Union #32 District High School Board from 1967 to 1968, and on the advisory committee of the Barre Area Vocational High School from 1965 to 1968. Doyle was also active in the Republican Party, including service on the Montpelier and Washington County committees, a delegate to numerous state conventions, and a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1976 and 1988. Doyle was first elected to the Vermont Senate in 1968, after running unsuccessfully in the three-member at-large Washington County district in 1964 and 1966. Doyle placed sixth of seven candidates in the 1964 Republican primary, but obtained enough write-in votes to win one of the three Democratic nominations, which he declined. In 1966, Republican Daniel B. Ruggles defeated Doyle by two votes for the third Republican nomination; Doyle initially appeared to have won, but a recount uncovered 22 ballots for Ruggles that had not been included in the original tally. In 1968, Ruggles ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, and Doyle was elected as his successor. Doyle was reelected every two years until 2014, and served continuously from 1969 to 2017. Washington County continues to elect three senators at-large, and Doyle was routinely the highest finisher among the district's candidates. He was the longtime chairman of the Senate's Government Operations Committee, and served as the Assistant Minority Leader for several years. Doyle was the Senate's Minority Leader from 2010 to 2013. Author In 1984, Doyle published The Vermont Political Tradition, a survey of the state's political development from its formation as an independent republic in 1777 to the election of Madeline Kunin as Vermont Governor. He has continued to publish updates periodically since the book's first edition. In 2018, Doyle published a second historical work A Lasting Impression: Vermont Historical Articles and Local Politics. Doyle survey Since 1969, he has conducted the annual "Doyle Survey" of town meeting participants across Vermont. Attracting thousands of responses annually, the Doyle poll asks respondents for their views on about a dozen issues of the day. Despite the poll's unscientific nature, the results are widely reported on in Vermont media and considered a barometer of current public opinion. 2016 defeat for reelection In 2016, Doyle was defeated for reelection; he finished fourth among the candidates running at-large in his State Senate district; incumbents Ann Cummings (Democrat) and Anthony Pollina (Progressive/Democrat) were reelected, and the third-place finisher was Democrat Francis K.