Vermont took a turn in 2024 but has turned back. Moderate Republican Phil Scott can still veto bills sent to him by his Democrat-led legislature, but it’s unclear whether they will once again achieve veto-proof majorities. The last time that happened, the Dems drove a stake in the heart of the state, and NH Dems want that too.
NH voters just about gave it to them. We are one Senate seat away from Democrats being able to pass anything they want and override any veto moderate Republican Keelly Ayotte might make.
Democrats will demand recounts on every Republican win where they think they can flip that seat if it stands. And then they’ll turn us into Vermont, which is bad.
It has some of the highest taxes in the nation. Businesses are fleeing, and so are jobs. It is effectively a sanctuary state with rising crime and declining quality of life, and Vermonters voted for more of that. So did Granite Staters.
If the NH Senate Republicans keep their one-vote block on a veto-proof two-chamber supermajority, we could still see some bad legislation survive a veto, and not all the bad legislation will get vetoed.
As for Vermont, it doesn’t look good. Most of the Republican gains in 24 were erased, and as Rob Roper pointed out yesterday,
This political culture and the policy choices … has resulted — not with “equity,” opportunity, and prosperity, but rather with… well, let’s look at the record:
- The highest property taxes in the nation.
- The most expensive health insurance premiums in the nation.
- The most expensive prescription drug costs in the nation.
- The third-highest overall tax burden in the nation
- The highest business taxes in the nation.
- A housing affordability and accessibility crisis.
- Some of the highest electricity costs in the nation, at 30 percent higher than the national average.
And all of this has led to….
- Vermont being the only state losing population to both birth/death rates and in/outmigration.
- A public education system that has dropped from a top 5 performer to near the bottom of the pack, while losing around 25,000 students.
- Rising crime rates in what used to be the safest state in the union.
- A labor shortage not helped by the fact that 64 percent of young people aged 18-34 are actively planning to flee the state.
- The fastest-rising homeless population in the country.
- An economic momentum ranking of 51st (worst) in the nation, behind all other states plus Washington DC.
NH Dems would take us there as fast as possible. Let’s hope a) they can’t, and b) Republicans stick together to support Governor Ayotte’s vetoes.
