November 25, 2003
By DAVID MACE Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER - Former lieutenant governor and 2002 gubernatorial candidate Douglas Racine won't seek the Democratic Party's nomination for governor in the 2004 campaign, ending the prospect of a rematch against Republican Gov. James Douglas, who narrowly defeated him.
"I have made a decision not to be a candidate for governor next year," Racine said, citing a combination of "personal and political" considerations. "Timing is everything in politics. My timing last year was pretty good, but not quite good enough. The '04 race is not the right opportunity for me."
The move trims the field of potential contenders to Burlington mayor and longtime Progressive Peter Clavelle and Peter Shumlin, the former Senate president pro tem from Windham County, who lost in the three-way race for lieutenant governor in 2002.The fact that some in the Democratic Party opposed the move and that there could be a three-way primary were among the considerations that went into what Racine acknowledged was a "difficult" decision.
"I think it was the 'rerun' aspect of it that ultimately was the determining factor," he said. "I think with other probable candidates out there, Vermonters will have a fresh race with some different faces and different ideas, and they'll be better served by that."
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