I will be posting a comprehensive General Election preview tomorrow now that the slates are set, but I wanted to post my thoughts on what transpired tonight first.
1. Obviously the alliance between Tom Gordon, Dennis Williams, Harris McDowell (and by extension, Karen Weldin Stewart), and Christopher Bullock controlled the outcome of all their respective races. It was smart politics. It was what saved Karen Weldin Stewart (for the time being). Perhaps if Taschner, Clark, Kelley and Crane formed some kind of alliance, who knows?
2. Tom Kovach is the dumbest man in Delaware politics. Had he, as the current New Castle County Council President, decided to run for County Executive, he would be in the EZPass lane direct to a general election victory right now. I would have voted for him, hands down, with no qualms or regrets. And then, as County Executive, and a Republican County Executive to boot, he would be the new leader of a resurgent GOP, and the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for Governor in 2016. But some duPont talked him into running for Congress so the GOP wouldn’t be embarrassed. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb move.
3. Harris McDowell is a powerful smart politician. His strategy of getting more challengers to run against Karen defused the Crane threat. Yes, it is downright embarrassing to have his protege incumbent Insurance Commissioner get less than a third of the primary vote, but if it was a two person race, she would have lost. If it was a three person race, she still would have lost. But a four person race? I think we will find out very soon how much money he or his allies poured into Spivack and Gallagher’s campaigns. But, hey, it was a successful strategy, and he, and Karen won.
4. I will not, NOT, be voting for Tom Gordon. He is not a Democrat, he is a Corruptocrat. The question now remains, who is Mark Blake? Can he earn my vote? It depends on what type of Republican he is. So I will either not be voting in that race, or I will vote for Blake. We will see. I do think Delaware Liberal will seek to interview Mark Blake.
5. I don’t know what I will do regarding Karen Weldin Stewart, despite what I said earlier in the comments. I am not convinced Ben Mobley will be any better, but I will check him out. But my default position is that Republicans can never be trusted to regulate corporations and protect the consumer.
6. I am impressed with the strong, albeit losing, campaigns that Sean Matthews, Eric Anderson, Bill Dunn, and Victoria Kent ran.
7. How hated is Dennis E. Williams? I like the guy, and I would vote for him, but to only squeak by by 60 votes? Is he in danger in November?
8. My God, Lopez v. Staton is going to be the premiere race in the Senate. I will have my prediction on that race tomorrow.
9. Senator Bodenweiser. It is actually worse than having a Senator Urquhart. The only thing that will prevent that is whether Booth Republicans can see their way to voting for an African American woman.
10. The Senate Pro Tem race is on. The #2 in the Senate is Patti Blevins, and she is in line to become the first woman President Pro Tem. But she is in the Deluca camp. To prevent that, Senate progressives are going to have to settle on one candidate, and I think Karen Peterson is that choice. Peterson v. Blevins will be a race that will be fun to watch.