OK, I mean, not that I think Gov. Peter Shumlin would run for president. Nor do I think he’d stand a chance. 

But during Shummy’s jaunt to Washington last weekend, Politico’s otherwise generally astute Jonathan Martin seemed to put Putney Pete on a short list of 2016 presidential contenders.

To be more precise, Martin pegged Shumlin as one of several Democratic governors who are “ambitious politicians boasting records that would probably play well with primary voters in 2016.” Folks whose presidential ambitions would be stymied by another run by former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Martin writes:

“[Martin] O’Malley is the second-term Maryland governor who has been perhaps the most open about his 2016 ambitions, but whose prospects are largely out of his hands as long as Clinton looms on the horizon. Count New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin and [Colorado Gov. John] Hickenlooper himself on that same roster of accomplished Democratic governors who are younger than the 65-year-old Clinton but could find themselves stuck in their state capitals for another decade-plus should she be elected president.

Later in the piece, Martin writes this:

Shumlin, without fully denying his own ambitions, was blunt about what Clinton meant for the Democratic race.

“Let’s be candid about this: So much depends on Hillary,” he said. “If Hillary runs, you’re going to see fewer candidates. If Hillary does not run, you’re going to see more candidates.”

Without fully denying his own ambitions?! OMG! Sounds like he’s running for prez!

Um, not quite.

But at Shumlin’s first press conference since his D.C. trip wound down, we couldn’t resist giving Shummy a chance Wednesday to definitively put to rest such fanciful rumors.

And he did.

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Paul Heintz was part of the Seven Days news team from 2012 to 2020. He served as political editor and wrote the "Fair Game" political column before becoming a staff writer.

3 replies on “Not-Quite-Breaking: Shumlin Says He’s Not Running for President”

  1. Let’s be clear: when Shumlin runs for Washington office — which he will — we can replay the video footage where he has said he hates Washington and will never go there.
    Of course, not that saying two exact opposite things has ever bothered him.

  3. Not true. He said in a press conference about a year ago that he would never want to go to Washington.

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