Vermont — Governor

D Democratic Amanda Janoo

Supports local wealth building and community-focused economy

Janoo advocates for shifting Vermont's economic strategy away from corporate attraction toward investing in local businesses, cooperatives, and workers. She proposes establishing a Vermont Public Bank, an Office of Community Wealth Building, and redirecting economic subsidies to keep dollars circulating locally.

• Create a Vermont Public Bank to partner with local credit unions and community lenders for affordable financing.
• Redesign state procurement, tax policy, and regulations around the needs of small businesses rather than large corporations.
• Establish an Office of Community Wealth Building and Economic Resilience to align state investments with local economies.

“The future of Vermont won’t be built by waiting for prosperity to trickle down. It will be built by investing in the people, businesses, farms, and communities that are already here—creating an economy where more wealth is created here, stays here, and is shared more broadly.”

R Republican Phil Scott

Supports fiscal conservatism and business cost containment

Scott focuses on fiscal conservatism, controlling state spending, and containing costs for employers and families to stimulate economic growth. He advocates for maintaining balanced leadership to expand the middle class, raise wages, and attract new jobs.

• Maintain strict state budget limits and eliminate structural deficits.
• Focus on economic fundamentals to attract working families, entrepreneurs, and new jobs.
• Resist legislative tax and fee increases to prevent adding financial burdens on employers and working families.

“For them to thrive and our state to prosper we must revitalize the fundamentals of a strong, healthy economy that expands the middle class, lifts wages, and attracts working families, entrepreneurs and new jobs.”

D Democratic Amanda Janoo

Supports progressive property taxes and affordable housing investment

Janoo proposes modernizing Vermont's property tax system by increasing tax rates on corporate owners, luxury second homes, and commercial vacation rentals while protecting primary homeowners. She seeks to fund permanently affordable housing through community land trusts and adopt a Housing First approach to homelessness.

• Increase property tax contributions from luxury second homes, commercial vacation rentals, and corporate private-equity owners.
• Expand permanently affordable housing via community land trusts, housing cooperatives, and shared-equity homeownership.
• Implement a Housing First model to provide rapid access to permanent housing along with voluntary supportive services.

“By investing in permanently affordable housing, helping Vermonters build and own homes, and asking large corporate investors, private equity, luxury second homes, and commercial vacation rentals to contribute their fair share, we can lower housing costs, reduce property taxes, and put more homes back in the hands of the people and communities they were meant to serve.”

R Republican Phil Scott

Opposes property tax increases and supports cost control

Scott consistently opposes state legislation that raises property taxes, arguing that tax increases hurt working families and taxpayers. He vetoed legislative property tax hike bills in 2024 to shield residents from rising costs.

• Vetoed 2024 legislative bill that increased property taxes on Vermonters.
• Opposes expanding state tax commitments that drive up local property tax burdens.

“Many will frame this as a loss for me and a win for the Legislature. The reality is, it’s a major loss for Vermont taxpayers, workers and families.”

D Democratic Amanda Janoo

Supports free universal primary care

Janoo proposes creating a publicly funded universal primary and preventive healthcare system with no copays or deductibles. She plans to fund the initiative using a Fair Share Tax Proposal targeting high earners and transition away from fee-for-service models.

• Guarantee free primary and preventive healthcare for all Vermonters by eliminating copays and deductibles.
• Finance universal primary care through a Fair Share Tax Proposal on the state's wealthiest residents.
• Integrate Community Health Teams, school-based healthcare, and home visits into small-town medical care.

“Reduce the overall cost of healthcare by implementing universal primary care, and emphasize preventive medicine by making sure there is a community doctor for every Vermonter.”

R Republican Phil Scott

Supports insurance mandates while opposing single-payer models

Scott signed state legislation requiring all Vermont residents to carry health insurance while expressing strong skepticism regarding state-run single-payer healthcare systems. He has raised concerns over costs and operational viability regarding single-payer models.

• Signed legislation establishing an individual mandate requiring health insurance coverage for all Vermonters.
• Expressed skepticism toward single-payer models such as Green Mountain Care due to financial uncertainty.

“I’m a skeptic when it comes to the single-payer model,” Scott said in an interview. “But at the same time I try to be objective because I’ve argued that I don’t have enough information to know whether it works here in Vermont.”

D Democratic Amanda Janoo

Opposes rural school closures and supports community schools

Janoo opposes forced school consolidation and closures in rural areas, proposing instead to convert local schools into community hubs. Under her plan, schools would integrate healthcare, mental health, childcare, and adult education to serve broader community needs.

• Prevent forced consolidation and closures of small and rural public schools.
• Transform schools into community hubs providing primary care, childcare, social work, and adult learning.
• Assign community-school coordinators to manage partnerships and reduce non-teaching burdens on educators.

“Protect small and rural schools as essential community institutions by making community-school investment an alternative to forced consolidation and closure.”

R Republican Phil Scott

Supports education structural reform and spending containment

Scott has supported structural reforms to Vermont's education system, including district consolidation under Act 46, to streamline administration and curb growth in property taxes. His early lieutenant governor tenure earned an endorsement from the Vermont National Education Association.

• Supported structural education reform and improvements to school district consolidation under Act 46.
• Sought to restrain public education budget growth to protect property taxpayers.
• Endorsed by the Vermont National Education Association during his 2012 campaign.

“Structural reform has to happen. We need to encourage more innovation in education. We need to improve Act46.”

D Democratic Amanda Janoo

Supports AI moratorium and strict tech regulation

Janoo supports placing a moratorium on AI data centers and opposing new nuclear infrastructure intended to power them. She advocates taxing digital advertising and data monetization, strengthening consumer data privacy, and banning mass surveillance technologies like Flock cameras.

• Place a moratorium on energy-intensive AI data centers and oppose dedicated nuclear power facilities.
• Tax large digital advertising platforms, data monetization, and AI infrastructure.
• Ban mass surveillance tools such as Flock cameras and restrict automated decision-making.

“Place a moratorium on AI data centers and make clear that Vermont is not for sale to the AI industry. We will oppose the development of energy-intensive AI data centers and the new nuclear power infrastructure proposed to support them.”

R Republican Phil Scott

Vetoed state AI data center and data privacy bills

Scott vetoed data privacy and AI regulation legislation passed by the Vermont Legislature, opposing state-level restrictions and regulatory burdens on technology companies and data center developments.

• Vetoed state legislative bills proposing strict regulations and moratoria on AI data centers.
• Vetoed comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation passed by the legislature.

“advanced some of the most ambitious data privacy and AI data center bills before they were vetoed by our current Governor.”

D Democratic Amanda Janoo

Supports community renewables and opposes nuclear expansion for AI

Janoo advocates for community-owned renewable energy and clean technology development while explicitly opposing new nuclear power plants proposed to supply power to AI facilities. She seeks to build a clean economy through local energy production.

• Invest in community-owned renewable energy projects and clean technologies.
• Oppose new nuclear power infrastructure intended for energy-intensive AI data centers.

“We will oppose the development of energy-intensive AI data centers and the new nuclear power infrastructure proposed to support them.”

R Republican Phil Scott

Vetoed legislative utility renewable energy mandates

Scott vetoed 2024 legislation revising renewable energy standards for public utilities, arguing that statutory mandates drive up electric bills for Vermont households and businesses. The legislature overrode his veto.

• Vetoed 2024 legislation revising state renewable energy standards for public utilities.
• Warned that statutory utility mandates impose excessive costs on taxpayers and businesses.

“The reality is, it’s a major loss for Vermont taxpayers, workers and families.”

D Democratic Amanda Janoo

Supports expanding civil liberties and protecting vulnerable groups

Janoo advocates for protecting constitutional freedoms, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers' rights, and immigrant protections. She supports prohibiting state and automated surveillance used for political tracking or immigration enforcement.

• Defend reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, worker rights, and immigrant protections.
• Ban AI surveillance tools from being used for immigration enforcement or political tracking.

“Protect Vermont’s democracy and constitutional freedoms by defending civil liberties, privacy, reproductive freedom, workers’ rights, LGBTQ+ Vermonters, immigrants, people with disabilities, freedom of speech, and the rule of law while ensuring Vermont remains a place where everyone can safely participate in public life.”

R Republican Phil Scott

Socially liberal Republican supporting abortion rights and limiting immigration enforcement

Scott maintains a socially liberal record, having signed legislation guaranteeing abortion access and limiting Vermont police involvement in federal immigration enforcement. He supported Proposal 5 in 2022 to enshrine reproductive autonomy in the state constitution.

• Signed legislation guaranteeing abortion rights and formally supported Proposal 5 (2022 Constitutional Amendment).
• Signed state law limiting state police involvement in federal immigration enforcement activities.
• Formally supported Proposal 2 (2022) prohibiting constitutional slavery and indentured servitude.

“As governor, Scott signed legislation requiring Vermont residents to have health insurance, guaranteeing access to abortion services, and limiting state police involvement with federal immigration enforcement.”

D Democratic Amanda Janoo

Supports local food self-sufficiency and regenerative farming

Janoo proposes expanding the Farm to Plate initiative, protecting farmland, and investing in local food processing infrastructure. She advocates for purchasing preferences for Vermont-grown food in schools, hospitals, and state agencies.

• Expand Farm to Plate initiatives and mandate local food purchasing preferences for public institutions.
• Invest in local processing, milling, slaughterhouses, and cold storage infrastructure.
• Establish a Vermont Food Security Reserve and promote regenerative farming.

“Every Vermonter should have access to healthy, nutritious food, and every farmer should be able to earn a good living feeding their community.”