Phil Scott Defeats Amanda Janoo to Win a Sixth Term as Vermont Governor in His Closest Race Yet

Republican Gov. Phil Scott has won an unprecedented sixth consecutive term as Vermont governor, holding off Democrat/Progressive Amanda Janoo, a first-time statewide candidate who gave him his toughest race yet.

The Associated Press called the race at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday with 99% of the vote counted, the Valley News reported. Scott had 52.4% to Janoo’s 45.8%, with about 307,000 ballots cast. The numbers are unofficial until certified.

A much closer race than usual

Scott has won every race for governor since 2016, and his margins had grown with each one. That year he beat Democrat Sue Minter by about nine points. In 2024 he won with 73% of the vote to about 22% for Democrat Esther Charlestin, a margin of nearly 52 points, according to the Valley News. Vermont Public reported that he had won each of his previous three reelection races by at least 40 points.

This time his margin was about seven points. A University of New Hampshire poll conducted in late October, with 1,231 responses, had shown Janoo with a small lead, the Valley News reported. The result did not match that survey.

Voters also returned Democratic and Progressive supermajorities to both chambers of the Legislature, which will limit Scott’s power. Vermont GOP chair Paul Dame said Republicans would fall below the 19 Senate seats and 51 House seats needed to sustain Scott’s vetoes, Vermont Public reported.

Who is Amanda Janoo?

Janoo, 39, grew up in Strafford and lives in Burlington. She entered the race in early March with almost no name recognition and was the first candidate to announce for governor in 2026.

She built a following around proposals for publicly funded universal primary health care and higher taxes on the wealthy. She served on the steering committee of the Fair Share Vermont coalition, which backs a 3% surcharge on individual income above $500,000. Scott opposes that idea. She also opposed Act 73, the 2025 law Scott signed that seeks to regionalize school districts.

Her campaign raised more than $1 million from nearly 9,000 individual donors and outspent Scott by close to $100,000, according to filings cited by Vermont Public. About 1,500 volunteers worked for the campaign. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was her most prominent supporter.

What Janoo said in her concession

Janoo conceded Tuesday night at her election party in Burlington. “My real opponent throughout this whole campaign, has never been another candidate or even another party. The opponent has been cynicism,” she said, according to Vermont Public. She said she wanted to “remind people of their own power to change things.”

Sanders, who introduced her, called the campaign “historic.” He said that a year ago “virtually nobody” knew who Janoo was.

What Scott said

In his victory speech in Montpelier, Scott acknowledged his party’s legislative losses. He said Democrats “have regained the supermajority that they once enjoyed,” but called his win a rebuke to “pundits” who had written him off.

“My commitment to you has not changed,” he said. He pledged to keep working on affordability, economic growth and more opportunities for Vermont’s kids.

Vermont election results by town

In the Upper Valley, results were split, the Valley News reported. Janoo won her hometown of Strafford with 74% and also carried towns including Norwich (69%), Barnard (64%), Thetford (59%), Hartford (57%) and Woodstock (55%). Scott carried towns including Bradford, Chelsea, Newbury and Weathersfield, where Janoo drew between 36% and 41%.

What comes next

With a Democratic-controlled Legislature, Scott will need Democratic support for priorities like his education reform plan, which would shift control of school budgets to the state. Windsor County Sen. Becca White told Vermont Public that universal primary care will be at the top of her agenda in January, and Democrats may also take up other parts of Janoo’s platform.

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