Vermont candidate asks for last-minute votes on YouTube
BURLINGTON, Vt. — With just days to go before Vermont lawmakers cast votes in the governor's race, Republican candidate Scott Milne has renewed his campaign — on YouTube.
The 180 members of the Senate and House of Representatives will elect the governor on Thursday because neither Milne nor incumbent Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, won a majority of the popular vote.
Milne's campaign has uploaded five videos of the candidate talking about his priorities and transition into office.
The most recent video, uploaded on Tuesday morning,
asks viewers, "If you are naive enough to believe you can make a difference, call your legislators and ask them to vote for Scott Milne on January 8, 2015."
Milne promoted the videos on Twitter, bringing the social media account to life for the first time since November.
The Associated Press reported on Jan. 3 that Milne said he was not campaigning. When asked Tuesday about that report, Milne said, "I didn't say I wasn't campaigning. What I said was I'm not calling legislators directly and twisting legislators' arms."
Shumlin was the front-runner with 46.4 percent of the vote, compared with Milne's 45.1 percent. Rather than conceding the race, as candidates in similar positions have done, Milne continued his campaign.
Scott Coriell, Shumlin's spokesman, said the governor would have no comment on the YouTube ads other than repeating a belief that the Legislature will continue a long tradition of electing the person who received the most votes.
In one video, Milne says Shumlin has been angling to secure the election.
"I think we've seen different behavior out of the governor in the last 60 days because he's got to be concerned about getting elected on Jan. 8 than perhaps we would have seen if he thought it was all wrapped up," Milne said in the video.
"That's just not true," said Coriell, the governor's spokesman. "What the governor is focused on is making progress for Vermont."
The vote will take place Thursday by Australian ballot, and House and Senate members may choose between the top three candidates — Shumlin, Milne and Libertarian candidate Dan Feliciano.
Lawmakers are not expected to reveal how they vote, said Bill MaGill, first assistant clerk of the House.
"Just as when you go into a voting booth, you're not asked to tell who you're voting for," MaGill said. "Same thing."
The winning candidate must receive at least 50 percent of the vote. In the event of a tie, lawmakers will vote again, MaGill said.