2 More Days To File – Who’s Unchallenged
There are still 2 more days to file to run for office. Let’s take a look at who is unopposed. Will they get a challenger?
Attorney General – Beau Biden (D – incumbent)
State Senate
State Senate District 1 – Harris McDowell (D – incumbent)
State Senate District 9 – Karen Peterson (D – incumbent)
State Senate District 12 – Dori Connor (R – incumbent)
State Senate District 13 – David McBride (D – incumbent)
State Senate District 15 – Richard R. Lawson (R) [incumbent Nancy Cook (D) has not yet filed]
Of the 11 state senate races, 5 are unopposed.
State House of Representatives
State Representative District 1 – Dennis P. Williams (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 2 – Hazel Plant (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 3 – Helene Keeley (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 5 – Melanie George (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 11 – Greg Lavelle (R – incumbent)
[Deborah Hudson in RD12 has a Libertarian opponent, but no Democratic challenger]
State Representative District 13 – John Mitchell (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 16 – J.J. Johnson (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 17– Michael Mulrooney (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 19 – Bob Gilligan (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 21 – Mike Ramone (R – incumbent)
State Representative District 23 – Terri Schooley (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 26 – John Viola (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 28 – William Carson (D – incumbent)
State Representative District 30 – William R. “Bobby” Outten (R – incumbent)
State Representative District 38 – Gerald Hocker (R – incumbent)
State Representative District 39 – Danny Short (R – incumbent)
State Representative District 40 – Clifford “Biff” Lee (R – incumbent)
State Representative District 41 – Greg Hastings (R) [John Atkins (D – incumbent) has not yet filed]
Of 41 seat, 18 are unopposed (44%). Of the 18 unopposed seats, 11 are Democrats (61%) and 7 are Republicans. To me, it looks like a tough year for Delaware Republicans to take back either the House or Senate.
Tags: Attorney General, Delaware, General Assembly
If my mail last week is an indication, Helene Keely will be getting a challenger (filing today I was told) in the form of Robert Bovell. This is the bailbondsman who has been running for some office since 2004 — Mayor of Wilmington as an R, State Rep as a D, Mayor of Wilmington as a D and again as a State Rep but I can’t tell from the mailer what party line he is running on this time.
It will be tough, but with two exceptions, there is no reason for Republicans to file for the 11 unopposed D seats. Putting resources there would just make it more difficult. It is definitely in play though made more difficult by the Cathcart retirement. Will Republicans give Dave McBride a free ride?
Cass – I saw the teaser of your comment (in the right-side frame) and I immediately thought of the bailbondsman. To me, he is that district’s Protack.
I believe Deborah Hudson has a Libertarian (Challenger)named. James Christina. Is what you meant to say.
Barb Hudson was planning on running again in the 40th but decided that this wasn’t going to be a good year for Dems and decided not to run (this after hold a couple of fundraisers).
It’s not a good year for Dems and Rebs. Its time for the country to stand up and say that they have had it. No more to party bulls**t.
Yes, Bovell is running to primary Keeley. He’s quite the perennial candidate. For those interested, I posted the letter Cassandra is referring to on my Facebook Saturday night. It’s quite interesting in an “Oh my!” kind of way.
I think Harris McDowell needs a primary challenger. Unfortunately, although my wife says I would be a good politician, I am not able to make a run at it. McDowell would be a favorite, but a challenger would at least force him to take a stand on some issues.
Rollins has filed.
wagner just filed on Friday (auditor), protack also filed on Friday
So Protack is challenging Janet Kilpatrick. I knew I recognized her name, so I searched the archives and figured it out. She is Vince Lofink’s better half (in more ways than one). I found an old comment from Al Mascitti that stated that she has been instrumental in a lot of the Hockessin July 4th activities.
Sounds like Protack will be beaten down by another Republican that does stuff besides shooting off their mouth.
Remember that all the State Senate seats in this election cycle are only for a two year term (due to reapportionment required by present statute). This might dissuade challengers from investing money in 2010.
Remember the Wayne Smith reapportionment strategy that El Som. talked about on the other thread?
Well, packing all those D’s into the fewest districts possible has another effect besides watering down the D votes in the R districts. If an R steps up to challenge a D in one of those districts it drives turnout for the D’s as they defend their seat. Since statewide candidates — read Castle and Miss Jamaica — count votes statewide, the more D’s you drive to the polls the more likely you are to lose at the top of the ticket. It’s a better strategy to let sleepings D’s lie. It doesn’t have much to do with democracy, but a lot to do with flipping that Senate seat across the aisle.
That’s why we’ve got to convince D voters in safe districts that they MUST turn out in November. The district might be safe but the state is at risk. That’s probably why the R’s haven’t recruited anybody to run against Beau. They don’t want to stir up the Biden machine anymore than they have to. That’s a GOTV effort they’d sooner not have to face.
The County race in the Third is going to be a good race for the community. In October last year we confirmed Bill Tansey would not run again. Many of us wanted a strong and tenacious person to run. There were several who expressed interest, Janet Kilpatrick did not.
She commented she had lived in the district less than a year, thought the press would have a field day with her husband’s ethics problems and also her husband’s Son was serving serious jail time for theft against the state. She clearly said she would not run.She lied to us.
Michael Fleming was interested but none took him seriously and the First VP of GHADA was also interested along with two or three others who had some invovement but almost no name recognition.Fran Swift (GHADA) on the D side would have been a good choice also but he has decided to run against Nick Manolakos than face Protack. We knew there had to be name recognition and the deisre to win, Protack has both.
Mike Protack did the smart thing he waited and contacted every civic leader he knew from other races and asked for and got the support from these people to run. We are glad he is in the race and look forward to him serving well.
Protack has no conflict, Janet does as she works and collects a paycheck from the Republican Caucus in the House. Where are the so called GOP state reps who speak of ethics so much? In other words she gets paid to represent GOP interests while she campaigns for her self on the public dime. Even Gordon and Freebery were not that brash. I hope an official inquiry goes to the Public Integrity Commission.
The timing is simple, Protack announced last year before the Holidays and got press coverage. Janet announced and still has no name recognition nor issues which would make her stand out. Kilpatrick is challenging Protack not the other way around.
We wish Bill Tansey the best and we hope he stays impartial as few remember the Gordon Freebery troubles all started with their involvement with Tansey’s race and Bill was a Democrat until six weeks before he filed to run. His endorsement should be a silent one.
Yes, Protack has run before and come up short but given the failed organization called the State Republican Party which makes a living losing races and picking bad candidates the loss is the state GOP not Protack’s. We have encouraged Protack to hit Janet hard and fast but he has refused. We all know Janet (with Vince at her side)will play dirty.
Now back to my fishing trip.
*yawn*
The *ahem*anony*ahem* comment which is as predictable as is the sun rising daily.
LOL. I thought the same thing. Flyboy strikes again.
You can change your name, but you can’t hide the twisted logic and garbled grammar behind an alias.
A comma is not a period, “Better Business Joe.”
Contrary to what “Joe” has to say, Janet Kilpatrick lived in this district for many years, working for Roger Roy in constituent service. The Hockessin July 4th events would not exist without her. She is far from unknown to people who have dealt with government. When her husband died, she married Vince Lofink and moved to his district.
Unlike Mike Protack, whose name is well-known but synonymous with lots of talk and no action, Janet’s name is well-known by people with pull and synonymous with getting things done. Unlike Mike Protack, she is a people person. And while Mike is a favorite with the sort of people who don’t spell and grammarize too good, the district is made up of Greenville, Centerville and Hockessin, probably the last bastions of the du Pont-establishment GOP.
This race is by no means impossible for Mike Protack to win. But anyone who knows both candidates would make Janet the favorite.
Say WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?
Bill Tansey should stay silent on endorsements?
Fran Swift was sceerd of Protack?
Janet can’t run for Council while earning from a day job?
BBJ posing as concern troll ‘reluctantly lingering over how perceptions about Janet’s family might hurt her. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Geezer nailed it.
Sad Mike. Sad.
To underscore the point I made earlier, a fairly large segment of this district overlaps the state’s 4th senatorial district, the safest Republican senate district north of the canal. When the primary there was won by Son of Clatworthy, the general-election voters opted for the Democrat, Dr. Michael Katz, instead. This is not Tea Party territory, unless you’re serving Earl Grey.
No More Days Left.
the filing deadline passed at noon today.
how long until the DOE updates the website?
Dialogue Delaware has a full list of races now. I’ll post when I get a chance.
looks like the DOE list has been updated…
Viola gets an opponent, Hans-Erik Janco. The Libertarian guy running for Congress has also filed as an R.