TORONTO -- The Republican governor of Vermont, who previously vowed not to vote for Donald Trump, says he cast his ballot for Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday, according to local reports.

Phil Scott, who is facing re-election himself on Tuesday, told reporters he cast his ballot for the former vice-president, according to news reports.

“I put country over party,” Scott told reporters, according to The Hill.

“It’s been a bit of a struggle for me, but I ended up voting for Joe Biden,” he said, adding that he had never before backed a Democrat for president.

“So I had to do some soul-searching,” he said.

He said the U.S. has become "divided" and "polarized" and must heal from Trump’s four years in office. He said Biden could bring the country together.

Scott told reporters in August that he would not vote for Trump but said only that he would consider casting his ballot for Biden.

He has been a vocal critic of the White House and has said that he did not vote for Trump in 2016 either.

Charlie Baker, the Republican governor of Massachusetts, said Tuesday that he left the presidential field blank when he cast his ballot, according to MassLive.

Trump lost Vermont in 2016 by more than 25 per cent, and polls there showed Biden with a sizable lead ahead of Election Day. Early results Tuesday put Vermont in Biden’s hands. 

Though several other prominent incumbent Republicans have said they would not back Trump, including Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, none have endorsed Biden.