[T]he former editor of Politico magazine and son of two Vermont journalists is planning to run for lieutenant governor.
Garrett Graff said Friday he is moving back to Vermont next week and said he intends to run for the state’s No. 2 political post as a Democrat.
“I am very actively exploring it at this point. It’s certainly my intention,” said Graff, reached in Washington, D.C. He said has not filed paperwork with the Vermont Secretary of State and has no date set for a formal announcement.
Graff, 34, is the son of former Associated Press Bureau chief Christopher Graff and former Vermont Life editor Nancy Price Graff. He is married with no children and said he is returning to Vermont without a job here.
“My intention is to spend the next year campaigning,” he said.
“I believe Vermont is a critical juncture right now,” Graff said. “I believe that I have something to contribute to the conversation of the future of the state of Vermont and what kind of state Vermont wants to be over the course of the next generation.”
Graff said his campaign would focus on economic issues and demographic challenges, such as an aging population.
“The status quo is not working in Vermont,” he said. “And Vermont needs to figure out a way forward through some very challenging structural economic and demographic issues.
“I want to be a part of that conversation and think I have something to contribute,” he said.
Rep Kesha Ram, a Burlington Democrat, and former Franklin County state Sen. Randy Brock, a Republican, have already announced they are running for the post being vacated by Phil Scott, who is running for governor. Independent Dr. Louis Meyers and Democrat Brandon Riker are also running for the lieutenant governor position. Progressive/Democrat Sen. David Zuckerman is also considering a bid.
Graff has never run for political office. He was the deputy national press secretary on former Gov. Howard Dean’s presidential run in 2004 and also worked for Dean when he was governor.
Graff was editor-in chief at Washingtonian magazine, where he worked for nine years. He joined Politico in July and was named the Washington, D.C.-based magazine’s editor at the beginning of this year. He said he gave up the job to come back home, raise a family and run for office.
Claims by some, including Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, that Graff was forced out, he said, were not true.
“Not at all,” he said.
Asked how he could run for office after not living in Vermont recently, Graff said: “I don’t think I’ve been away that long and beyond that I’ve stayed very engaged and go back every few months and talk to people regularly. I’ve been steeped in the state of Vermont since the day I was born.”
Graff graduated from Harvard University after leaving Montpelier High School in 1999.
Graff confirmed he has registered several politicly suggestive website names including graffforvermont.com, but maintained he registered that site years ago for non-political purposes. He has also registered website names for senate and governor, but said he was not interested in those positions.
