Anthony Pollina will "absolutely not" be running for lieutenant governor under any circumstances, his campaign manager Meg Brooks told PolitickerVT.com. Though, she noted that "everything was considered to a certain degree."

The Progressive Party gubernatorial candidate held a press conference today to announce that he was definitely still in the race despite Democrat Gaye Symington getting into the race on May 12.

Brooks told PolitickerVT.com that a press release issued yesterday stating that Pollina would respond to the "dynamics" of former state House Speaker Gaye Symington's (D-Jericho) entry into the race was to address the fact that "some Democrats have been talking about it" and the "press has been hounding us."

In his speech today, Pollina said: "There has been a lot of speculation - and a lot of political spin - about whether I might leave the race or run for another office. I heard the rumors just as you have. It began to sound to me like insider politics, so I thought it best to come together, here in the sunlight, to end the political spin, bury the myths that cause the speculation and outline a winning the race for Governor."

Pollina added that he had personally "made a special effort to reach out to friends in the Democratic Party believing grassroots Democrats shared our goal of electing a governor more in touch with the needs of Vermonters. Many were very supportive. But, the Democratic State Committee refused to meet and talk about a combined effort."