and international development specialist making her first run for elected office.