Douglas Alan Racine (born October 7, 1952) is an American politician and former Vermont Secretary of Human Services, a former Vermont State Senator and was the 79th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1997 to 2003. He is a Democrat. Racine was a candidate for the 2010 Democratic nomination for

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

. He previously ran for governor in 2002, but lost to Republican

Jim Douglas James Holley Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician from the U.S. state, state of Vermont. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served as the List of governors of Vermont, 80th governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011. ...

. In an election where no candidate won a majority, Douglas won a 45% plurality, and Racine declined to contest the outcome before the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

Biography

Racine is a 1970 graduate of Burlington High School. He graduated with an A.B. in politics from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1974 after completing a senior thesis titled "Changes in Interplay Competition in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

." Racine worked as a legislative assistant for Senator

Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy ( ; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who represented Vermont in the United States Senate from 1975 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he also was the pr ...

. He has long been involved in his family's business, the Willie Racine's, Inc.

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

dealership founded by his father, of which he has served as vice president. Racine served 5 terms in the Vermont Senate (1983–93). He was Chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee and President Pro Tem of the Senate (1989–93). He was elected

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1996 and served three terms (1997–2003) with Governor

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, consultant, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 20 ...

. He was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2002, but lost to Republican

. Because no candidate won a majority, the

had to decide. The General Assembly almost always votes for the candidate who received a plurality. Racine did not contest the results, and the legislature chose Douglas. In 2006, Racine was again elected to the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

, representing the Chittenden Senate District. He was re-elected in 2008. Racine ran for the 2010 Democratic nomination for

. In the 5-way Democratic primary on August 24, 2010, Racine placed second with 18,079 votes (24.22%) to first-place winner

Peter Shumlin Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to ...

's 18,276 votes (24.48%). Racine requested a recount, which reaffirmed Shumlin's nomination. Shumlin then defeated Republican Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie in the November 2, 2010 general election. On November 30, 2010, Gov.-elect Shumlin nominated Racine to be his Secretary of Human Services. On August 12, 2014, Governor Shumlin announced the departure of Racine from the same post.

References

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Racine, Doug 1952 births Lieutenant governors of Vermont Living people Politicians from Burlington, Vermont Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate Democratic Party Vermont state senators Princeton University alumni Burlington High School (Vermont) alumni