Election loophole: Ethan Sonneborn, 14, isn’t running for class president. He’s running for Vermont governor
Vermont has no minimum age limit on its governors, requiring only that candidates have lived in the state for at least four years
A typical 14-year-old American schoolboy might be fixated on baseball, maybe chasing girls, and dodging their homework.
Not Ethan Sonneborn. He’s running for governor in Vermont.
The teenager is taking advantage of a quirk in the constitution of the bucolic northeastern state that imposes no age limit on running for governor. Candidates only have to have lived in Vermont for at least four years.
Ethan, happily for his campaign, has lived in the state for all 14 of his years. He faces a crowded field of adult rivals in Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.
His website proclaims him a champion for middle- and working-class families, with “the right ideas” on health care reform, economic development and education – never mind that he’s still years from graduating high school.