Updated at 9:56 p.m. Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott easily won reelection over his Democratic rival Esther Charlestin on Tuesday, earning himself a fifth term as the state’s top elected official. The Associated Press called the race for Scott, who was widely expected to win, shortly after polls closed in Vermont at 7 p.m. Scott, a 66-year-old resident of Berlin, spent most of his time this election cycle campaigning for other Republican candidates in an effort to erode Democrats' formidable numbers in Montpelier. He has argued that Democratic policies on taxes, energy, education and childcare have made the state less affordable. But Scott did say on Tuesday that he'd voted for Kamala Harris in the presidential election — four years after he voted for President Joe Biden. Charlestin, 34, made history as the first Black woman to be nominated as a candidate for governor by a major political party in Vermont. She struggled, however, to raise money and articulate why she’d be a better chief executive than Scott. It was her first run for statewide office. The former Middlebury selectboard member, diversity and inclusion consultant, and mother of two moved to Vermont from Connecticut in 2019. On Tuesday night, Charlestin took the stage at a Democratic election watch party at Higher Ground in South Burlington with her mother at her side. Her children watched as Charlestin told the crowd that "it has been an honor to travel Vermont and really see and hear the concerns of the people." “I want to say that this has been a journey. It has been a journey of self reflection," she said. "You have to know who you are if you’re putting yourself out there, who you believe in, and what you believe in. And at the end of the day, I do believe in our great state, Vermont, and I do believe in democracy.” [content-1] Scott has dominated his reelection races for years, winning by wider and wider margins. In 2022 he beat homeless advocate Brenda Siegel by a stunning 47 points, winning 71 percent of the vote to Siegel’s 24 percent. Also running for governor this year were independents Kevin Hoyt of Bennington and Eli “Poa” Mutino of Montpelier, as well as Green Mountain Peace and Justice party candidate June Goodband of Springfield. In other statewide races, Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, and Attorney General Charity…