1. Miro To Retire, Grease The Skids For His Daughter? That’s the word on the street. The longtime pol who currently represents the 22nd RD is planning to retire and have his daughter run for the seat. I’ve also heard that the D’s have a strong prospective candidate. This is precisely the kind of seat that can flip in a strong D year. There are now more registered D’s (barely) in the district, 6901-6696, and the numbers get better every month. There is no reason that a D can’t beat Miro’s daughter next year.
2. Ramone Gets An A-List Challenger. No, I’m not gonna break a confidence and name the name, but Ramone will have a fight on his hands from a strong progressive challenger in the 21st RD. Oh, and check out the registration figures: 7637 D, 5015 R, and 5057 I. I’m ready to make a contribution as soon as the challenge is official.
3. Melanie George Smith Still Playing Games. Depending on who you talk to, Lonnie’s daughter is either (a) running again, (b) not running again, but seeking a like-minded (read pro-Del Tech, anti-state employee) person to run in her stead, or (c) not running. Regardless, word is out that there will be a progressive alternative in the 5th RD. That makes at least three new worthy D candidates this week alone.
4. Lopez Files, Peterson Not Running. Don Peterson wrote on our blog that he would not seek Lopez’ senate seat. Lopez filed this week. Doesn’t look like there’s much intrigue here, other than where Lopez is hanging his hat nowadays.
5. Sisterhood Is Powerful. It looks like every R representative incumbent whose district is totally in NCC will have a challenger, virtually all challengers being female. Granted, there aren’t that many, but it’s yet another manifestation of the power that grew out of the Women’s March(es) at the beginning of this year. The one possible exception is RD 11’s Jeff Spiegelman, whose district is partly in NCC and partly in Kent. Former DL scribe/technical whiz Dave Woodside, Becca Cotto, and Sarah Fulton are the forces behind this candidate recruitment boom. It’s real. If I had done a 2017 MVP list, they’d all be on it.
6. Other Than Lopez, No Other Filings.
OK, that’s it for this week. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?