Thursday afternoon, House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morristown, couldn't have been more clear.
When asked if he would consider a run for governor, he said, "I'm planning to run for re-election in the House."
He said he'd received calls from several people suggesting he consider becoming a gubernatorial candidate and apparently the idea started to grow on him. That and he had a chance to talk with his wife later in the day, he said.
Friday he joined those talking about the new opportunities in the "changed political landscape."
"I'm very interested in continuing to work for Vermont. I'm looking at a variety of ways I can do that." Running for governor is one of the ways he's pondering, he said, although he added, "My inclination is to run for re-election."
If you are keeping count of all the Democrats committed to or considering gubernatorial runs, here's our best list of the moment:
Deb Markowitz, current secretary of state
Doug Racine, state senator
Susan Bartlett, state senator,
Peter Shumlin, Senate president pro tempore
Shap Smith, House speaker
Tom Salmon, state auditor
-- Nancy Remsen
Labels: Deb Markowitz, Doug Racine, gubernatorial race, Peter Shumlin, politics, Shap Smith, Susan Bartlett, Tom Salmon
