1. Who will Run For Attorney General?
It’s time to recognize the possibility, perhaps likelihood, that Beau Biden will not be able to run for reelection. I think it’s pretty clear now that he’s battling a serious health challenge He is virtually invisible in public. When he does venture out, people are concerned about what they see. There has been no official update on his condition since August. His spokesman routinely makes statements that Beau previously would have made, most recently on the failure of the Senate to muster up enough votes to restore Beau’s signature legislation to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. I wish our AG a full recovery and a long productive life.
However, someone will be elected Attorney General this November. If not Beau, then who? Matt Denn? Or some blinkered law and order type who only cares about talking tough on crime, not on protecting consumers and the public from getting ripped off? It’s time we have this conversation. I know that there may be great comfort in imagining the Biden name on the AG line. But it’s less likely to happen each passing day. Who will step up?
Beau is the only one who can talk me down on this. Right now, he’s not talking.
2. James Burton Takes on Valerie Longhurst Again.
I, for one, am totally on board. I hope you will also consider this race. You may recall that Burton, who raised next to no money, got 42.1% of the vote in a low-profile 2012 primary. That was not a resounding show of support for Longhurst, to say the least. Since that time, Longhurst has sacrificed constituents’ concerns while trying to build her power base in Dover. Just one example should suffice, although I’ve got plenty. Longhurst sponsored legislation cutting taxes on Delaware’s wealthiest citizens, virtually none of whom live in her 15th District. Just this week, Longhurst was on WDEL talking about across-the-board cuts while not even hinting at the possibility that it was time for the wealthy to bear more of the burden. Her district has a lot of people in need of services, but she prefers to push Markell’s draconian game of a thousand small cuts. Here’s hoping that a more experienced candidate this time around will be able to define Longhurst and take her out. So far, this is what I’ve found on Burton. He’s certainly well-qualified. Might not hurt to send some seed money his way. Might not hurt if he established a web presence, either.
3. A D Primary for State Auditor
Some people just have an inexplicable need to run for public office. Doesn’t matter what the office, any office will do. Ken Matlusky is looking more and more like one of those people. I like Ken, but I’m not sure why he runs for office. He’s not gonna win a primary against Brenda Mayrack, doesn’t really have a constituency on whom he can count, and doesn’t appear to have a reason for running. Yes, four years ago, he got 46.1% of the vote against Richard Korn in the State Auditor Democratic primary. I voted for him. Largely because he wasn’t Richard Korn. Two years ago, he ran for Wilmington City Council At-Large, and finished 4th in the primary, about 400 votes out of making it to November. He’s running again this time for State Auditor against Mayrack, who is close to the diametric opposite of the oleaginous Korn. I welcome Matlusky’s candidacy if, for no other reason, it will enable Mayrack to raise funds twice from the same donors (both for the primary and for the general), plus it will get Mayrack’s name out there earlier. I just don’t know why he’s doing it, though.
4. A Three-Way in the 22nd Rep?
Looks that way. Assuming Rep. Joe Miro runs again, we’re looking at a Miro vs. D John MacKenzie vs. Libertarian Steve Newton race. Even should Miro retire, which I consider unlikely, the R’s will fight hard to keep one of their few remaining above-the-canal house seats. I really like Steve Newton, plan to send him some money, but I understand why D’s are encouraging us to take a close look at MacKenzie. As a somewhat disaffected D, it’s easy for me to support Steve. YMMV.
5. A D Primary for the Right to face Sen. Simpson?
Yep. Last week, I mentioned that Gary Wolfe was challenging Simpson. Well, now we’ve got Patrick Jason Emory challenging Wolfe in a D primary for the right to challenge the Senate Minority Leader. Emory has served as a member of the Milford School Board for 13 years. He worked for DNREC for close to 30 years, don’t know if he still does. Here is a 2011 interview with Emory during a reelection run for school board. Emory appears to have more name recognition, at least to a clueless observer like me. What do those in the know think? Is Simpson vulnerable?
6. Sen. Venables’ Challenger Seeks Rematch.
This bears watching. In 2012, when everyone (including me) assumed that Bob Venables was running for one last two-year term, Venables defeated Bryant Richardson by a 56-43% margin. Much to the surprise of many of his own caucus members, Venables recently told them that he was going to run again in 2014. This is for a 4-year term. Bryant Richardson has filed for the seat, the 21st SD, and I think he’s got a good shot at winning it. I think there were quite a few voters willing to give Venables his two-year swan song who may well be pretty pissed off that he went back on his word. Venables had always been a man of his word. Now, not so much. I think Venables may have overstayed his welcome.