We dont want to be stuck with a RINO.
Need someone appealing enough who is a staunch conservative but can hide it,.
Like LePage in Maine. He wins there despite being a huge Trump supporter.
He just doesn’t mention it much and has other attributes in the eyes of voters.
That’s the playbook.
Vermont used to be a rock-ribbed Republican state with constitutional conservatives such as Winston Prouty representing it in the Senate. Then you had a lot of ex-hippies and self-styled elites from Boston and New York move in; it didn’t take much to tilt the political balance since the State has such a small population.
If they're hiding it then how do you know you're voting for a staunch Republican and not just another RINO?