Press play and have this music play throughout, to enhance your reading pleasure, and to give the appropriate musical backdrop….
From Top to Bottom, Left to Right, New Castle County Council President Chris Bullock (D), 2014 Democratic Treasurer Nominee Sean Barney (D), Senator Brian Pettyjohn (R-19th SD), former Sussex County Register of Wills Greg Fuller, Sr. (D), Senator Bryan Townsend (D-11th SD), Senator Bethany Hall Long (D-10th SD), Senator Ernesto Lopez (R-6th SD); Kent County Levy Court Commissioner Brad Eady (D), Senator Gerald Hocker (R-20th SD), Senator Nicole Poore (D-12th SD), Representative Quinn Johnson (D-8th RD), and Representative Jeff Spiegelman (R-11th RD).
The office of Lt. Governor is so unimportant, with no imperative and necessary duties assigned to it, that it can, and will, remain vacant until January 20, 2017. When former Lt. Governor Matt Denn resigned to be sworn in as Attorney General, there was some talk about passing a new law to address the vacancy (to allow the Governor to appoint a replacement or to allow a special election), but that talk has died down, and the likely scenario is that Secretary of State Jeff Bullock will remain next in line to the Governorship until one of the people above is sworn in.
Yet, this office is a platform is for future ambition. You don’t run for Lt. Governor so you can just preside over the Senate and cast tie breaking votes. You run to advance issues and make a name for yourself, usually for a future race for Governor. Let’s look at our prior modern day LGs:
Alexis I. du Pont Bayard (D)–1949-1953—-ran for U.S. Senate in 1952
John W. Rollins (R)–1953-1957–ran for Governor in 1960
David P. Buckson (R)–1957-1961–ran for Attorney General in 1962, served as AG until 1971, and ran for Governor in 1964 and 1972.
Eugene Lammot (D)–1961–1965
Sherman W. Tribbitt (D)–1965-1969–elected as State Representative in 1970 and then Governor in 1972
Eugene Bookhammer (R)–1969-1977
James D. McGinnis (D)–1977-1981–ran for Governor in 1980.
Michael N. Castle (R)–1981–1985–served as Governor (1985-1993) and Congressman (1993-2011) and ran for U.S. Senate in 2010.
Shien Biau Woo (D)–1985-1989–ran for U.S. Senate in 1988 and Congress in 1992, but lost both times.
Dale E. Wolf (R)–1989-1992–served as Governor for 20 days after Castle was elected to the House.
Ruth Ann Minner (D)–1993-2001–Served as Governor from 2001-2009.
John Carney (D)–2001-2009–ran for Governor and lost to Treasurer Markell, elected to Congress in 2010.
Matt Denn (D)–2009-2015–ran for Attorney General.
Most of the occupants ran for higher office after their stint as LG. Recently, Minner, Carney, and Castle definitely took the job with an eye on getting promoted. But other LGs ran for other higher or lateral offices, like Denn, Woo, Bayard and Buckson. Those who I have selected above are the candidates or state officials that I believe have or want a political future, in offices higher than the ones they have right now. Not everyone will run, of course. For example, Chris Bullock will only run for Lt. Governor if, for some reason, John Carney does not run for Governor and instead runs for reelection to Congress. Meanwhile, while DL readers prefer Bryan Townsend for Congress, I think he is better served running for Lt. Governor.
It should be noted that we do have a declared candidate for the office, Brad Eaby, who is currently serving as a Levy Court Commissioner in Kent County (which is akin to the County Councils in New Castle and Sussex). He is making the rounds, introducing himself to various political groups, which is smart since he is unknown outside of Kent County. I have also heard that Greg Fuller, the former Sussex County Register of Wills, is considering a run. And I have heard that Senator Bethany Hall Long has higher ambitions as well, so a race for LG in such a wide open race might be in the cards. I mentioned Sean Barney last week in our post on the Congressional race. He is definitely looking for a race to run in, and as I suggested, it might be wise to aim his sights a little bit lower: a challenge to Sen. David Lawson in the 15th Senate District. And I am mentioning Representative Quinn Johnson here because he is someone who I have always seen running for higher office eventually. He may have no plans or ambition to, but I think he can have a future if he wants one.
As for the Republicans, I have included a candidate who might be better suited for a race for Governor: State Senator Gerald Hocker. But he probably has no interest in running for higher office. I have included three young-ish fresh face Republican officials who I do think want to run for higher office: Pettyjohn, Lopez, and Spiegelman. Ernesto Lopez was billed as the future of the state GOP when he ran in 2012 for the new 6th Senate District in Sussex County. He is known up and down the state, since he has run for New Castle County Council President in 2004, and serves downstate as their Senator. If Lopez doesn’t run, I will be shocked, and then puzzled.
If I were a betting man, it is Townsend v. Lopez in 2016. For neither candidate is up for reelection to their Senate seats in 2016.