1. The State Dems Endorseth, the State Dems Endorseth Not.
Here’s the official statement. Brenda Mayrack gets the endorsement for State Auditor over Ken Matlusky in the September primary.
And the Party endorses neither candidate for the State Treasurer primary. Kremlinologists no doubt will enjoy parsing the following sentence:
Given the Committee’s perception of quality both Democratic Treasurer candidates possess, the committee failed to reach consensus on the endorsement of either candidate.
Might I suggest that this is one endorsement that neither candidate really wanted? How could Chip run as the anti-establishment candidate if the establishment endorsed him, and how could Barney run as someone not beholden to the Carpers and Carneys of this world if he got the endorsement?
My vote will ultimately come down to this: What can we least afford? A self-delusional narcissist who has had his hands effectively tied, or the next Carper or Carney? I, for one, especially don’t want to enable the next Carper or Carney since they don’t represent what I stand for. To put it mildly. And Chip’s penchant for political self-immolation likely places a ceiling on his political trajectory. Unless Barney takes steps to demonstrate that he is not the latest model fresh off the line at Carper Cyborgenics, I may actually vote for the Chipster. I know, I know….
2. Emily’s List Endorses Claire Snyder-Hall.
And why not? Check out her resume:
Claire Snyder-Hall lives in Rehoboth Beach. She attended Smith College as a scholarship student and graduated with a B.A. cum laude in Psychology in 1986. After college, she worked with emotionally disturbed and chemically dependent adolescents, before earning a PhD in political science from Rutgers University in 1997. Before moving to Eastern Sussex full-time, Claire spent twenty years as a classroom teacher, including twelve years as a tenure-line faculty member at George Mason University, where she taught political theory and directed a number of undergraduate and graduate programs. She currently serves as a research deputy for a private foundation, and serves as the local Democratic Party Chair for her district.
Hey, Ernie Lopez is probably about as good as you can hope for from an R in the State Senate, but Snyder-Hall could be a leading light in Dover. Might not be a bad time to send some $$’s her way.
3. Pete Schwartzkopf’s Primary Goes Away.
It seemed like an incongruous challenge from the start. Dairy farmer Nelson Warren filed against Speaker of the House Schwartzkopf in the final hour before the filing deadline. He didn’t appear to have a particular beef with Pete, so I was surprised by the filing. He has now withdrawn from the race. I can only hope that he gets his filing fee returned as he did not withdraw prior to the mandated deadline to do so w/o penalty. The issues that drove Warren to file would have at least made for an interesting discussion.
As usual, the outstanding Cape Gazette has the story:
Warren said shortly after filing, he and Schwartzkopf spoke about the issues he was most concerned about – the repealing of the death penalty and the legalization of marijuana – and it was that conversation that changed his mind. Warren said a Democratic primary in District 14 would distract resources from more hotly contested races in other districts, and would not be the best way to have his message get out.
“There was a constructive dialogue between us,” said Warren. “Rather than have a costly and terrible election process that eats up resources, I felt it would be better to withdraw my name.”
That’s all I’ve got. What’d I miss and whaddayathink?