1. Are They Running?
Here are some names of people who haven’t yet filed, and whose candidacies may be in doubt:
State Auditor Tom Wagner: Has any statewide official ever done less work while being paid by the taxpayers over a longer period of time than Wagner? Faced with an inspiring and hard-working challenger in Brenda Mayrack, does Wagner really want to go out on his shield? We already know he doesn’t want to have to work too hard to get reelected. And he’s gonna have to work hard to have any chance of fending off Mayrack.
State Rep. Rebecca Walker (D-RD 9): This one’s real interesting. As I’ve written, Walker has not been a powerhouse as a campaigner. She is facing a credible challenger in realtor Kevin Hensley. She also just happens to be the one person in the entire General Assembly standing in the way of the passage of the repeal of the death penalty in Delaware. So. She can either run and provide the vote to allow the bill to come to the House floor, she can run and be the sole person to prevent the bill to come to the House floor, she can choose not to run and allow the bill to come to the House floor, or she can choose not to run and not provide the vote to allow the bill to come to the House floor. Therein lies the difference between profiles in courage and profiles in cowardice. For what will she be remembered, if anything? (BTW, for those of you new to this issue, death penalty repeal legislation passed the Senate. The bill resides in the House Judiciary Committee. It needs one more vote to be released from committee for consideration on the House floor. Walker chairs the committee, and she so far has not voted to release the bill from committee.)
State Rep. Andria Bennett (D-RD 32): Andria Bennett has shown tremendous growth as a representative, and is now one of a handful of the most consistently progressive legislators in Dover. All I’d heard was some scuttlebutt that it wasn’t a sure thing that she’d run again, although the sense was that she would. I hope she does.
Dave Tackett (for State Senate District 11): It was with great fanfare and not-so-great grammar that New Castle County Councilman Dave Tackett announced that he would primary State Senator Bryan Townsend this year. That was well over a month ago. Since then, no filing nor, as far as I can find, any type of campaign website. Could it be that Tackett’s realizing that going up against Townsend would be a fool’s errand? I dunno, but his campaign seems to be in limbo.
State Senator Brian Bushweller (D-SD 17): Hmmm, let’s do some math here, shall we? There had been some talk that Bushweller, who is a thoughtful and dependable senator, might not run for another term. He has a safe district, and he’s respected in his district, so it’s not as if he’d be in electoral jeopardy. But, what if he’s really considering not running? Could it be that Rep. Bennett is waiting to see what’s gonna happen before deciding whether to run for reelection, or to run for the Senate seat? I think, but I’m not sure, that Bennett resides in Bushweller’s district. Probably much ado about nothing, but, hey, work with me here.
Other notables who have not yet filed for reelection:
House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf.
State Rep. Bill ‘Lumpy’ Carson (D-28th RD). We should only be so lucky.
State Rep. Dave Wilson (R-35th RD): Ditto.
State Rep. John Atkins (D-41st RD): Megaditto.
2. Filings, we have filings.
Those who filed since my last magnum opus: State Rep. Helene Keeley (D-3rd RD); State Rep. Quin Johnson (D-8th RD); Matthew Brown (R-8th RD); State Rep. Trey Paradee (D-29th RD); State Rep. Ronald Gray (R-38th RD); State Rep. The Extreme Right Reverend Timothy Dukes (R-40th RD); Richard Collins (R-41st RD); and Kent County Recorder of Deeds Betty Lou McKenna (D).
That’s all I’ve got. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?