The following comments are from Garrison Nelson, professor of political science at the University of Vermont. Nelson is author of more than 150 articles, books and professional papers on national politics with a major focus on the U.S. Congress and elections in Vermont, and is a regular media commentator on those topics.

"The Vermont Legislature gave Gov. Peter Shumlin the mandate that the voters did not. He owes this victory to House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President John Campbell, who delivered the votes of their members. With 116 Democrats in the legislature and 110 votes for Shumlin that means only six defections."

"The fact that both Shumlin and Republican challenger Scott Milne captured 90 House and Senate districts means that at least 20 members voted contrary to the November outcomes in their districts. Their identities will become known (they always do). If their voters get mad at Shumlin in the next two years, they may lose their seats. If not, then there will be no adverse impact."

"The good news for Shumlin is that the Democrats in the legislature want him to succeed, but he owes more to them than they do to him. They will have a much larger say in this term than they did in the two previous ones. He will have to cooperate more with them than in the past."

"The not-so-good news for Shumlin is that there appears to be a cap on his popularity with the voters. The only time he cracked 50 percent was in 2012 when Obama's coattails gave him a large margin over Randy Brock, who had been voted out of his last previous office, and even that 57 percent was 10 points below Obama's presidential percentage in Vermont."

"If Shumlin wishes a 4th term like Richard Snelling, Howard Dean, and Jim Douglas, he needs to do serious repair work with the voters. He has to listen more and decree less. If US Sen. Patrick Leahy should retire after 42 years in the Senate, Peter has to be reminded that the last three governors who ran for the Senate lost: Phil Hoff in 1970 to Winston Prouty, Tom Salmon in 1976 to James Stafford, and Snelling in 1986 to Leahy. However, all three challenged Senate incumbents, and Vermont has NEVER voted an incumbent US Senator out of office in a general election. One appointed senator lost a Republican primary in the 1920's, but that was almost a century ago."