Inside the VTGOP Convention: The Real Battle Was Over Who Controls the Money
Paul Dame won re-election as Republican Party chair on November 8, but delegates delivered a stunning rebuke by rejecting his choice for vice chair and installing a Wall Street finance veteran.
Dame Wins Chair by Three Votes
Vermont Republican Party Chair Paul Dame secured a second term in a close 50-47 vote against challenger Russ Ingalls, a state senator from Essex, at the party’s November 2025 convention. Dame campaigned on his record of helping Republicans gain legislative seats in the 2024 elections and his media strategy, including leveraging relationships with national outlets like Fox News.
Ingalls, backed by former party chair Rob Roper, challenged Dame on competence grounds, arguing the party had “not done enough to raise money” or “recruit down-ballot candidates,” according to reporting in VTDigger. He characterized the state GOP as “broke” with “no plan.”
The Stunning Vice Chair Result: A Financial Takeover
While media coverage focused on the close chairmanship race, the more significant outcome may have been the vice chair election, where delegates staged what amounts to a procedural coup over the party’s finances.
According to the Vermont Daily Chronicle, State Representative Zachary Harvey of Castleton won the vice chair position with 52 votes. William Kolb received 23 votes, and Gregory Thayer got 22 votes. Dame notably endorsed endorsed Kolb for vice chair.
The Math That Tells the Real Story
Dame’s endorsed candidate didn’t just lose—he was crushed by a more than 2-to-1 margin, barely beating the third-place finisher.
Harvey’s 52 votes represent more delegates than the 50 who voted for Dame himself. This means Harvey secured support from delegates across both factions—those who backed Dame and those who supported Ingalls.
This was a rare moment of unity at a convention otherwise defined by division. Both camps agreed on one thing: they wanted someone else managing the party’s money.
Who Is Zachary Harvey?
Harvey brings a substantially different résumé to Republican Party leadership than typical political operatives.
According to public records, Harvey is:
A fifth-generation Vermonter representing Castleton in the state House
Appointed to his legislative seat by Governor Phil Scott
A finance professional who held senior positions at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), its parent company Intercontinental Exchange, and Nasdaq
Already serving as the party’s finance chair before his vice chair election
Harvey’s background in major financial institutions stands in stark contrast to the skills typically associated with state party leadership, which often emphasizes grassroots organizing, communications, and political strategy.
The Financial Dispute at the Heart of the Election
The central accusation from the Ingalls campaign was that the Vermont GOP is essentially broke.
According to VTDigger, Ingalls claimed that after paying Dame’s salary and expenses, there would be “no money left in the till.”
Dame disputed this, telling VTDigger the party has “about $18,000 on hand” and citing “federal filings show the party had $27,000 in its accounts as of last month.”
Neither side provided comprehensive financial documentation during the convention, and Vermont media outlets did not independently verify the party’s financial status through publicly available campaign finance records.
What Delegates Believed
While the exact financial condition remains unclear from public reporting, delegates’ actions spoke clearly about whom they trusted.
By rejecting Dame’s chosen vice chair candidate in favor of a Wall Street-trained finance professional with a decisive majority, delegates from both factions effectively voted to place the party’s treasury under new management. They elected someone with institutional finance expertise and close ties to Vermont’s most popular Republican, Governor Phil Scott.
This represents a significant check on Dame’s operational control, even as he retained the chairmanship.
The Governor’s Absence
A notable absence from Saturday’s proceedings was Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott.
The absence is significant given Scott’s position as Vermont’s most prominent Republican and one of the nation’s most popular governors. He won re-election in 2024 by roughly 50 percentage points in a heavily Democratic state.
Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers attended and oversaw the election process, and Senate Minority Leader Scott Beck was present and provided commentary to media, according to multiple reports.
Scott has maintained a complicated relationship with his own party. He publicly voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024, and has frequently broken with national Republican positions.
The Broader Context: Recent Legislative Losses
The controversial loss of newly elected legislators complicates the party’s narrative about its recent electoral performance and raises questions about candidate recruitment and vetting processes—exactly the areas where Ingalls had criticized Dame’s leadership.
What the Financial Restructuring Could Mean
Harvey’s election as vice chair, particularly with his finance background and Scott connection, could signal several potential shifts:
Professionalization of Financial Operations: Harvey’s experience at major financial institutions suggests he may bring more rigorous accounting, budgeting, and financial reporting practices to the state party.
Greater Transparency: Finance professionals from regulated industries typically operate under strict disclosure and reporting requirements, which could translate to more transparent party finances.
Fundraising Infrastructure: Harvey’s networks in financial services and his appointment by Vermont’s popular governor could open new fundraising channels beyond the party’s traditional donor base.
Potential Bridge to Scott: Harvey’s appointment by Scott and subsequent election by the delegates could represent an attempt to repair or maintain connections between the governor and party apparatus.
The Factional Division Remains
Despite the consensus around Harvey, the 50-47 chair vote reveals a party nearly evenly split between competing visions.
Dame’s supporters point to Republican gains in the 2024 legislative elections and his media savvy, including his ability to amplify Vermont political stories to national audiences.
The Ingalls faction, supported by party veterans like former chair Rob Roper, argues for greater emphasis on traditional party infrastructure: fundraising, candidate recruitment, and organizational development.
This division persists even as both sides agreed that financial management needed to be restructured.
What Happens Next
The immediate future of Vermont’s Republican Party will likely be defined by three key dynamics:
The Harvey Factor: As vice chair with finance expertise and a 52-vote mandate, Harvey now has significant influence over party operations. How he exercises that authority—and whether Dame cooperates or resists—will shape the party’s trajectory.
Financial Transparency: The dispute over whether the party is “broke” or has adequate reserves remains unresolved in public reporting. Harvey’s leadership could bring clarity, though parties are not always required to publicly disclose all financial details.
The Scott Question: Governor Scott’s relationship with the state party apparatus remains strained. His absence from the convention suggests continued distance. Whether Harvey’s election—and his connection to Scott—can bridge that gap remains uncertain.
The 2026 Cycle: Republicans will face their first electoral test under this leadership structure in 2026. The party’s ability to fundraise, recruit candidates, and support campaigns will provide concrete evidence of whether the financial restructuring succeeds.
Factional Tensions: The near-even split between Dame and Ingalls supporters suggests ongoing internal conflict. The 50-47 divide means that neither faction can govern without at least some cooperation from the other.
The November convention resolved the question of who holds the title of chair, but delegates simultaneously voted to fundamentally restructure who actually controls the party’s financial operations. Whether this arrangement proves functional or creates new conflicts will become clear in the months ahead as Vermont Republicans prepare for the next election cycle.