The Fox News Decision Desk predicts Republican Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont will win a fifth two-year term, defeating Democratic challenger Esther Charlestin.

Scott, a former lawmaker and businessman who polls have long shown to be one of the most popular governors in the country. And Scott has now won five straight gubernatorial elections in a heavily blue state.

Vermont and neighboring New Hampshire are the only two states in the country that hold gubernatorial elections every two years.

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Republican Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont speaks to reporters in Berlin, Vt. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Charlestin, 34, is an educator, consultant, co-chair of the Vermont Commission on Women and a former member of her city's election board. She is also a first-generation Haitian American.

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Also on the ballot were independents Kevin Hoyt and Eli “Poa” Mutino and minor party candidate June Goodband.

When Scott ran for re-election this year, he emphasized that he would work to make Vermont more affordable and fight attempts by the Democratic-controlled Legislature to raise taxes and fees.

The governor has clashed with state lawmakers over spending and initiatives, having vetoed eight bills last session. Lawmakers repealed six of those bills.

Scott, a moderate Republican, is a GOP critic of former President Trump.

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