Delaware’s 10 Most Intriguing Primaries Of 2012: Part 1

Here are my ground rules. Intriguing to me. And races that I consider to be competitive. So much for the ground rules. I admit that I know little about the individual races for Wilmington City Council, and only a little bit more about Sussex County Council primaries. So, I’m counting on all of you to provide insight and perspective. Not to mention your bouquets and brickbats.

As always, in reverse numerical order:

10. Rep. Valerie Longhurst vs. James Burton in RD 15 D Primary.

This one might well rank higher a month from now, or it could fall off the radar screen entirely. Longhurst has made some enemies (in the interest of full disclosure, I count myself among them) in her caucus and elsewhere. Even many of her supporters fear her more than they like her. And, you know what happens to people like that when the enemies’ list grows longer and the person who flaunts their power begins to lose some of that power. This, that’s what:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcjo5Fq5bMM[/youtube]

Bonus points if you can name the songwriter.

James Burton is a credible opponent with solid credentials who once ran for a County Council seat.  He’s got a shot.

9. Bill McGlumphey vs. Andria Bennett in RD 32 D Primary.

Wow, just wow. Didn’t see this one coming, and I doubt that anyone did. After Brad Bennett did that ‘trying to get my life in order & sorry I embarrassed the institution’ valedictory on the House floor, the last thing I expected was for the ‘other woman’, Andria Viola, daughter of undistinguished Rep. John Viola, now married to Brad Bennett, to run for this seat. Keep in mind that Bennett’s first wife was the daughter of popular Kent County State Senator Brian Bushweller. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that Brad Bennett was patently insincere about his stated love for the House, and that trying to make his wife into sort-of a two-year caretaker is cynical even by the most cynical of political standards. Would’ve loved to see Pete Schwartzkopf‘s head explode when he saw this. Otherwise, I have to think that voters in the 32nd will see through this. Of course, they reelected Bennett after his first official DUI, and I was totally wrong about that one, so maybe they just don’t care. Something tells me that Bennett’s candidacy just…might…not…last until the primary.

8. Four-Way Primary for Insurance Commissioner.

Even at #8, I might be overrating the ‘intrigue’ factor. Going into 2012, this was on everyone’s list as perhaps the primary to watch. And that was when it was only a two-way battle between incumbent Karen Weldin Stewart and Mitch Crane. Not only has Crane outraised and outcampaigned KWS, he actually earned the Party endorsement. Without the endorsement, Stewart has little chance. Even if Brian McGlinchey can somehow convince union his superiors to spend big on both Stewart’s and McDowell’s primaries, Stewart has no organization of her own. My prediction? It won’t even be close, especially since neither Gallagher nor Spivack have any traction. I think Gallagher stays in, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Dennis drops out. A precipitous fall for an incumbent state office holder. And richly-deserved.

7. Primaries for Both Parties in SD 6.

The new district, largely in eastern Sussex.  The D’s have a three-way primary featuring eccentric semi-perennial candidate Micheal Miller; former Dewey Beach Mayor Bob Frederick; and Andy Staton, Pete Schwartzkopf‘s Chosen One.  Based on what I’ve heard, Staton is running an excellent campaign, and appears to be the favorite. I’m actually more interested in the R primary between teabagger Glen Urquhart and Ernie Lopez. To me, the intrigue of this race centers around this question: “Is Sussex County, in particular, the Republican Party, going to continue its transformation  into Batshit Crazyland, or will its residents look for competence in its public officials?” By that, I mean, is support for Jeff Christopher going to define Sussex Rethugs? As in, ‘I like Jeff Christopher’. ‘Well, I LOVE Jeff Christopher’. And, of course, ‘Jeff Christopher, I want to BEAR YOUR CHILDREN’. There are many other Sussex races I could have cited that have as their central dynamic the question of who is most worthy of Jeff Christopher’s support. Think about that. An entire county’s Republican politics dictated by who can most fully embrace an out-of-control nut-job sheriff. But, I digress. There’s only one batshit crazy candidate in this race, and Ernie Lopez is not gonna try to, nor could he ever, outcrazy Glen Urquhart. I just wanna see if R’s in the 6th SD will nominate someone who is competent and who would be a worthy addition to the State Senate if elected.

6. Gilligan’s Retirement Yields D and R Primaries in 19th RD.

That’s right, in a district with about a 2-1 D registration edge, two R’s have filed. And good for them. Dennis Cini appears to be an officer with a consumer financing company; and Scot Sauer owns some maintenance businesses, including two laundromats. Sauer ran for County Council in 2010, and lost by a better than 2-1 margin to Councilman Joseph Reda. I’m more interested in the race between Bill Dunn and Kim Williams for the Democratic nomination. Many of us in the progressive community admire Dunn for his insistence on openness and transparency in county government. We need people like that. But his decision to seek the open 19th RD seat and to leave the contest for County Council President raises this question, at least in my mind: “What is the raison d’etre for his campaign?” I don’t know if there is one other than the fact that the seat came open. Believe me, I’m not picking on Bill here. Whenever we did candidate training, we stressed that the candidate had to be able to articulate an answer to the question, “Why are you running for ______?” within 30 seconds. Bill had a ready and admirable answer for the County Council President’s race. He would do well to develop one for this race ASAP. Especially since Bill’s opponent, Kim Williams, has, in my opinion, already done so. Her announcement focused on the economic challenges facing the people in the 19th, and personalized it by citing her family’s own experience with job loss. That is a powerful reason to run, and will resonate with voters if Williams proves to be a capable candidate. Since I fully expect the winner of the D primary to win in November, let’s see who is most effective at getting their message out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I planned this as one long piece featuring the entire top ten. But I had swim meet duty last night, and those of you who have spent the requisite 3 and 1/2 hours at one of those affairs know that it leaves little time for anything else. Plus, I developed calluses starting and stopping my stopwatch. Not that I wasn’t ‘callused’ already.

However, for those of you who can’t wait for the Final 5, which will be posted by week’s end, please join me for today’s Al Mascitti Show, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on WDEL-1150 Newsradio. We’ll discuss the entire Top 10, and will also run down all the big news on this Monster Deadline Countdown Special.