The conservative super PAC that spent $3 million to get Phil Scott elected governor in 2016 has returned to Vermont to aid in his 2026 reelection campaign.
A Stronger Vermont, an independent-expenditure committee bankrolled by the Republican Governors Association, spent nearly $175,000 late last week on online and television advertisements criticizing Scott’s Democratic opponent, Amanda Janoo.
The RGA has deposited $400,000 into the super PAC’s bank account so far, leaving it with more than $200,000 cash on hand.
The ad buys follow recent polls that show Scott facing the toughest reelection bid of his gubernatorial career. Vermont Democrats say the arrival of outside money signals growing fear among Republicans that the five-term incumbent is in electoral danger.
“Super PACs and national committees are only spending on behalf of candidates if they’re worried about it, and they think their money is going to do something."Natalie Silver, Democratic strategist
“National Republicans don’t spend almost half a million dollars to help keep a governor in office without a reason,” Lachlan Francis, chair of the Vermont Democratic Party, said in a written statement Monday.
Ads funded by A Stronger Vermont attempt to portray Janoo as a far-left candidate whose proposals are too far afield even for her fellow Democrats. They feature a quote from Janoo’s primary opponent, Aly Richards, who intimated in July that Janoo’s platform represents “magical thinking.”
Janoo’s campaign proposals include universal primary care, property tax increases on vacation homes and luxury rentals and tax increases on personal income in excess of $250,000 a year.
Know before you vote
Get roundups of our latest Vermont election coverage in your inbox.
Natalie Silver, a Democratic campaign strategist, said the RGA’s decision to run “negative” ads suggests Scott’s once-safe seat may suddenly be in jeopardy. The Vermont Public 2026 Poll, published late last month, found Scott’s approval among Vermonters has slipped to 45%, down 15 percentage points from the organization's last survey in 2022.
“Super PACs and national committees are only spending on behalf of candidates if they’re worried about it, and they think their money is going to do something,” Silver said Monday.
Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums of money without disclosing their donors, so long as they don’t coordinate with the campaigns they’re supporting. Silver said it’s difficult to know whether A Stronger Vermont will succeed in driving votes away from Janoo and toward Scott. But Silver, who is not advising Janoo, said the campaign should not deviate strategy to account for the arrival of outside money.
“She has a very strong ground game. She has hundreds if not over a thousand active volunteers … and so my message to the Janoo campaign would be to keep it up, and to keep doing that work, because clearly your opponent is scared,” Silver said.
Democrats are calling on Scott to disavow spending from a national organization that they say has close ties to President Donald Trump. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a longtime Trump ally, chairs the RGA. Its major donors include Elon Musk, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson and David Koch.
“Phil Scott has repeatedly tried to publicly distance himself from Trump and the national Republican party, presenting himself as an independent voice for Vermont,” said Francis, the chair of the Vermont Democratic Party. “But it’s hard to claim independence when national Republicans have spent millions of dollars over the years to keep him in office.”
Scott’s campaign spokesperson, Emma Shouldice, said the governor has been unwavering in his criticism of Trump and that the RGA’s intervention on his behalf won’t alter or influence his approach to the federal administration.
Shouldice said she understands why some Vermonters are opposed to outside spending in Vermont politics. But she said the ads produced by A Stronger Vermont make “fair points.” She said the governor is agnostic on the super PAC’s role in the race.
“It’s identifying that she’s not a mainstream Democrat and Vermonters deserve to know who she is,” Shouldice said. “It doesn’t mean we either appreciate or dis-appreciate it either way.”
Janoo said Monday that the Democratic criticism referenced in the new ads came in the midst of a competitive primary, when Richards and her surrogates were attempting to draw a contrast. She said Democrats, including Richards, have since united behind her candidacy (Richards issued a statement Monday criticizing the RGA for “misappropriating my quotes”).
“I think what’s been clear from this general (election) is however you want to characterize my message, it’s resonating with folks,” Janoo said. “And I feel like I’ve found it’s resonating with folks across the political spectrum. It’s not like just a lefty thing.”
A Stronger Vermont spent $3 million on behalf of Scott during his inaugural run for governor in 2016. The RGA last injected itself in Vermont gubernatorial politics in 2018, when it spent more than $800,000 to help Scott defeat Democrat Christine Hallquist. The RGA did not answer a question Monday about how much it plans to invest in Scott’s 2026 reelection campaign.
The Democratic Governors Association in September contributed $40,000 to its own Vermont-based super PAC, called Our Vermont. But according to its most recent campaign finance disclosure, Our Vermont has spent only $14,000 of that money on “legal services.”
Asked whether the DGA plans to invest more heavily in Janoo’s campaign, a spokesperson told Vermont Public that “the DGA is closely watching Vermont for opportunities for a competitive race."
Janoo said Monday she’d prefer they stay away.
“I feel like they’re going to come with a lot of … negative kind of attack ads that are really antithetical to the way that I’ve been trying to run this campaign, a way of trying to bring Vermonters together to expand our vision of what’s possible,” she said. “So if they do want to give money, I would love if they give it to the Vermont Foodbank or something like that.”
Scott has raised $414,000 for his own campaign so far this cycle; Janoo has raised $706,000.
