Ethan Sonneborn
Ethan Sonneborn (born May 24, 2003) is an American high school student from Bristol, Vermont, who was a candidate for Governor of Vermont in the 2018 Democratic primary.<ref name=cross/>
Though at 14 years old he was not old enough to vote, the Vermont Constitution only requires candidates for governor to have lived in the state for the previous four years.<ref name"McCullum" /> It does not have an age requirement to run for office and does not require its candidates to be registered voters.<ref name"McCullum" /><ref name"post" /> Sonneborn indicated some prior experience in student government and had previously served as a page in the Vermont state legislature.<ref name"post" /><ref name="robinson" />
Campaign for governor
Sonneborn began his campaign when he was 13 years old.<ref nameMcCullum/> The election was held a few weeks before he entered his freshman year of high school.<ref namerobinson/> His campaign was focused on healthcare for all, the environment, economy, and education.<ref namemash/> Had he won, he would have been the youngest governor in Vermont's history.<ref namemash/>
Sonneborn told his parents, Dan and Jenna, and his younger sister Julia, about his intention to run only after announcing his candidacy in August 2017 via a press release to a local newspaper.<ref namecbs/><ref namepost/><ref namerobinson/> He participated in several candidate forums and was taken seriously by his primary opponents.<ref namepost/><ref namerobinson/> He said he was inspired to run following the racial violence at the Unite the Right rally in 2017.<ref namecbs/> If elected, he promised that he would continue his education through a homeschooling-type program outside of normal business hours as governor.
The Washington Post said Sonneborn was an "emblem of what can happen when a young citizen identifies an issue, finds his voice and decides to get involved in the political process. What can happen when they seize on the power of that rhetoric, and those tweets, and Obama-style grass-roots organizing, and insist that others listen."<ref name=post/> Shortly before the primary election, Sonneborn participated in a debate on Vermont public radio with fellow Democrats Christine Hallquist, James Ehlers, and Brenda Siegel. He performed respectably and was treated as a serious candidate by all parties involved.
The primary election was held on August 14, 2018. Sonneborn finished with approximately 4,696 votes and 6.71% of total votes cast among the four listed candidates.<ref name=results/> His best showing was in Addison County, which includes his hometown of Bristol, where he finished in third place with 13.04% of the vote.<ref nameresults/> In Bristol, he finished in second place, with 136 of the 590 votes cast.<ref namebristol/>
Similar races
In Kansas, the only other state not to have an age requirement,<ref namecnn/> several other teenagers ran for governor.<ref namepost/> In Vermont, 16 year old Finnian Boardman Abbey ran for state Senate.<ref name=post/>
Though at 14 years old he was not old enough to vote, the Vermont Constitution only requires candidates for governor to have lived in the state for the previous four years.<ref name"McCullum" /> It does not have an age requirement to run for office and does not require its candidates to be registered voters.<ref name"McCullum" /><ref name"post" /> Sonneborn indicated some prior experience in student government and had previously served as a page in the Vermont state legislature.<ref name"post" /><ref name="robinson" />
Campaign for governor
Sonneborn began his campaign when he was 13 years old.<ref nameMcCullum/> The election was held a few weeks before he entered his freshman year of high school.<ref namerobinson/> His campaign was focused on healthcare for all, the environment, economy, and education.<ref namemash/> Had he won, he would have been the youngest governor in Vermont's history.<ref namemash/>
Sonneborn told his parents, Dan and Jenna, and his younger sister Julia, about his intention to run only after announcing his candidacy in August 2017 via a press release to a local newspaper.<ref namecbs/><ref namepost/><ref namerobinson/> He participated in several candidate forums and was taken seriously by his primary opponents.<ref namepost/><ref namerobinson/> He said he was inspired to run following the racial violence at the Unite the Right rally in 2017.<ref namecbs/> If elected, he promised that he would continue his education through a homeschooling-type program outside of normal business hours as governor.
The Washington Post said Sonneborn was an "emblem of what can happen when a young citizen identifies an issue, finds his voice and decides to get involved in the political process. What can happen when they seize on the power of that rhetoric, and those tweets, and Obama-style grass-roots organizing, and insist that others listen."<ref name=post/> Shortly before the primary election, Sonneborn participated in a debate on Vermont public radio with fellow Democrats Christine Hallquist, James Ehlers, and Brenda Siegel. He performed respectably and was treated as a serious candidate by all parties involved.
The primary election was held on August 14, 2018. Sonneborn finished with approximately 4,696 votes and 6.71% of total votes cast among the four listed candidates.<ref name=results/> His best showing was in Addison County, which includes his hometown of Bristol, where he finished in third place with 13.04% of the vote.<ref nameresults/> In Bristol, he finished in second place, with 136 of the 590 votes cast.<ref namebristol/>
Similar races
In Kansas, the only other state not to have an age requirement,<ref namecnn/> several other teenagers ran for governor.<ref namepost/> In Vermont, 16 year old Finnian Boardman Abbey ran for state Senate.<ref name=post/>
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