Why New England’s Republican Governors Withstood the Blue Wave

Peter Gallagher, a voter in liberal Townshend, Vt., filled in the ovals for Democrat after Democrat at the polls last Tuesday. But when it came to the race for governor, Mr. Gallagher, 67, made a notable exception: He voted for the Republican incumbent, Gov. Phil Scott.

So did Joanne Davis of Putney, who said she appreciated Mr. Scott’s low-key persona: “He’s a normal person. Not crazy, not scary.”

Vermont voters helped drive the blue wave that stunned the country, casting out two dozen Republicans from the state Legislature and replacing them with Democrats, who regained supermajorities in both chambers. But enough also stuck by Mr. Scott, a soft-spoken moderate, to deliver him a record sixth term, in a state that favored Vice President Kamala Harris over President Trump in 2024 by one of the widest margins in the country.

Mr. Scott’s success in a liberal New England state — and the success of Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican who was re-elected last week in neighboring New Hampshire — offer a glimmer of hope for a party freshly battered by rejection. In different ways, the two governors have survived by leaning into an old-school strain of Republicanism, melding fiscal pragmatism with a moderate approach on social issues. Mr. Scott, in particular, has also explicitly separated himself from President Trump.

“He’s the only Republican I’ve ever voted for,” Mr. Gallagher said of Mr. Scott as he loaded groceries into his car outside a supermarket in Brattleboro, Vt., last week. “I like the way he crosses the aisle and works with people — that’s the biggest thing.”

Both governors fit a prototype with deep roots in New England, a region better known for liberalism. In Massachusetts, voters have frequently sought to keep liberal legislators in check by electing moderate Republican governors like William Weld and Charlie Baker.

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