Howard Dean out as VT gubernatorial candidate, fears sowing political division

Former Gov. Howard Dean, 75, will not seek a sixth term as governor this fall.

Dean, Vermont's longest-serving governor, surprised Vermonters when he announced late last month that he was considering another bid for the seat more than two decades after he left office. But on Monday, Dean, a Democrat, told reporters that despite going "back and forth multiple times," he had decided to forgo another campaign after all.

At a press conference in Waterbury on Monday, the former governor said that while he believed he could win against incumbent Republican Phil Scott, a close race "between two well-known candidates" risks stirring political division in Vermont.

Dean, who said he was polling 10 points behind Scott, said his only hope to defeat Vermont's highly popular governor would be to "run a scorched earth, negative attack campaign like the ones being run all over the country," a tactic he called "really harmful to our state and our values."

"There's plenty of negative things to say about your opponents but it's certainly not the Vermont way," Dean said. "I was not going to be the one that made it the Vermont way."

Dean said his three grandchildren − who he wouldn't be able to see while campaigning − also factored into his decision not to run for governor again.

"I will support our candidate, I'll work for them, I'll continue to work both before the election and afterwards to move Vermont towards affordable healthcare and universal healthcare," Dean said.

Who is Howard Dean?

Dean, a physician, assumed the governor's office in August 1991 following the death of Gov. Richard Snelling after being elected twice as lieutenant governor. He left office in January 2003 and, with five terms under his belt, remains Vermont's longest-serving governor.

Dean ran for president a year later, but failed to secure the Democratic nomination over Sen. John Kerry from Massachusetts. Despite losing his bid for higher office, Dean was elected the chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 2005, a position he held for four years.

Is another two years of Scott's administration imminent?

Dean's decision to forgo another bid for governor leaves Vermont Democrats with no candidate with a household name less than 10 days before the application deadline for the August primary election. So far, only one Democrat has launched an official campaign for governor − former Middlebury Selectboard member Esther Charlestin.

Besides Scott, the only other gubernatorial candidate to declare so far is social worker Poa Mutino, an Independent.

Scott remains the country's favorite governor, and was re-elected two years ago with 71% of the votes. Additionally, a poll from the University of New Hampshire shows a "bipartisan majority" of residents want Scott to seek another term.

The statewide major party primary is scheduled for Aug. 13, followed by the general election on Nov. 5.

Weinberger also declines to join governor's race

Former Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger also announced on Monday that he had chosen not to run for governor.

Samantha Sheehan, a Weinberger spokesperson, shared a statement with the Free Press from the former mayor:

"I am grateful that the people of Burlington gave me the opportunity to serve for 12 years, and I am committed to doing what I can to forge further progress on housing, climate and our other urgent challenges, however, I do not intend to be a candidate for public office this fall."

Weinberger chose to not run for re-election in this year's March election after serving 12 years as Burlington mayor.

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Howard Dean, Miro Weinberger out as Vermont candidates for governor