Fishgate

Fishgate was a political scandal that remained secret between November, 2018 and March, 2021, when it was freely disclosed by former President Lamport in an open letter. It involved Lamport, then a Senator and Chairman of the Republican Party, rigging an election against former Representative Fish, who was seeking the Vice Chairmanship. In the days and weeks before the election, Fish had become more and more erratic, wanting to re-constitute the xenophobic Know Nothing Party and planning, in vague terms, violent rebellion against the government. Lamport “disqualified” a ballot from someone who joined the party during the election, a situation not addressed by the rules, and declared Senator Apex had won the vote. Less than a week after the election, Fish attempted to incite a rebellion in Vermont.