Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean made it official this morning: he will not run for governor again.
Speculation had been growing for weeks that Democrat Howard Dean would challenge popular Republican Phil Scott in this year’s gubernatorial campaign. Dean was Vermont’s longest serving governor from 1991 to 2003.
In Waterbury Monday morning he said he would not run again.
“Governor Scott’s a popular governor,” admitted Dean. “My polling shows that I can get within 10 points of Governor Scott because of my own fiscal record and my deep commitment to affordable health care. In theory this is a winnable race. But I’ve been in state and national politics for a very long time and there’s only one way to close a ten point gap between two well-known candidates and that is to run a scorched earth negative attack campaign. I don’t know if a campaign like that could get me elected, but I do know that it would be really harmful to our state and to our values. I am not a candidate for the office of Governor.”
Dean, who is 75, thanked those who worked to get him on the ballot and said at one point he was excited at the prospect of a campaign and working alongside Democrats in the legislature.
“This is not popular among the public but I love the legislature,” said Dean. “They are really smart, really hard working and they have their fingers on issues that nobody else dared tackle for a long time and they are doing stuff that’s incredible and it’s essential. And there’s one other issue. I really think we ought to have somebody who’s 40 governor. I think my experience is very, very valuable. But this is a whole new generation of people that are going to be in charge of the world and it is such a different world and we need 30 and 40-year-olds to be in charge. And I’m thrilled with the new constitutional officers now who are young and someday one of them will be governor.”
Asked for comment about Dean’s announcement, Scott’s campaign tells WAMC “Governor Scott has always appreciated Governor Dean for his service to Vermont. When Governor Scott was first elected to the State Senate, Governor Dean was in office and always treated him well. As the Governor has said, he will continue to make the case that we need more balance and fiscal responsibility in the Legislature, regardless of who his opponent ends up being. Vermonters stand with the Governor and support his work to make Vermont more affordable.”
State Republican Party Chair Paul Dame believes Dean would have been vulnerable to key issues in the upcoming campaign.
“I think one of the main issues driving the 2024 election right now is education finding and property taxes,” Dame said. “And Howard Dean is the Governor that gave us the system that Vermonters voted so heavily against in March and that would have been hung around Dean’s neck. So I think it’s a good move for Dean to get out. I think there’s a little bit of relief for us on the Republican side too because Dean had the opportunity to bring a lot of money into the state, which could have had an effect on down-ballot races. So if we’ve got the most popular governor on the country, a very strong Democratic party isn’t able to field a competitive candidate, and having that obstacle not in front of us it gives our House and Senate candidates a better opportunity.”
Dean says he has spoken to all the Democrats he knows who are considering a gubernatorial campaign, but did not divulge who they are.
Montpelier consultant Esther Charlestin is the only declared Democrat in the race.
Scott announced his campaign for a fifth two-year term on May 11th.
