It is easy to see the vote margin and view the primary against Coons as misguided.
It wasn’t.
The primary put Coons on the record. It is notice to any candidates for statewide office that Democrats expect Democrats to sound like Democrat’s and vote like Democrats. Seeing Coons discover, during the campaign, that he is a Democrat was amusing but also somewhat gratifying. Indeed, his statement (see the comments section) upon winning eschews his usual habit of jerking off Republicans in favor of promoting a genuinely Democratic message. It may be short-lived, and Coons may very well go right back to his obsequious pandering to Republicans, but if he does it will be because he is a shit head, not because he thinks it is effective.
Also it is important to note that that Scarane’s campaign did not take place in a vacuum. Overlapping progressive primaries twined together on Election Day and GOTV efforts bounce off each other and amplify the individual efforts. The Leg Hall victories we enjoy today are, in part, Scarane’s victories.
Her grassroots effort was impacted by having to campaign during Covid. But Scarane showed the gasping-for-breath Democratic Party that progressives are willing to fight, that they not going away and will not be ignored.
This is not a race it is a movement. And Scarane kept the pressure on this time. It falls to all of us to ensure that we keep the pressure up and demand Coons and Carper represent actual Delawareans and not Delaware based companies.
