I first want to talk about how local Democratic primaries could impact the statewide primary races. For the most part, with just a few exceptions, the local primaries could well drive up progressive participation precisely where such participation could help statewide reform candidates. It’s just the way the primaries worked out geographically and demographically this time. That is certainly true of at least one of the two races we’ll discuss today, and possibly true of the other as well.
Senate District 2 is currently represented by the retiring Sen. Margaret Rose Henry. For those of you who are new to Delaware politics, Sen. Henry first won office as a Republican in a district with better than a 9-1 D registration edge. How could that happen? Sen. Herman Holloway, Sr, the Dean of the Delaware State Senate, passed away in 1994. In an act of profound hubris and cynicism, the D braintrust decided to run Holloway’s ne’er-do-well son Herman ‘The Lesser’ Holloway, Jr., who had been ineligible to run for office after having been found guilty of an ‘infamous’ crime. AG Charles Oberly had given Junior a reprieve and determined that the crime was not ‘infamous’ enough to warrant a ban from the ballot box. I believe Junior was literally the only D who could have lost that seat, and he did. He lost a rematch in 1996. At which point, Sen. Henry recognized that she was not going to be as fortunate with prospective opponents in the future, and flipped to the D side of the aisle, thus also dashing Republican Sen. Myrna Bair’s hopes of becoming President Pro-Tempore. I don’t believe that Henry has endured either a primary or general election campaign since.
The field of candidates vying to replace her is as pathetic a group as you will find. You’ve got a former disbarred lawyer who is famous for threatening to sue anybody who crosses him (Sam Guy) Uh, Sam, you MIGHT want to think of updating your website. You’re welcome. You’ve got a tax delinquent whose rationale is that everybody does it (Darius Brown). You’ve got an ex-police chief whose views on justice reform are the diametric opposite of Sen. Henry (Bobbie Cummings). Last, and decidedly least, the lifelong grifter who lost twice to Sen. Henry (Herman the Lesser). One of these four will be the next State Senator from SD 2. Doesn’t matter which one it is, it will be a significant downgrade from Sen. Henry.
Ordinarily I’d argue that a four-way primary in this district would be a major boon for the statewide progressives. It remains to be seen, however, whether reform voters will muster any enthusiasm for these miscreants. To me, it looks like Guy and Brown are the leading contenders.
Senate District 3 is currently represented by Sen. Bob Marshall, who is retiring. SD 3 is a ‘minority-majority’ district, and is probably the most racially- and ethnically-diverse senate district in the state. It has a significant Latino population and has been home to Italians, Poles and other European ethnicities. Marshall has represented the district since 1979. That’s right. 40 years. I think he’s been in general a very good senator. In addition to being a leading champion of workers’ rights and minimum wage increases, he also took the lead in the revitalization of Wilmington’s riverfronts and, in particular, the creation of the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge. He also passed one of the best packages of nursing home reform in the country. Unfortunately, Ruth Ann Minner and Vince Meconi did everything they could to roll back those reforms. With Marshall not running, Tizzy Lockman and Jordan Hines will face off for the seat. If only one of the two of them lived in SD 2…but I digress.
I have no doubt that this race will help drive up turnout in this part of the city as we have two qualified candidates with progressive credentials. I want to see Tizzy Lockman win this race. She has the kind of gravitas sorely lacking in Dover at present. Plus, and this has little bearing on the primary, I can see her moving into a leadership position fairly quickly. We need progressive leaders in the Senate as they are in short supply. OTOH, Jordan Hines shows plenty of promise. Both Lockman and Hines have bright political futures. The 3rd SD is fortunate to have a choice between these two strong candidates.
Bear in mind: I don’t live in either of these districts. If you are closer to these races, please let us know what you think.