New Democrats in New England: Gubernatorial Election of 1962

[Representative Joe Mad]

If this is the wrong board for this I apologize.  I'm bringing this up out of an initial interest of the Wyoming gubernatorial race of 2002.  A Democrat gaining a seat in blood red Wyoming was worth reading about!  Somehow I ended up in 62' reading about Vermont.  In this day it is amazing to think this was how people used to talk about Vermont politics.  Democrats were the minority party, and now Vermont is one of the bluest (or reddest, in the case of Atlas) states in the country.

I hope ya'll enjoy this.  Nothing special, but I found it a really engaging read.  This is a PDF, just to note.

https://vermonthistory.org/journal/75/07_Hand.pdf

[CountyTy90]

Interesting read. The reverse happened the same year in Rhode Island with the election of John Chaffee, breaking the streak of Democratic governors. (Del Sesto served one term in the late 50's, but lost after 2 years)

A couple months ago I was interested in Vermont governors and came across something I had never heard of before, the "Mountain Rule". It was a really interesting read; governors, US Senators, and Representatives served a term depending on what side of the mountain they resided on.

http://vermonthistory.org/journal/71/vt713_401.pdf

[Indy Texas]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Ironic.

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

If this is the wrong board for this I apologize.  I'm bringing this up out of an initial interest of the Wyoming gubernatorial race of 2002.  A Democrat gaining a seat in blood red Wyoming was worth reading about!  Somehow I ended up in 62' reading about Vermont.  In this day it is amazing to think this was how people used to talk about Vermont politics.  Democrats were the minority party, and now Vermont is one of the bluest (or reddest, in the case of Atlas) states in the country.

I hope ya'll enjoy this.  Nothing special, but I found it a really engaging read.  This is a PDF, just to note.

https://vermonthistory.org/journal/75/07_Hand.pdf

I did enjoy it very much, thanks. Fascinating history.

[Representative Joe Mad]

CountyTy90, I loved reading about the Mountain Rule.  Seems really bizarre, and little wonder anyone remembers it.  I enjoyed how the author noted a congressman stepped aside in 1958 in accordance with the Mountain Rule, and by 1975 he noted citizens of Vermont probably didn't even remember the thing.  A good read on quirky state politics.

I noticed that as well Indy, and it definitely made me smile when I came across it.  Guess it's good to know our midterm issues might not last forever :/.

And thanks Libertarian Socialist Dem, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I read this a while back and found it very interesting.  One thing I will say about Vermont, though, is that although it is one of the "bluest" states in presidential politics, it is still close at the state level (as evidenced by Republicans like Jim Douglas and Phil Scott).