14-year-old Nevada boy is running for governor in Vermont (because legally, he can)

By Dave Hall

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    LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KVVU) — In many ways Jackson Williams is your typical teenager. He likes to say “dude”… a lot.

“I’m like every other teenage dude,” Williams said. “I like to play video games.”

In another way, Jackson is not your typical teenager. The 8th grader from Leavitt Middle School in Las Vegas is running to be the next governor of Vermont.

Jackson checked the election laws and noticed Vermont doesn’t have an age limit. The local 14-year-old is running as a write-in candidate, which eliminated the residency requirement. After checking all the legal boxes, Jackson decided to jump in the race.

This was surprising news to his mother, Lindsey Williams.

“He didn’t really ask,” Williams said. “He just told me. He said there are no age limits, so I said ‘Buddy, go for it.’”

The local 8th grader’s family is on board, but some of his friends were confused as to why he is doing this.

“They were like why?? Why would you do this?” Jackson said laughing.

Jackson was bit by the political bug at an Elizabeth Warren rally a few years ago. He loved the passion and energy of the campaign.

By state law, Jackson can’t run for office in Nevada, so the Las Vegas teen is looking 2,700 miles east to the state of Vermont.

“Just because I’m 14 doesn’t mean I can’t do things that someone who’s 50 or 60 can,” Jackson said.

He plans to travel to Vermont this summer and meet with the voters face-to-face. He’d like to discuss issues including: raising the minimum wage, rising gas prices and inflation.

Jackson doesn’t expect to win, but hopes a few people will write in his name as the next governor of Vermont.

“I hope I get one, five or 10 people to vote for me,” Williams chuckled. “I’d be happy with that.”

If you’d like to follow his journey, follow @WriteInJackson

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