BURLINGTON — Molly Gray, the former Vermont lieutenant governor who also ran, unsuccessfully, for a seat in Congress, wants her old job back.
Gray announced her campaign for the state’s second-highest office Monday morning at a coffee shop in the South End of Burlington. Gray is running as a Democrat; if she wins the party’s primary in August, she’ll likely face current Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, a Republican first elected to the post in 2024, in the general election in November.
In Vermont, the lieutenant governor has few day-to-day responsibilities besides presiding over the state Senate when it’s in session. But those in the position can, and often do, use it to advocate for specific issues. Gray said she would be a stronger opponent of President Donald Trump’s administration, and the policies and proposals coming from the White House, than Rodgers has been in his first year in the post.
“There are no ceremonial offices right now,” Gray, who’s from Newbury though now lives in Burlington, said in an interview last week. “No one can afford to sit it out or stand on the sidelines at a time where the fundamental rights of Vermonters are under attack — regularly.”
(To be sure, Rodgers has said he does not support Trump and spoke against some of the administration’s actions at a major anti-Trump protest in Montpelier in April.)
Gray was joined by family members and several dozen supporters for the announcement Monday. Her campaign announced endorsements from nine current members of the state Senate — including its leader, President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, as well as the chair of its powerful Appropriations Committee, Washington County Democrat/Progressive Sen. Andrew Perchlik.
The campaign also has the backing of 22 current members of the Vermont House, according to materials provided to reporters. Former Democratic Gov. Howard Dean also endorsed Gray and was on hand for Monday’s launch.
Gray was elected lieutenant governor in 2020 after beating out a crowded field of Democratic primary opponents. She was in the job for less than a year before launching her campaign for what was then an open U.S. House seat. After a bruising campaign, she lost the primary to Becca Balint, who easily won the general election that fall.
After leaving office in 2023, Gray was tapped to serve as the first executive director of the Vermont Afghan Alliance. The Burlington-based nonprofit supports Afghans who are resettling in the state, offering a variety of programs such as a driver education initiative tailored to women who were not allowed to drive in their home country.
Gray said that role has given her firsthand experience with what she called the “extreme cruelty” of the Trump administration’s policies. She pointed, for example, to how the administration has paused visa and other programs for Afghan nationals, while those already in the country have also been stripped of temporary permission to stay.
“It’s ongoing chaos, right?” Gray said. “It’s been one blow after another.”
In addition to using the office’s bully pulpit to respond to news from Washington, D.C., Gray said she’s motivated to run for lieutenant governor again because of her own experiences — giving birth to her son, Jack, since she has left office, as well as caring for her mother, who lives in Newbury and has multiple sclerosis.
“I’ve experienced firsthand a health care system in crisis. Trying to access rural care in rural Vermont is extremely challenging right now,” she said. “We’re deeply concerned, as I think many, many families and many Vermonters are.”
Gray said that if she wins this year’s election, she is not interested in leaving the role for higher office, as she tried to do in 2022. That includes both running for governor and a seat in Congress, she said.
“If I’m lucky enough to earn the support of Vermonters — and have the chance to work for them again — I’ll stay in the job as long as there’s ability to problem solve and to get things done,” Gray said.
Monday morning, after Gray’s announcement, a second candidate signaled he may enter the race.
Ryan McLaren, a former aide to Vermont Democratic U.S. Sen Peter Welch, told VTDigger he was “seriously considering” running for lieutenant governor.
“I’ve spent the last decade listening to the hopes, fears, aspirations and struggles of everyday Vermonters. For many, the future has never felt more uncertain,” McLaren said in a statement. “Our communities are struggling and people are tired of the status quo — hungry for new voices and better politics. Frankly, I am too.”
McLaren, of Essex Junction, has not previously run for statewide office.
Ethan Weinstein contributed reporting.