(Host) There’s enormous speculation in Vermont’s political circles about Progressive Anthony Pollina’s role in the 2008 campaign.
Democrats are urging Pollina to drop out of the governor’s race and to seek the office of Lt. Governor.
Pollina will announce his decision tomorrow afternoon.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports:
(Kinzel) When Pollina announced his gubernatorial campaign several months ago, there was no Democratic candidate in the race.
But that situation changed last month when House Speaker Gaye Symington entered the contest.
Progressive leaders won’t comment about Pollina’s future political plans except to say that their candidate would address this issue in Burlington on Thursday afternoon.
Initially, Pollina said that Symington’s presence in the race wouldn’t affect him. But Middlebury College political science professor Eric Davis says Symington has sapped a lot of energy and money from the Pollina campaign.
(Davis) “It’s become clear in the last months since Speaker Symington declared her candidacy that she has the strong and enthusiastic support of the Democratic Party. And whatever hopes Anthony Pollina might have had of receiving organizational and financial support from Democrats in the fall campaign have all but evaporated."
(Kinzel) And Davis thinks Pollina will be making a pragmatic decision if he chooses to run against Republican incumbent Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie because, at this time, the Democrats don’t have a candidate in this race.
(Davis) “He was probably looking at the situation in which he would likely finish third in a three-person race. So that may very well dampen his enthusiasm for continuing the gubernatorial campaign."
(Kinzel) Senate President Peter Shumlin, who’s a Democrat, thinks it makes a lot of sense for Pollina to run for lieutenant governor.
(Shumlin) “What I’m hearing universally from Progressives and Democrats is that it’s incredibly important in this election year that we elect a new governor, that Vermont needs new leadership, and that a Pollina-Symington race may well result in the governor having an easy ride to re-election."
(Kinzel) And Shumlin says a fair number of Democrats will support Pollina if he runs for lieutenant governor.
(Shumlin) “I would urge folks to do exactly what we did when Bernie Sanders ran for the United States Senate: To say we’re one family. We have a job to do."
(Kinzel) It’s also possible that Pollina will use his press conference to renew his candidacy for governor. Democratic leaders don’t know what he’s going to do and Progressives aren’t telling.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier