A Republican in deep blue Vermont has become America's most popular governor and is winning over voters with his down-to-earth manner.
Gov. Phil Scott, 65, achieved an impressive 84 percent approval rating in a recent poll and has polled consistently since the mid-1970s.
And with each election, the popularity of Scott, a Republican in the bluest state in the country, grows.
When he became governor in 2016, he won 53 percent of the vote, only to increase that share to 71 percent last year, winning a majority in every city and town.
His overwhelming popularity is largely due to his seriousness and lack of ego – an example of this is the fact that he regularly mows the lawn around a public statue in his hometown of Barre.
He was also praised for working across political lines and leading the state through the Covid and flood crises.
Governor Phil Scott is consistently the most popular governor in the United States, according to polls
Last year, Scott won his fourth two-year term with 71 percent, winning a majority in every city and town
Scott is the only Republican elected statewide and receives a larger share of the vote than any Democrat or independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Scott earned widespread respect for his sensible handling of the Covid pandemic, appearing in daily, low-key television briefings to reassure Vermonters and encourage them to take social distancing and mask-wearing seriously.
He was also considered a quiet man during last summer's historic flooding that hit the state.
The popular governor has also earned a reputation for not offending his political rivals and has earned their respect.
And residents greatly appreciate his willingness to get his hands dirty after he took it upon himself to mow the lawn surrounding a statue honoring Italian stonemasons who made Barre the “Granite Capital of the World.”
“We used an excavator here and planted grass,” Scott told the Boston Globe.
“I saw the grass starting to grow and thought, ‘I better mow it.’ Now I feel responsible for it.”
Scott was raised in Barre by his widowed mother and opened a motorcycle shop and then a successful construction company before entering politics
The popular governor has also earned a reputation for not offending his political rivals and has earned their respect
Phil Baruth, the Democratic leader of the Vermont State Senate, praised Scott for his courage in working with the Democratic-dominated Legislature to pass the state's first significant gun control measures in 2018.
Recalling the moment Scott signed the bill on the steps of the State House, Baruth told the Globe, “It was a chaotic scene with outraged gun owners screaming at him.”
“There were people with earbuds who were afraid someone was going to shoot him.”
He added: “It was one of the most politically courageous acts I have seen in my life.”
Scott was raised in Barre by his widowed mother and opened a motorcycle shop and then a successful construction company before entering politics.
In 2011, after Tropical Storm Irene devastated much of Vermont, Scott organized free removal of damaged mobile homes for homeowners or taxpayers by asking people he knew in the construction industry to lend a hand outside of their civic duty.
Despite his successes, Scott has drawn the ire of some within the Republican Party with his social liberalism, his support of the LGBTQ community and his public opposition to Donald Trump and his vote for Joe Biden.
“He is a supporter of the LGBTQ community, which is unique given the state of the national GOP,” said Christine Hallquist, a transgender Democrat from Vermont.
“It's important to our Vermont brand to be nice people.” And he's a nice, ethical person.'