The Democrats could have their first (and perhaps not only?) candidate willing to step forward and run against Phil Scott. According to an ActBlue page spotted by friend of the page and frequent filing-spotter Hudson “Hawkeye” Ranney, Aly Richards, a Shumlin administration alumna turned CEO of the childcare juggernaut Let’s Grow Kids (LGK) is one step closer to throwing her hat in the ring.
Richards could be an intriguing candidate. LGK was, as I said, a juggernaut – a ten year-long campaign that culminated in the passage of Act 76, a 2023 law that invests over $100 million a year from a new payroll tax into childcare subsidies for poor Vermonters. This was a multi-million dollar effort employing dozens of staff that was heavily involved both in the State House and on the campaign trail. Richards steered that ship from start to finish, and it’s here that I can perhaps detect a motive for her potential candidacy.
In 2022, LGK endorsed Phil Scott over his Democratic challenger, Brenda Siegel, dubbing him a “Childcare Champion.” The governor thanked LGK for their support by promptly vetoing their signature bill the very next year, something that I’m sure a Siegel Pavilion wouldn’t have done. Needless to say, he did not receive their endorsement again in 2024. LGK’s triumphant press release (issued on the occasion of the legislature’s successful override of the gov’s veto of the childcare bill) doesn’t mention the gov’s former “Childcare Champion” status. I’m sure the chance to stick it to Scott on this issue is a factor in Richards’s thinking.
So, what are Richards’s prospects as a candidate? Despite the fact that (as far as I know) she’s never run for office before, she could be the most formidable candidate that Scott has faced in a while. She’s already in touch with a network of donors, politicos, and activists from around the state, has experience raising money and running a statewide campaign, and she speaks with unmistakable authority on a subject where the governor is weak (childcare in particular and vetoing things that people like more broadly). Would she be able to win? It would be an uphill climb but the political winds seem to be blowing in Democrats’ favor right now and Scott hasn’t had a serious race in years. Certainly Richards would be able to mount a more serious campaign than Charlestin ’24.
However, her path to taking on Scott isn’t wide open. As reported by Kevin McCallum in Seven Days last week, progressive economist Amanda Janoo is also mulling a run against Scott. I think that Janoo could also be an interesting candidate – she can certainly talk a good game on the economy, an issue that’s historically been the governor’s bread and butter. As a first-time candidate and relative newcomer to the political stage, she might have a harder time raising the money necessary to mount a strong challenge, but I’ve heard rumors that she has connections in national progressive circles that could help her overcome that.
A robust primary for governor in addition to the already hotly contested race for LG might just be the tonic for a Vermont Democratic Party still recovering from the calamity that was 2024. A chance to knock the rust off, as it were, and get ready for a fall campaign that looks at least as promising as 2022 or 2018 might be in order. As a Vermont Democrat myself, the prospect of having a choice on my gubernatorial primary ballot is exciting – if Richards and Janoo both jump in, this would be the first seriously contested Democratic gov primary since 2020 (which was also the last time Democrats held Phil Scott to less than 70% of the vote). Whatever the case, the VDP has gone from having zero gubernatorial candidates to maybe having two in just a couple of months – it’s nice to be spoiled for choice for a change.
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