Meet the 14-year-old running for governor of Vermont on his own Freedom and Unity Party ticket

A high school freshman has set his eyes on running for governor of Vermont. The 14-year-old Dean Roy can't vote, drive, or drink yet legally, but wants to be the head of the state. He is also the youngest person to ever start a political party, which he will be running under.

Roy told the Daily Mail that in his run for governor, he "hope[s] that this mission ... leads to more youth getting involved." If he is elected, he would be the first US governor under 18. Previously, 13-year-old Ethan Sonneborn also ran for governor of the state of Vermont but did so unsuccessfully. The youngest governor in the US was Stevens Mason, who had turned 24 when he won his election for governor in the state of Michigan.

Roy will be running under his own third-party in Vermont, the Freedom and Unity Party, and said that his campaign for governor came about after there was an offhand comment from his teacher at 8th-grade graduation. The teacher said that if Roy ever ran for office, he would want to be his campaign manager. The 14-year-old went home after that and discovered that Vermont is one of a few states that do not have age requirements for governor.

Now, Roy and his Lieutenant Governor candidate, Charlie Bass, are getting signatures to run for office and are hoping to mobilize younger voters using social media.

One of Roy's top issues is housing. "The cornerstone of my platform is housing, by far housing is the biggest issue for Vermont, for New England and for the country," Roy said. He is also running on freedom from mandated electric cars and restructuring the Vermont school system.

He has a goal to build up a supply of houses in Vermont for $150,000 or lower so that "younger generations could actually afford" to buy a Vermont home. "We seriously need new young people in Vermont because our population is aging out," Roy told reporters at the outlet. "We are a dying state. We need new workers to keep our economy alive. The only way to get new workers is to incentivize young people to live here."

He is running as a third-party candidate and says that although he likes the Republican Party in Vermont, he says the national party is too far to the right. However, he is not a fan of the left either.

"I don't align with the Vermont Democrats politically. They are probably one of the more left Democratic parties in America. And I personally do not sit that far to the left," Roy said.

Currently, the incumbent governor, Phil Scott of the GOP, is eligible to run for another term, but has not announced yet. For the Democrats, Attorney General Charity Clark is considering a statewide race, which may be the gubernatorial election.

Outside of Roy's bid for governor, nobody else has officially announced.