Scott Milne

Milne was the second of four children born to Donald and Marion Milne in the New York borough of Brooklyn.[1] The family lived in the town of Barre, Vermont, until 1964 then moved to the Orange County town of Washington. Their new home, Twin Brook Farm, had been a working sheep farm for much of the 1800s.[4]

His parents started Milne Travel American Express in 1975.[1] Milne himself was entrepreneurial as a child, "from selling newspapers and rabbits as a kid, to painting houses, to promoting concerts...." Additionally he has worked as a farm laborer, construction worker, grocery store clerk, bartender and waiter, political campaign aide, and investigator for a public defender as an unpaid intern.[4]

Milne graduated from Barre's Spaulding High School in 1977 and attended the University of Vermont for a year.[5] He then transferred to the University of Redlands, where he graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.[1][5]

In college, Milne was arrested and convicted three times: twice for driving under the influence of alcohol, and once for possession of marijuana and cocaine.[6]

Milne has worked at Milne Travel since the mid-1980s. It was started by his parents in 1975, and Milne later took over operation of the company.[1]

Milne serves as President of the Vermont Society of Travel Agents and as an advisory board member for the Australian company Travcorp. He was an advisory board member of American Express and Avis. He is involved with the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and was president of the Vermont Association of Private and Non-Profit Organizations.

Through Milne Travel, Milne supports more than one hundred civic and non-profit organizations.[4]

Milne's paternal grandfather, Henry Milne, served in Vermont's state House representing Barre. He also worked for U.S. Senator George Aiken and served as state employment commissioner. A Milne cousin, James F. Milne, served as Vermont's secretary of state from 1995 to 1999.[1]

Milne's father Donald served one year in the Vermont House. He also worked as an assistant clerk in Vermont's House and Senate, and as House clerk after 1993. He also made unsuccessful bids for the Legislature and for state's attorney, and was a longtime selectman for the town of Washington.[1]

Milne's mother Marion served three two-year terms in the state House. In 2000, she cast a vote in favor of civil unions, and her subsequent unpopularity among conservative Republicans led to her loss when she ran for re-nomination later that year. Running as an Independent in the general election, she fell short of retaining her seat.[1]

Milne worked on the 1980 U.S. Senate primary campaign of Stewart Ledbetter, who won the Republican nomination but was defeated in the general election by the incumbent Democrat, Patrick Leahy. In 2000, Milne campaigned door-to-door for his mother as she attempted to retain her legislative seat.[1]

In 2006, Milne won the Republican nomination for a Windsor County seat in the Vermont House of Representatives, and lost to the Democratic nominee, Mark B. Mitchell.[7]

In 2014, Milne was the Republican nominee for governor. He narrowly lost to the Democratic nominee, incumbent Peter Shumlin.[8]

In 2016, Milne was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator, and lost to incumbent Patrick Leahy.[9]

Milne won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 2020. He faced Democrat Molly Gray in the general election.[10] Milne hired Republican political operative Jim Barnett for his campaign.[11] In the general election held on November 3, Gray defeated Milne.[12]

Milne was the Republican nominee for Governor of Vermont in 2014. He finished in second place in the popular vote with 87,075 votes (45.1 percent). Two-time incumbent Democratic governor, Peter Shumlin, came in first with 89,509 popular votes (46.4 percent). Libertarian candidate Dan Feliciano earned 8,428 (4.4 percent). Because no candidate received 50 percent of the popular vote, the decision was made in Shumlin's favor by the Vermont House of Representatives and Senate. Milne was slow to concede defeat, noting that 54 percent of Vermonters voted against the incumbent.[17] He later declined a recount request, citing the expected cost to the state.[18]

According to uncertified results, Milne came within 2,434 votes of beating the two-term incumbent Democratic governor. A challenger had not defeated an incumbent governor in Vermont since 1962 when Phil Hoff, riding the popular wave of President John F. Kennedy, became the first Democratic governor in the state since 1854.

Milne declined to call for a recount of the vote—a right he earned by state law by coming within 2%—saying: "It is extremely unlikely, almost unfathomable, that a recount would put either candidate above the 50 percent mark."[18] With no candidate gaining 50% of the popular vote, the election was decided by the 180 members of the Vermont House and Senate in January 2015.[19]

While Shumlin had earned a greater share of the popular vote, Milne had won more districts.[21]

Milne ran in the 2016 U.S. Senate election in Vermont. He was the only declared Republican candidate.[26][27] Milne faced seven-term Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy as well as three minor party candidates. He lost the election, receiving 32% of the vote.

In 2020, Milne defeated several minor candidates to win the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.[30] The Democratic nomination was won by Molly Gray.[31] In the general election, Gray defeated Milne and Progressive nominee Cris Ericson.[32]

Milne resides in the unincorporated community of North Pomfret, Vermont, located within the town of Pomfret, and is a divorced father of two grown children.[1]

In 2006, Milne suffered an ischemic stroke, but reportedly recovered with "very little residual effect."[33]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scott Milne.

• Milne for Vermont official campaign website
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart