Well, well. I did not have a “Howard Dean for Governor” trial balloon on my Bingo card, but here we are. WCAX-TV’s Calvin Cutler got the scoop:
Multiple sources inside the Democratic Party tell Channel 3 News that Dean is “seriously considering” running in the 2024 election, two decades after he left office the first time.
Contacted out of state where he is visiting family, Dean did not confirm or deny the report, saying in a text message: “I’ll make a statement at the appropriate time when I’m in Vermont.”
This was apparently a topic of much conversation at last night’s kickoff event for Treasurer Mike Pieciak’s re-election bid.
My first thoughts went to almost exactly this time two years ago, when Gov. Phil Scott looked like a shoo-in for re-election and former lieutenant governor Doug Racine made it known (and I got that scoop) that he was pondering a bid. Racine told me “it depends on the level of support” he could count on from the Vermont Democratic Party and its donors. Nothing much came of it.
I thought the same thing about this sudden Dean talk, that it was a way for a pastured workhorse to get back in the discussion and make some news but not much more. However, I have been told by a reliable source that nominating petitions for Dean are being circulated. That, in itself, is a step closer to actuality than Racine ever got.
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