A decade, apparently, is not long enough.
Vermont’s Republican governor, Phil Scott, filed for reelection Thursday, seeking an unprecedented sixth two-year term.
Scott, 67, disclosed his plans hours before the deadline for major-party candidates to seek a spot on the ballot. He appears to face no competition for the Republican nomination. Two Democrats, Amanda Janoo and Aly Richards, are vying to challenge him in the general election this November.
“This was not a decision I made lightly,” Scott said in a written statement, “but make no mistake, even with all the headwinds, I’m as motivated as ever to make Vermont more affordable, advocate for more common sense in the Legislature, and work with anyone who’s willing to work with me, to make Vermont a better place.”
Even as Scott hopes to return to Montpelier next year, the two top Democrats at the Statehouse are bowing out.
House Speaker Jill Krowinski, a Burlington Democrat, made the surprise announcement Thursday that she will not seek reelection after 15 years in the chamber and six as its leader. Earlier this year, her Senate counterpart, President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, also a Burlington Democrat, announced his retirement.
If Scott were to win reelection and complete his term, he would become the longest-serving governor of Vermont since it joined the Union — exceeding the tenures of Howard Dean and Isaac Tichenor, both of whom served for about 11 years. Nationally, the only incumbent governor who has served longer than Scott is Greg Abbott, a Texas Republican, who is seeking a fourth four-year term.
Scott, who previously ran an excavation company and raced stock cars, is consistently ranked as the most popular governor in the country, according to Morning Consult, with a 74 percent approval rating. More than half of those polled last fall by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center said they wanted Scott to run again.
Democrats had hoped to recruit a candidate with statewide electoral experience to challenge Scott, such as Attorney General Charity Clark, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas or Treasurer Mike Pieciak, but all three chose to run for reelection instead.
Janoo, 38, is a cofounder of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance of Vermont, a network of public policy groups. Richards, 40, was CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, which advocated for affordable childcare, and served as deputy chief of staff to former Governor Peter Shumlin. Neither Janoo nor Richards has run for public office before.
Vermont appears to have few competitive statewide races this year. Neither of the state’s US senators, Bernie Sanders or Peter Welch, are up for reelection. Representative Becca Balint, a Democrat, is seeking a third term representing Vermont’s at-large district in the US House. Republicans Mark Coester and Gerald Malloy, both of whom have run unsuccessfully for statewide office before, are seeking the Republican nomination to the House.
The race for lieutenant governor, features hree up-and-coming Democrats — Esther Charlestin, Molly Gray and Ryan McLaren — are competing for their party’s nomination to challenge Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers, a first-term Republican. Gray previously held the post before giving it up to run for Congress.
Scott, a former state senator and lieutenant governor, has dominated Vermont politics in recent years, despite the state’s liberal bent. He’s generally seen as a moderate Republican with more conservative views on economic policy and liberal ones on social policy. He has been a consistent critic of President Donald Trump and says he has never voted for Trump.
Scott is best known in Vermont for managing a series of crises that have beset the state during his tenure: the Covid-19 pandemic and a pair of floods that devastated large swaths of the state in the summers of 2023 and 2024.
He has had less success implementing his legislative agenda. Democrats have controlled the Vermont House and Senate throughout his time as governor — at times holding veto-proof majorities — though Republicans made significant gains in the 2024 election.
Scott’s top priority in recent years has been to reform the state’s education finance system in order to slow a dramatic rise in property taxes. He vowed in January to veto the state budget if lawmakers rolled back a plan to force school districts to consolidate. But last week, as the legislature neared adjournment, Scott abandoned that threat and moved toward a compromise built around voluntary consolidation.
Paul Heintz can be reached at paul.heintz@globe.com. Follow him on X @paulheintz.