Lavelle to Quit House; Run for Senate?
GOP Minority Leader Greg Lavelle, who was redistricted into fellow Republican Deborah Hudson’s district, has decided not to primary her and will not seek reelection to the House. Once the new House maps were released and approved, this has always been the assumed path for Lavelle: seek a promotion.
Lavelle did not announce a run for the Senate yesterday, but it is expected that he will challenge Democrat Mike Katz in the more favorably redrawn 4th Senate District that now spans Hockessin, Pike Creek and Brandywine Hundred, rather than just Brandywine Hundred. The 4th District was redrawn by Senate Pro Tem Tony Deluca (D) to feature a Republican registration advantage so as to punish Katz for his challenge to Deluca’s leadership last year. Thanks Tony for the blind vengeance. It has really helped your Democratic Party out there.
Lavelle did not mention any timetable on his decision, but he has some time to decide, as the filing deadline is not until July.
Lavelle’s not running for re-election to the House. I wonder if he’s been convinced to run for governor or something.
Hello? Chateau country? Home of the DuPonts/Copelands? The 4th district is as R now as it was before, maybe slightly less so (which would then be slightly better for a D).
JFC can’t someone primary this man? I will personally commit to burning through a pair of shoes this summer if it means we get a chance to be done with DeLuca. Please…somebody!
I will defer to our resident expert ‘Bulo. It was my understanding that by shifting the district west to cover Hockessin and Chateau country, it became more Republican than it was before.
The district is and, even before redistricting, was overwhelmingly R.
Thanks to DeLuca, both Katz AND Cloutier have more Rethuglican districts in which to run.
The beneficiary? The Once-Honorable Harris B. McDowell, whose ‘Wilmington’ district now runs all the way up through Claymont to the state line.
Guess I don’t have to tell you that McDowell backed the Napoleonic Martinet for Pro-Tem, and was also rewarded by being named co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee.
Speaking of which, if anyone (a) deserves a good primary challenger and (b) is especially vulnerable to one, it’s McDowell. A credible challenger from outside the city now has more than a fighting chance.
Make that two pairs of running shoes, ‘Bulo. I’m all in for ousting McDowell, as well!
I don’t think it’s a slam-dunk that Lavelle runs for anything this cycle. This quote from the article makes it apparent that Lavelle is at least ambivalent about jumping in:
“He is weighing the added responsibilities of being a senator — representing a greater number of people — with the demands of his family and full-time job as managing director of Puglisi and Associates, a Newark company that does financial consulting for Delaware corporations.” (He might as well have added, ‘weighing the amount of time he would have to dedicate to a campaign in a larger and largely unfamiliar district.’)
Experience tells me that someone who agrees to run even though their heart isn’t in it generally runs an ineffective and diffident campaign.
So, even should Lavelle decide to run, Katz has a shot. Yes, Katz was fortunate that Clatworthy won the primary last time. But don’t forget, Katz won a hard-fought primary as well and put himself in position to win in the general.
Misunderestimate him at your own risk.
I think the Rs have their eye on the Senate and are going to place much of their efforts in taking the Senate back.
Its on. The Senate is in play.
Katz has a good shot @ beating back any primary atempt and there are plenty of GOP that knows he has done a good job and deserves reelection. They know he is honest and hard working.