Random musings as I prepare to head out to Portland for a (very) few days of R & R:
The campaigns for Becca Cotto and Shane Darby were the two best this cycle. Both candidates are awesome, and both candidates will be back. Over 2700 voters came out for the Cotto-Heffernan race. That’s in-SANE. Becca obliterated her projected ‘win’ number, and still came up short. Sometimes you just tip your cap to the other candidate, congratulate them, and prep for next time.
Anyone who DOESN’T see the KMG result, specifically in Sussex County, as a repudiation of Pistol Pete is not paying attention. 9695 for York, 3138 for McGuiness. In Sussex County. How does that song go?: “I’ve got a picture of the future, and you’re not in it.” Eastern Sussex is fast removing the yoke of the Kop Kabal. BTW, this anecdote from one of our readers is my favorite from yesterday:
Our
reports seeing State Sen. Lopez at Glasgow HS while checking in with primary voters there day. #NetDE #electionDE
Quote Tweet:
One of the more interesting sights at a polling spot is seeing retiring Republican State Senator Ernie Lopez supporting Democrat Kathy McGuiness for State Auditor. #netDE
Don’t worry, though. Lopez and Schwartzkopf have landed on their feet. Discovery Network has reportedly signed the pair to star in their latest reality venture: “Pete And Ernesto: Scouring The Globe For Their Misplaced Manhoods”. From the network blurb: ‘Two emasculated former Delaware power players sojourn from The Starboard to Sri Lanka in search of their sad sacks.’ I’ll be watching.
DeShanna Neal. Kerri Evelyn Harris. Cyndie Romer. Sophie Phillips. I simply can’t overstate what their wins mean for the House D Caucus and, for that matter, for the people of the state. I’ve felt for some time that having more female legislators generally results in more progressive action. Just look at what happened in the Senate the last two years. These are four powerful voices, each with their own unique story. But they are also listeners and doers. I’m telling you, the dynamic of that Caucus is shifting, and shifting fast. Plus, replacing Andria Bennett and Larry Mitchell with Kerri and DeShanna gets rid of two beneficiaries and protectors of The Delaware Way–both got jobs due to their connections–and replaces them with two incredibly empathetic individuals..
Can we at least give a little love to the Delaware Democratic Party leadership? Granted, it was pretty late in the game, but they did recruit Lydia York and put the weight of the Party behind her candidacy. And they did organize that massive messaging outreach last week. Again, late in the game, but it worked.
Time to get behind Kyra Hoffner and Russ Huxtable. Both won State Senate primaries. Both can win in November, but could likely use an infusion of cash and volunteers. BTW, my prediction in that SD 14 race positively stunk. Worst of the night. When you predict the guy who finishes fifth in a five-way race to win, you done stunk up.
More thoughts as they come to me. What do you think?
There are just so many new residents in the 14th that it is going to be tough to get a handle on. It will probably come down to ground game. Hoffner’s primary campaign gives me hope, but (provided he isn’t MAGA) Pugh can actually make a claim to be the candidate running to continue Bruce Ennis’ term. It is a true toss-up.
I would not be at all surprised to see Pete and Ernie campaigning with Pugh.
No way Ennis campaigns with Pugh. He is a Democrat, through and through. What good could Pete possibly do for Pugh? He has, um, loser stench all over him. (Don’t go there, Steve, don’t go there.)
If registration is destiny, and I think it pretty much is here, Hoffner’s gonna win.
18,616 D
10,031 R
9879 I
The battleground district will be the 6th in Sussex:
18,686 D
15,593 R
11,342 I
I think Huxtable’s the slight favorite. He’s not a divisive guy, and Steve Smyk is. But this one should be close.
It’ll going to come down to the ground game, I think. Smyk, though a do-nothing politician, squeezes into every photo op in the area. Maybe that lawsuit against the DSP involving Smyk will ~magically~ get brought up in the media.
Its a winnable district.
Good analysis. i am not feeling the love but I will say that Dave Woodside did well with what he had to work with. Maron, not so much!
the KMG result specifically in the 14th RD was delicious!
I left out something so obvious–well, here it is: The Working Families Party, plus Drew Serres, plus the grassroots volunteers and organizations here, are Da Bomb!
I got a little more of a chance to be involved with them this time out, and they’re simply incredible. We wouldn’t be in anywhere near this position without them.
100%. And the movement gets larger and stronger….
The linking together of volunteers, donors, across multiple campaigns and keeping those people involved in-between campaigns has been a revolution. I will give this blog, the PDD (which was a outgrowth and continuation of the Howard Dean campaign) a little credit for being very early adopter and proponent of that strategy.
For obvious reasons the establishment Dems only wanted Democrats to show up on Election Day and stay silent throughout the rest of the year. Those days are over. OVER!
Seeing all that talent in one room last night was glorious! It took 3 of them to equal my age and its as it should be! Committed, unafraid and giving no fucks about “How we did it” but interested in actual history! Loved it!
As a newer resident to Delaware, I am fascinated by the commentors here that discuss ONLY party affiliation. I have found that this mentality gets nothing done anywhere.
It is possible that the Progressive wing of the DEDem party is too far left for the rank-and-file Dem and Independents.
There may be more moderate Republican candidates who are as far away from MAGAIDIOTS than Progressives to Independants…
Moderate R candidates used to be relevant for lots of Delaware D voters. Lots of proud ticket splitters here back in the day. That was a long time ago it seems. These days, if you caucus and vote with the Rs, no matter how “moderate” you claim to be, this once “moderate” D will take almost ANY D over you.
If you’re new to the area, you missed the era when the Republican Party was basically an upstate party comprised largely of moderate DuPont employee types.
Christine O’Donnell defeating Mike Castle in a primary about 14 years ago marked when the Rethugs morphed into an RWNJ party with western Sussex as its base.
Can you imagine if we had open primaries (all candidates from any party on one ballot) along with ranked choice? All those unaffiliated voters with a chance to vote?
No thanks.
“Gets nothing done anywhere” is at best hyperbole. You don’t know enough about everywhere to make that statement.
Meanwhile, where are you coming here from? Where is this mythical land of “moderate Republicans”?
And frankly, if you don’t like the progressive wing of the party, you’re not going to like it at this blog.
Name 2 moderate republicans! Anyone? Bueller? Also your idea that progressive dems are too far left for the rank and file is based on what? Your expert status as a new resident? Look at the primary results.
Ramone, Smith, Hensley, Shupe
Look at how they vote, and then repeat that with a straight face.
I’ve reviewed every legislator’s voting record, and I’m not sure how you couldn’t consider those 4 moderates. In order, I’d say:
-Smith
-Hensley
-Ramone
-Shupe
In order in terms of who is most liberal to least liberal in their voting records. Smith even voted for Vote by Mail. What am I missing?
The fact that they don’t vote in lockstep with the kooks does not make them “moderate.” It makes them “less extreme.”
I’m curious why you want to give people who belong to a fascist party a pass. And why you think people at a blog called Delaware Liberal would help you do that.
Voting records aren’t all that useful for evaluating a Delaware legislator. The nominally-Dem majority prevents the most extreme Republican measures from ever coming to the floor.
But the right/corporate Dem House leadership also prevents eminently useful progressive bills from coming to a vote. Or cynically passes them under cover of a veto (weed).
In Delaware, the left-vs-right conflict is entirely between the left and right/corporate wings of the Democratic party. We are fortunate that MAGA Republicans are just a fringe minority of ankle-biters.
Ramone and Smith occasionally make tactical votes with D’s in order to survive as R’s in D districts, especially on culture war issues. But on policies that favor the rich, they are always with the right/corporate wing. And they also go “Not voting” on some of their problematic issues.
He said moderate republicans, not republicans who vote against their districts every day. Not Republicans who vote against bills that protect the rights of more than half their districts, hell more than half the state. Not republicans who hog tie the budget process, cry like babies, then in the 21st hour create a tiered wage system that benefit their own business, and continue to widen the wage gap among (again) half their constituency. Not republicans who, insisted that Roe wasn’t going anywhere 5 years ago, voted against the codification of Roe, and in this year, continued to show their disdain for people with uteruses.
It is super easy to look like a Moderate Republican when you don’t sponsor legislation or when you do it’s the least controversial legislation on the docket.
C’mon y’all. If the Pike Creek Mike’s are on your list of Moderate Republicans YOU. ARE. NOT. PAYING. ATTENTION.
Whataboutism at its finest. The fact that some Democrats are crooks does not make reactionaries “moderate.” Anyway, there are few bigger self-dealers in the GA than Mike Ramone, no matter whose driveway he didn’t get paved.
Have we considered that the “Progressive wing” of the Democratic Party isn’t far enough left?
I consider this on a daily basis, and, given the results in the last few cycles, think I could be correct.
Can you specify the results you’re thinking of? I can think of a lot of centrist Dems who lost to progressives but not as many progressives who lost to leftists.
What distinction are you making between progressives and leftists? Just a question about definitions.