NRO: New England’s GOP Governors Spark A Republican Renewal In A Democrat Dominion

As Republican governors in New England work to cut taxes, reform government, and expand opportunity for the people of their states, they’re setting a new example for modern fiscally conservative policies while receiving strong marks for leadership. A new column by National Review contrasts how GOP Governors in the Northeast are leading their states to new heights while Democrat governors in Rhode Island and Connecticut continue to drag their states down. With Governors Charlie Baker in Massachusetts, Chris Sununu in New Hampshire, and Phil Scott in Vermont all delivering results while maintaining sky-high approval ratings, these governors are proving that Republicans can win and govern effectively – even in deep blue states.

National Review writes:

“In a sea of deep blue, flinty Yankees are rediscovering their fiscally conservative roots.

Riddle me this.

What do the following sundry and colorful characters have in common: a TV magnate, a convicted felon, and a social-studies teacher? And what do these characters have in common: a venture capitalist, an anti-nuke advocate, and a mayor who didn’t have to pay rent?

Surprisingly, these groups do not describe Agatha Christie suspects — but, rather, the leading candidates for governor in Connecticut and Rhode Island, respectively. Even more extraordinary than their backgrounds, though, is the fact that, in both of these deep-blue New England states, the Republican in each of those trios has an excellent chance of winning.

…

Both Connecticut and Rhode Island are deeply blue states; both have gone for the Democratic presidential candidate since 1992; both have all-Democratic congressional delegations. Why, then, are Republicans doing so well?

Certainly, one can point to the unpopularity of incumbents such as Malloy and Raimondo (and, in particular, Malloy’s unprecedented unpopularity). But Democrats have been unpopular before in these states without the governors’ mansions’ going to the Republicans. Perhaps it’s better to look at what is popular in New England. Three of the most popular governors in the country are also in New England, and they’re Republicans: Massachusetts’s Charlie Baker, Vermont’s Phil Scott, and New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu. 

Again, why?

New England was largely a Republican bastion until the 1960s, and several areas did not even begin to go Democratic until much later. Vermont, now considered one of the most reliably blue states, did not (with the exception of 1964) vote Democratic until 1992. Its Republicanism was of a moderate or even liberal stripe, though — the Rockefeller wing of the party, which was largely excised with the Reagan Revolution. The old, flinty, Republican New England Yankees were almost completely gone already. Newer New Englanders, with their social liberalism, were ready to try the Democratic party — and not look back. In terms of presidential and congressional politics, New Englanders still aren’t looking back; many still see federal-level Republicans as too out-of-touch and too socially conservative for their taste.

At the state level, however, a kind of Rockefeller Republicanism seems to be rising once again in recent years. Local, well-known Republicans (such as Governor Sununu, whose father was also the Granite State’s governor) are a reminder of the fiscally conservative, socially moderate conservatism that is rooted deep in Yankee soil. Governor Baker’s predecessor, Democrat Deval Patrick, ended his two terms in Massachusetts with very low ratings and several scandals, prompting voters to look for a change; the same was true for Governor Scott’s predecessor, Democrat Peter Shumlin. But Baker, Scott, and Sununu are still riding on sky-high polling numbers. And all three are socially liberal, fiscally conservative moderates in blue states, like Boughton and Fung. All three governors have cut taxes and reduced spending, and all three state economies have improved. Are Connecticut and Rhode Island voters looking at their neighbors and desiring the same? It’s entirely possible.

As always, and especially in light of 2016, we cannot know what will happen on Election Day. But the very fact that Republicans have odds this good in states this blue bespeaks, perhaps, a kind of Republican renewal in a Democratic dominion.”