STOWE, Vt.
Looking back, gubernatorial candidate Dean Roy says his political ambitions started in the eighth grade. And by that, he means last year.
After serving as a legislative page at the Vermont Statehouse, the 14-year-old freshman at Stowe High School now has his sights set on the corner office. In November, he will become the first candidate for governor under 18 to appear on the state’s general election ballot.
“I don’t expect necessarily to win,” he said. “What I do expect is to start the movement, and get more young people to come in behind me and say, ‘Yeah, we also want to make change.'”
Roy secured his spot on the ballot by creating his own third party, the Freedom and Unity party. His candidacy is possible because the Vermont Constitution sets no minimum age for governor, requiring only that candidates have resided in the state for four years.
In 2018, another eighth-grader, Ethan Sonneborn, sought the Democratic nomination for governor but finished last in a four-way primary.
Roy, by contrast, will appear on the general election ballot—a first for a teenage gubernatorial candidate in Vermont.
By James Kisoo
