OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:46 AM – Saturday, March 28, 2026
A 14-year-old has launched his campaign for the governor and is set to become the youngest candidate to appear on a gubernatorial ballot in American history.
According to his campaign website, Dean Roy is “a born and raised Vermonter.”
Under Vermont’s Constitution, a gubernatorial candidate must have been a resident of the state for four years before the day of the election, but there is no minimum age requirement. Technically, this also suggests that a 4-year-old could submit a bid for governor.
The Stowe High School freshman, who previously worked as a legislative page at the Vermont Statehouse, founded his own “centrist” political party to appear on the November ballot.
He is running with his own “Freedom and Unity Party” alongside his colleague, Charles D. Bass, who is reportedly running for Lieutenant Governor.
“The freedom and Unity party, founded in 2025 by Dean Roy, is the youngest and fastest growing political party in Vermont,” the website reads.
The website also explains that his work as a Vermont Page during eighth grade inspired him to be more politically active. At his eighth-grade graduation ceremony, his teacher even offered to be his campaign manager if he ever ran for governor of Vermont.
“I know it sounds crazy, a 14-year-old running for governor, but honestly, look at the people in charge right now. They’ve been doing this forever and things still aren’t working,” Roy remarked on social media.
He has outlined his political positions across X, Instagram and TikTok.
“My ideology can loosely be defined as centrism,” he said in a video posted to Instagram in March.
“I call myself a centrist because I refuse to let any other ideology speak for me,” he continued. “I don’t ask, ‘What would a Republican do?’ or ‘What would a Democrat to?’ I ask what actually would work for Vermont and I go from there.”
In July, he promised in X posts to “build a fairer, freer Vermont for everyone.”
“I’ll lower property taxes by taxing short-term rentals and large corporations, saving working families up to 14%,” he explained in one post. “My platform supports education reform, cutting 100+ school districts down to 5 to save $100M.”
“I stand for LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive freedoms, and rural traditions like farming and hunting,” he added in another post.
“I’ll make sure to crack down on foreign and corporate PAC money. I believe in fiscal responsibility and letting Vermonters live how they want, wherever they live or vote,” he also stated.
Incumbent Vermont Governor Phil Scott (R-Vt.) praised Roy’s interest in public service, but questioned his readiness for the role.
“He believes it’s important for our youth to get involved,” said Press Secretary Amanda Wheeler. “But the governor also believes that a teenager may not be best suited to serve in that role given the lack of experience and lived perspectives youth have at that point in their lives.”
His former history teacher, James Carpenter, described him as an “old soul.”
“It just really shows what type of kid Dean is. He’s very earnest in what he’s doing. There’s no gimmick behind this,” he said. “I think he blends that youthful optimism with some pragmatism that few kids have.”
Roy said he would consider online schooling to balance his studies with the full-time job of governing a state.
“I don’t expect necessarily to win,” he said. “What I do expect is to start the movement, and get more young people to come in behind me and say, ‘Yeah, we also want to make change.’”
“What I’m aiming for is that these career politicians look at me and they say, ‘Oh my God, he actually has a chance to disrupt things,’” he added. “If I can get people to think that I am a threat to them, then I know that’s been a success. Because what I want is to show them that the youth have a voice. We’re gonna make [a] change. The future is now.”
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