Assistant Attorney General Molly Gray announced Monday that she is running for lieutenant governor, joining a crowded field of Democrats seeking the post this year.
Gray, a prosecutor in the attorney general’s criminal division who previously worked as a congressional aide to U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and as a law clerk with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has never held elected office.
But her announcement Monday came with several major endorsements, including the backing of former Gov. Madeleine Kunin, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, and Jane Stetson, a former finance chair of the Democratic National Committee and large Democratic donor.
Gray, 35, had said she planned on running for the position earlier this month. In her announcement, she wrote that Vermont’s workforce is shrinking and its younger generation is struggling to afford living in the state.
She said she is running to “reinvigorate Vermont’s rural communities, to ensure Vermont is the best place to raise and support family, and to protect the land and environment for future generations.”
Three other Democrats including Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, D/P Chittenden, Sen. Debbie Ingram, D-Chittenden, and progressive activist Brenda Siegel of Newfane are also vying for the lieutenant governor’s office in what is shaping up to be a competitive primary. Primaries for state offices are in August.
The seat opened up after incumbent Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive/Democrat, announced this month he is running for governor.
Although she has never held elected office, Gray said that she would be able to bring “fresh energy” to the position.
“I think it’s time for a fresh perspective and to have new voices in elected office in Vermont, voices from the next generation,” Gray said in an interview Monday.
“Certainly to have a woman in statewide office is important at this point, and to have someone who can truly speak from a lived experience in bringing new perspectives and priorities to Montpelier,” she said.
Gray grew up on a farm in Newbury, and after graduating from the University of Vermont, worked on Welch’s first congressional campaign in 2006, before serving as an aide to the congressman in Washington, D.C., until 2008. She later graduated from Vermont Law School, where she is now an adjunct faculty member.
In addition to working as a prosecutor, Gray has worked for the International Code of Conduct Association, an organization that oversees private security contractors abroad and ensures they are complying with human rights laws. She has led monitoring missions in the Middle East and North Africa.
Attorney General TJ Donovan, a Democrat, said that Gray is a strong candidate who has “a good story to tell,” though he noted it is too early for him to endorse any candidate in the race.
“That demographic of young people coming back to the state facing those challenges whether it’s student housing affordable housing, jobs — Molly’s got that lived experience and it think her voice is needed on that,” Donovan said.
In a statement, Kunin said that Gray “knows firsthand the challenges facing communities across the state and is uniquely qualified to address them.”
“Molly is the face of the next generation of Vermont leaders,” the former governor wrote. “I’m pleased to see her enter the race and look forward to what she will accomplish as Lieutenant Governor.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story referred incorrectly to the appeals court where Molly Gray was a clerk. It was the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
