(Host) Senate President Peter Shumlin says he’ll decide his political future in the next few weeks.
Shumlin is considering two options: seeking re-election to the state Senate or running for lieutenant governor.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports.
(Kinzel) Two weeks ago, Vermont Democrats were scrambling to find strong candidates to run for governor and lieutenant governor this year. Now it’s possible that two of their legislative leaders may fill those vacancies.
House Speaker Gaye Symington says she’s seriously considering running for governor and Senate President Peter Shumlin is looking at the race for lieutenant governor.
Shumlin says it’s premature to speculate on his political future while the Legislature is in session.
(Shumlin) "Here’s the situation: I’m working with a Republican governor. We have a strongly Democratic Legislature. The only way we’re going to accomplish making the tough budget cuts that we have to make and get something accomplished here is by working as a team. And it doesn’t help to think about political races and political futures while you’re doing that work."
(Kinzel) Shumlin says he doesn’t see any disadvantage in waiting for a few weeks to make a final decision.
(Shumlin) “You know, the beauty of Vermont campaigns is that they’re short, they’re concise and Vermonters appreciate that. And we’ll think about what happens next once we accomplish the job we were hired to do. And that won’t happen until we adjourn."
(Kinzel) Middlebury College political science professor Eric Davis says he understands why many Democratic Party officials are eager to have Shumlin run for lieutenant governor.
(Davis) “It looks like this will be a good year for Democrats at all levels of the ballot. So if the overall trend is moving in a more pro-Democratic direction, the Vermont Democratic Party would like to have the strongest slate as possible for the office at the top of the ballot."
(Kinzel) And while Governor Jim Douglas may be able to survive a big Democratic turnout at the polls in November, Davis says the same may not be true for Republican incumbent Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie.
(Davis) “In the last election, 2006, Governor Douglas got about 5 percent more than Lieutenant Governor Dubie. And Democrats may figure that, well, if this were a strong Democratic year and Dubie’s percentage vote share came down by 5 percent from 2006 to 2008, as long as it was a two person race, that would put Dubie below 50 percent. And there could be a Democrat sworn in as lieutenant overnor next January."
(Kinzel) Both Symington and Shumlin are expected to make a final decision about running for statewide office by the middle of next month.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.