The Mo’ Better Democrats Watchlist For 2022

Starting with the premise that it takes time to successfully challenge incumbents, I decided to put together a list of incumbent Democrats who, in some cases, have already earned strong challenges in 2022, and those who had better up their games or face legit challengers.  Prospective candidates, candidate recruiters, trainers and managers take note. This list is for you.

Other than Rae Moore, who found herself challenging for an open seat that wasn’t expected to be available, all the other successful progressive challengers in 2020 were essentially up and running by February of 2020. Highly-motivated and well-trained.  This past cycle has only encouraged more Delaware progressives to ‘run for something’. Especially with the incredible grassroots support system that has been built.  While we won’t know for awhile what all the new legislative districts will look like, we will assume for purposes of this exercise that all incumbents will seek reelection. Hey, if they don’t, so much the better. Remember, kids, that all 62 legislative districts will be up for reelection in 2022.  As will some statewide and county offices.

State Auditor Kathleen McGuiness.  She got less than 42% in a three-way primary.  Hers was a vanity candidacy with some powerful political forces supporting her.  Someone who legitimately wants to use the office to make Delaware government more transparent and less obeisant to the Delaware Way would have a great chance to win.  Someone who would (finally) be dedicated to turning over the rocks.

Senate District 2: Darius Brown. He made real clear who he cared about when he sold out those impacted by the Minquadale dump to collect some quick campaign bucks from Waste Management and their corporate lobbyists.  The irony is that he was probably the least-worst candidate in a four-way primary in 2018, where he got under 39% of the vote.  The district will have enough of a new look after redistricting that surely progressives can find an upgrade.  Unless Darius chooses to upgrade his performance.

Senate District 9: Jack Walsh.  Granted, there aren’t many progressives with the clout of a Karen Peterson.  However, I think that many of those old Sharp supporters who backed Walsh against a more progressive challenger have moved on.  While this may not be the highest priority district,  the right candidate can successfully challenge here.

Senate District 12: Nicole Poore. She should be at, or near, the top of any list for progressive challengers.  She helped to bury progressive bills in committee, so much so that she was dumped from leadership.  Equally important, she parlayed her elected position into a six-figure job with a bullshit jobs program that is left over from the DuPont Administration.  As far as I’m concerned, that should disqualify her from holding office.  We don’t yet know how her constituents feel about that, or her.  It’s time we found out.

Senate District 14: Bruce Ennis.  It’s time.  While we don’t know exactly what the new district will look like, we can hope that Ennis retires, and that the district moves completely out of Kent County and more into southern NCC.  He had a couple of intriguing primary challengers last time, but the field should be wide open in 2022. Let’s make sure that a strong progressive challenger is ready for the run.

The Entire Wilmington House D Caucus.  Granted, some (Gerald Brady) have already earned challengers.  However, the caucus as a whole has been close to utterly passive.  I’m glad that Nnamdi defeated Charles Potter, but I haven’t seen much out of him.  Stephanie Bolden is a self-dealer (remember how Hanifa Shabazz got her that ‘receptionist’ job?) who is just taking up space.  I have yet to see Sherry Dorsey Walker rise beyond her touchy-feely campaigns.  And Gerald Brady is a clumsy career hack whose expiration date has expired.  It’s also not lost on me that, had this Wilmington group banded together to push for more progressive leadership in the caucus, it would have happened.  I think that challenging Bolden and Brady are no-brainers, and that Nnamdi and Sherry Dorsey Walker should be on notice.  Time to stop self-dealing and represent the voters, not those who can give you the cushiest committee assignments.

Rep. District 13: Larry Mitchell.  He went from being a cop to being ‘Head Of Security’ at Del-Tech.  There are too many ex-cops in the Delaware General Assembly, and he is one of them.  Likeable guy. That’s it. Primary him. I think he folds, and retires.

Rep. District 14: Pete Schwartzkopf.  Nah, it probably doesn’t make sense to primary him.  The D’s will probably lose that seat once he leaves.   But, with enough progressive votes in the caucus, he’ll be out of leadership.

Rep. District 15: Val Longhurst.  Let’s see, she’s in an overwhelming D district.  She and Pete have helped to bury minimum wage and other progressive bills on behalf of Carney and Markell. Like her (former?/current?) drinkin’ buddy Nicole Poore, she parlayed her legislative position into becoming the Executive Director of the Delaware Police Athletic League. Meaning, she knows whose buttons she has to polish.  Along with her (former?/current?) drinkin’  buddy Nicole Poore, she has been the instigator of one of the biggest boondoggles in recent memory, the one I like to call the ‘Underwater City at Fort DuPont’. (Read it, I’m proud of it.)  The staff also hates her. Her primary opponents have been of the ‘name on the ballot, no money in the account’ variety.  A prime target with a legit challenger.  Her defeat would have almost the same impact as Marie Pinkney’s upset of Dave McBride.

Rep. District 16: Franklin Cooke.  Yep, an ex-cop who, because he is BLACK, has been named by Speaker Pete to head up some of the House deliberations on police reform. The perfect patsy.  Soon after he was named, an advocate asked Cooke if he could serve on the commission.  Cooke told the guy that he was looking for people who could be objective. Got that?  In Cooke’s mind, cops are objective, those who dare to question cops’ ability to trample on their rights in Delaware are, by definition, not objective.

Rep. District 28: William Carson.  It’s not ol’ Lumpy’s fault that he may, or may not, have the mind of a gerbil.  But, he’s not bright, he’s lazy, he’s old, and he is the lightest of lightweights with the notable exception of his not-insubstantial beer gut.  Seriously, there has to be a Democrat in this district who (a) can beat him in a primary, and (b) who is more progressive than he is. It’s a solid D district, likely to be more solid after redistricting, so come on and step right up.

Rep. District 29: William Bush. A political insider with close ties to Del-Tech who is likely being groomed  by Pete ‘n Val to take over the vast DINO portfolio previously held by Quin Johnson.  This guy is Delaware Way all the way.  I’d love to see someone take a shot.

Rep. District 32: Andria Bennett. She’s outlasted her husband and her father, and is now the only member of that undistinguished clan remaining in Dover.  While I think that she can be defeated, I will defer to Kerry Evelyn Harris, who has a better vantage point than I do, to determine whether Bennett’s number should be up in 2022.  If Kerry decides that it should be, it will be.

Hey, I may have missed some others, but 2022 offers a target-rich environment for progressive challengers.

Time to start recruiting and to start training.