14-year-old American Dean Roy has declared interest in running for the Vermont Governorship race and becoming the first under-18 candidate to be on the ballot.
According to CNN, the young gubernatorial candidate formed his own political party, the Freedom and Unity Party, and is expected to run alongside other viable candidates.
CNN further revealed that Vermont doesn’t have an age limitation in its constitution, but its constitution only requires that candidates must have lived in the state for at least four years.
The CNN reporter said, “In Vermont, there’s a candidate named Dean Roy who is just 14. After serving as a legislative page at the state house, he decided to run for governor. He’ll appear on the general election ballot in November, becoming the first candidate under 18 to do so.
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“Interestingly, Vermont’s constitution doesn’t set a minimum age for governor. It only requires that candidates have lived in the state for at least four years. To qualify, he even created his own political group, the Freedom and Unity Party.”
Roy, in a video cited on CNN, said that the purpose of running is not to win, but to create awareness and inclusiveness for youths vying for political posts.
Roy said, “I’m 14, and I know it might sound unrealistic to think about running for governor at my age. But honestly, when you look at the people currently in power, many of whom have been there for years. It’s hard to ignore that things still aren’t improving.”
Roy’s goal is to spark a movement and inspire more young people to get involved and push for change.
