15-year-old Dean Roy launches historic bid for Vermont governor
Teenager Dean Roy announced his candidacy for governor of Vermont, exploiting the state’s lack of a minimum age requirement.
Fifteen-year-old Stowe high-schooler Dean Roy is seeking the governorship of Vermont, a state that does not impose a minimum age for the office. He meets the sole legal criterion - four years of residency - and has secured the 500 signatures needed to appear on the ballot under his self-formed Party of Freedom and Unity, bypassing the major-party primaries. Roy’s policy agenda calls for banning mass surveillance, constructing additional nuclear power stations, repealing the restrictive Act 250 housing law, limiting short-term rentals, and imposing a cap on personal wealth above one billion dollars, with excess funds redirected to social programs.
He also criticises the concentration of wealth among billionaires such as Elon Musk. A university poll in New Hampshire gave him about 3 % support, and he acknowledges that winning is unlikely, but hopes to inspire youth political engagement against incumbent Republican Governor Phil Scott.
Why it matters
The campaign highlights a legal gap that lets a teenager run for high office, prompting debate over age limits in politics.
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