The asterisk means that I’m only looking at races with one D and one R on the ballot. Per usual, the real story is the paucity of those races. It’s even more pathetic than usual this year.
Of the 11 Senate seats up this year, 5 are uncontested. It’s worse in the House. Of the 41 seats, 23 candidates are running unopposed. Well more than half. Just. Awful.
Here’s an early look at the Senate races:
SD 1: Good news and bad news for the R’s. James Spadola may well be the best challenger that the R’s are fielding this year. Why? Because he’s running on a platform far to the left of his party and, by all accounts, he is quite likeable. The bad news? Incumbent Harris McDowell enjoys a huge registration advantage and it’s a presidential year. Spadola might want to consider a party switch or a new address.
SD 5: D challenger Denise Bowers is running a stealth (aka almost non-existent) campaign against incumbent R Cathy Cloutier. No contest.
SD 7: If you consider the term ‘conservative intellectual’ to be an oxymoron, then R challenger Anthony Delcollo is running an oxymoronic campaign. 2nd Amendment rights and being anti-Obamacare will get him nowhere in this working-class district. Incumbent D Patti Blevins has little to fear.
SD 8: R’s likely view Meredith Chapman as their best chance to flip a seat in this swing district. She’s telegenic, as she has been a TV reporter, communications aide to Mike Castle, and Director of Digital Communications at the U of D. Incumbent Dave Sokola has faced tough challenges before, but topped 60% in his most recent reelection bid. With registration trending a bit more Democratic in this district, Sokola is the favorite in a competitive race. It might not hurt Chapman if she had, you know, real positions on the issues. Words meaning nothing.
SD 14: Incumbent D Bruce Ennis faces Carl Pace in this Smyrna/Clayton area district. Ennis fits this district like a glove and should handily win reelection.
SD 20: I suppose we should credit Mitch Crane with at least finding someone to challenge incumbent R Gerald Hocker. For completists, the challenger is Perry Mitchell. The greengrocer wins.
Most Egregious Failures to Recruit: Gun range owner David Lawson (R-SD 15) was almost defeated by a political newcomer four years ago. The failure of the Kent County D’s to put up an opponent is political malpractice. The failure of the R’s to even challenge the open seat in SD 9 (Karen Peterson’s district) is also noteworthy. D John Walsh will be the new senator from that district.
Here’s how the House races stack up:
RD 9 (That’s right. No challengers in RD’s 1-8): Incumbent R Kevin Hensley likely faces little trouble from D challenger Monique Johns. Although she handily defeated the district committee’s choice for the seat in a primary. I’m starting to think that this district committee could use an enema.
RD 10: This will be a less close rematch of the 2014 contest between incumbent D Sean Matthews and semi-perennial challenger R Judy Travis. Matthews is one of the good guys, so it might not hurt to send a few dollars his way.
RD 11: The D’s found someone to challenge incumbent R Jeff Spiegelman here, and the challenger is, wait for it, a New Castle County cop who is retiring after 20 years on the force. One David Neilson. Kinda makes you wonder whether Pistol Pete Schwartzkopf ever looks beyond the police rolls to find candidates. Little known fact: Neilson is also an equine dentist.
RD 14: Speaking of Pistol Pete, he is being challenged by R James DeMartino. I found this tidbit about DeMartino interesting:
“Though divorced, Jim is close to his two sons, Matthew and Nicholas. Both graduated from the Savannah School of Art and Design. He was inspired by both sons art education, creativity and desired career paths. As a result his practice of law now focuses on Art & Entertainment and protecting the rights of artists.
As someone who has seen how artists, particularly musicians, are screwed out of reaping the rewards of their creations, I must say that I like that. Unfortunately, Schwartzkopf wins big.
RD 19: Realtor James Startzman is back again to challenge incumbent D Kim Williams. Williams got over 63% of the vote last time. Next!
RD 20: Incumbent R Stephen Smyk got over 58% of the vote in a race against D Marie Mayor last time. This time, his opponent is D Barbara Vaughan, a nice 86-year-old lady who is a name on the ballot. Next!
RD 22: The D’s have a credible challenger to longtime R incumbent Joe Miro here. Lanette Edwards is a career educator who appears to be running an active campaign. Miro is something of an institution, and he’s the favorite, but Edwards shows potential and could make this race competitive.
RD 24: R Timothy Conrad, who is a transit supervisor at the University of Delaware, is challenging popular incumbent D Ed Osienski. Uh, that’s about it.
RD 25: Incumbent John Kowalko is being challenged by pro-business R Michael Nagorski. Nagorski got in late so, at best, this is a dry run for perhaps another run later on.
RD 29: Schwartzkopf acolyte Trey Paradee faces a challenge from R Janice Gallagher. She is, or was (there’s not much info out there) secretary of the Kent County Republican Party, and she’s married to a pilot. Anyone care to flesh out the details? Looks like a name on the ballot to me.
RD 30: Yet another late addition to the ballot. This time in the form of D Charles Groce to challenge incumbent R William Outten. Stop me if you’ve heard this before–Groce is a retired state cop who now works for the Wyoming (DE) Police Department.
RD 31: One of Delaware’s most progressive legislators, D Sean Lynn, is being challenged by R Jean Dowding. She is a realtor and a military veteran. Might not hurt to send some $$’s Sean’s way as there’s at least a chance that this race could be competitive.
RD 32: One of Delaware’s least distinguished legislators, D Andria Bennett, faces R Patricia Foltz. Foltz is campaigning actively. It would probably be too much to ask, however, that she knock off Bennett. Although, to quote former Phils’ manager Gene Mauch, “Sometimes you add by subtracting.” Registration numbers are too daunting, though, better than 2-1 D over R.
RD 33: This is probably the district Most Likely to Flip. Which doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen. But still. The voters in this district didn’t mind sending someone to Dover who almost never was gonna make it to Dover. They reelected R Jack Peterman twice with the knowledge that he was not in good health. Well, Peterman passed away this year after basically not showing up for this entire term and at least half of the last term. The R’s chose Charles Postles, who had primaried Peterman in 2014, in a three-way tussle this year. The D’s have found a candidate in Karen Williams, who appears to suit the profile of this rural Kent County district well. Postles is campaigning as the ‘only full-time farmer’ who would be a member of the General Assembly. One potential problem for Postles is that he campaigned in 2014 as a candidate who was physically up for the job–a not too thinly-veiled reference to Peterman’s health problems–and he only got 35% of the vote. There might well be some lingering resentment here against Postles.
RD 34: R Lyndon Yearick knocked off incumbent Don Blakey in a 2014 primary and cruised to election in the fall. He is being challenged by D David Henderson. You may be surprised to find out that David Henderson is, wait for it, a retired Delaware State Police sergeant.
RD 35: Malaprop-prone auctioneer R David Wilson faces D Gary Wolfe this fall. Wolfe has run twice before, with little success. Third time won’t be the charm.
RD 37: D Paulette Rappa ran a credible race against the odious R Ruth Briggs King in 2014. However, she only garnered about 35% of the vote. I know it’s a presidential year, but this is Trump Country. Hope I’m wrong.
RD 41: Following John Atkins’ latest bout with law enforcement, the D’s came up with one Bradley Connor to challenge incumbent R Richard Collins. Connor was a long-time elected public official in Dagsboro. Who knows, but I’m skeptical.
OK, that’s my take. What do my spies on the ground think?