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.
Do I think it will happen? Let’s put it this way: I would be surprised but not shocked. If Dean has gotten a little bored, or if he doesn’t respect Phil Scott’s approach to governance, or if he wants a shot at reclaiming the all-time lead in gubernatorial vetoes, I could see him saddling up for one last rodeo.
Do I think he could win? I’d be surprised and maybe shocked. Nobody’s laid a glove on Phil Scott since 2016. He’ll be incredibly difficult to beat, barring unexpected developments. Here’s the Dean ledger, as I see it:
Pluses: Dean is a familiar name, and Vermonters do love the familiar in politics. He has political skills. He ought to be able to wrangle more support than Racine could from party regulars and donors. (Dean went progressive on the national stage but he governed as a fiscal moderate, which would place him in the donor class’ comfort zone.) Hell, he might even pull in some national money from his time as chair of the Democratic National Committee. He would bring instant credibility and interest to the campaign, something that Scott’s last three challengers were unable to do despite their best efforts.
Minuses: The list begins with Phil Scott, proud owner of an 80-percent-plus approval rate. Nobody’s managed to dent his Teflon heat shield, let alone pierce it or blast it into space. Besides that, Dean may be a familiar figure but he hasn’t been visibly active in state politics since he left office in 2003.
Yeah, 21 years ago. Could he rekindle the flame? Is he capable of presenting a coherent platform with new ideas on how to tackle Vermont’s numerous challenges? He would have to show that he’s a vibrant force and not just a Champlain Valley Fair nostalgia act.
I would cite Dean’s age (75) as a negative, but he’s a mere sprat compared to Joe Biden and Donald Trump, not to mention Bernie Sanders.
Overall, color me intrigued. Mildly. But more intrigued than anything else I’ve heard about the Democratic field or lack thereof. Even if it was just a summer tour from a Nineties tribute band (The Dean Experience!), at least we’d get a few fireworks.
Anyone else want to step up?
The Vermont Political Observer. 
Well someone has to run against him(Scott), as an x Deaniac?sp, and very X his time on cable news soured me lol, I would prefer Doug Racine but Dean very interesting for sure.
My first response which I’ll leave here in case I’m wrong on something ….
You just slept past the last stop of the speculation bus. But that’s okay, write enough stuff and sooner or later something whacky will come out- it’s that thousands of monkeys thing.
Howard Dean is not going to run for Governor.
John – first thing first – Thank You. You commentary and factual reporting is so on point! Great writing a sone spice of humor and seriousness – love it. 2nd. I give it a few year for a solid runner to go up against scott. There a few fresh representatives learning the ropes and could be a real match for Phil.
Dean??? Pathetic…..but hey, keeping Vermont safe for white wealth takes a total lack of imagination and Vermont is filled with both.
“Yesterday Howard Dean started his farewell-to-the-presidency … speech by saying: “And I said when I left the [Vermont] governor’s office that if the rest of this country were like Vermont [then] this country would be much better off. And what I set out to do was make the rest of the country more like Vermont.” Note to Howie: Vermont is 97% white with a Socialist Congressman. That’s not America, it’s Sweden. No thanks.“
-(Real Clear Politics web site, 19 February 2004,
emphasis added)
“[Howard] Dean came to power [as governor of Vermont] in
the most self-consciously progressive state in the republic.
A word or two about Vermont. I live in Oregon. Vermont
could be our little sister state-only more homogenous and
more uptight. It is blindingly white … and snugly cocooned
from the fractious rhythms of the republic.
-(Jeffrey St. Clair, in CounterPunch, 2 February 2004)”
“Vermont is a virtual melting pot of white liberals and cows.
It is preposterous and laughable for (Howard) Dean to
suggest he has the experience necessary to take on the
Presidency.”
-(The Federalist e-journal, November 2003)
I’m sure the progressives, liberals and conservatives will line up behind any effort to maintain the status quo observed by St. Clair. That the key to Scott’s play, he know game: Vermont and the Imaginative Geographies of American Whiteness and as long as he affirms and protect this ‘special kind of whiteness’ he’s in like like flint.
Just to help the dim-witted amongst us with regard to who Dean really is politically:
https://www.counterpunch.org/search-results/?cx=000357264939014560440%3Aicshsy4bfu0&ie=UTF-8&q=howard+dean#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=howard%20dean&gsc.page=1
But really….is there any hope for this pathetic State….
Thanks for writing about Howard Dean. A big minus for me about Dean is his support of the corporate health insurance industry and his undermining of the groundswell VT push for single-payer health care. He did a few (cautiously) good things during his governorship, ( “civil unions” law, signed in private ) but he didn’t help push reform for universal health care nearly far enough, even though as a doctor he must have understood how hard it was for many Vermonters to afford actual health care. He did institute “Doctor Dynosaur” for children, And “VHAP” for low-income workers… but you crashed off the “income cliff” if you worked one hour more than 40 hours at MINIMUM wage.