Next month could bring leadership changes in both of Vermont’s major parties. On the Republican side, November’s election for party chair has produced a spirited contest. The incumbent faces a challenge from a prominent elected official and seems to be in some trouble with party brass.

More on that in a moment, but first, we’ve got breaking news from the Vermont Democratic Party. Jim Ramsey, who was chosen as interim chair last winter following the sudden departure of David Glidden, will not seek election to a full two-year term. When he succeeded Glidden in February, Ramsey delivered stirring remarks to the VDP state committee, castigating Gov. Phil Scott’s “harmful policies,” calling for the party to field “a competitive candidate” to run for governor in 2026, and concluding “Let’s go to work, and let’s win.”

Well, if any of that comes to pass, Ramsey won’t be around to see it. Here’s how he explained his decision in an email to this observer:

Over the course of the past few months, my work commitments outside of the VDP have been increasing, and much of it is occurring away from Vermont, particularly in Washington, DC.  This is expected to continue at least through 2026 and into 2027.  As a result, my wife and I will soon be moving there on a full-time basis, and my role as VDP Chair will end when my term expires next month.  

Not great news for the party, which has struggled for years to find good leaders and keep them in place. There’s been a lot of turnover in the unpaid position of party chair and the paid staff position of executive director. Now they’ll be breaking in a new chair with the 2026 campaign season just around the corner.

When Ramsey was chosen as interim chair, there was another hopeful in the running: former state senator turned podcaster Andy Julow. Would he be interested in another run? Magic 8-Ball says “Ask Again Later.”

Now, back to the Republicans.

Paul Dame is seeking a third two-year term as VTGOP chair. His early record was undistinguished, to put it mildly. The party continued to struggle to raise money, recruit candidates, and build an infrastructure. The 2022 election was, besides the re-election of Gov. Phil Scott, a disaster. The Democrats retained — actually expanded — their supermajorities in the Legislature, and the Republican statewide ticket (other than Scott) was full of no-hopers and never-wases.

Last year turned out to be quite another matter. Fueled by affordability concerns, Scott’s active campaigning for legislative candidates, and the generous support of the Barons of Burlington, the VTGOP made historic gains in the House and Senate.

So who deserves credit for that? Was Dame the Republican Moses, leading his party out of the wilderness, or was it more of a blind squirrel/acorn situation?

There seem to be plenty of Republicans who believe the latter because not one, but two challengers came forward as candidates for party chair. The following information comes from the Vermont Daily Chronicle, the right-wing “news” site that’s the only outlet to cover the Republican contest so far.

Dame’s two opponents were state Sen. Russ Ingalls and Joe Gervais, chair of the Bennington County Republicans, serial failed candidate for the Legislature and holder of various extremist views. Their entry into the race prompted Dame to scurry around collecting pledges of support from top Republicans. He got 20 lawmakers to support him, including soon-to-be-former-Sen. Sam Douglass. Whoops.

(Conspicuously absent from the list: Senate Minority leader Scott Beck, who has clearly become the second-most-powerful Republican in Vermont. He and Ingalls both represent the Northeast Kingdom, so it’s not a stretch to believe they could be political allies.)

The day after VDC’s initial report on the race, Gervais withdrew and endorsed Ingalls, calling him “a fearless advocate with the vision needed to lead our Party into 2026 and beyond.”

And then, the Sam Douglass scandal broke. Republicans from Phil Scott on down called for Douglass to resign from the Senate. Dame relieved Douglass of his party posts, but did not immediately call on him to leave the Legislature.

Which is when the shit hit the fan. The VTGOP Executive Committee issued “a full, complete retraction” of Dame’s statement and called for Douglass’ immediate resignation from his Senate seat.

Well, that’s gotta leave a mark. It’s not great when your bosses retract your work less than a month before they have a pre-scheduled opportunity to cashier your ass. I have no sources inside the VTGOP, that’s for damn sure, but at this point I’d be surprised if Dame prevails. Would Russ Ingalls be any better at bringing the Republican message to success in deep blue Vermont? I think we’re going to find out.