Delaware Political Weekly: December 1-7, 2023
1. The Collin O’Mara Soon-To-Be Gubernatorial Candidacy. He’s running. I have no idea how he’ll do. Don’t know for sure, but I believe he’s running in the BHL lane that I think is soon to be available. You can’t run a campaign without money, without donors, without staff, and without volunteers. Which is why I see her exiting the race by, or soon after, year’s end. Because I think her financial report will be brutal. Regardless of whether it’s fact or fiction. Looks like Meyer vs. O’Mara to me. Until or unless O’Mara can explain why he was all-in on the Underground City At Ft. DuPont, I’m with Meyer. For a supposed environmental warrior, he facilitated a lot of ill-advised projects, some, like Ft. DuPont, that stunk of corruption.
2. The Kamela Smith Soon-To-Be Candidacy. She’s running. Against Val Longhurst. I have a real good idea how she’ll do. Betcha Val does, too. Get on board as the train is ready to leave the station. The Act Blue is not yet activated as it turns out that it’s a more cumbersome process than it used to be. But head right here, learn about her, and sign up to volunteer.
3. Rethugs Have A Gubernatorial Candidate–Whether They Want One Or Not. One Jerrold Price. Has a similar resume to two-time loser John Marino. Ex-NYC cop, moved to Suxco, took a job as a Rehoboth cop, took a disability retirement, and, well, wants to run for office. Here’s a letter he wrote to the Delaware Cape Gazette back in 2021 that lays out his agenda.
4. Sen. Russ Huxtable Gets An R Opponent In SD 6. Kim Hoey Stevenson, and she’s not from Rethug Central Casting. Three news organizations posted her announcement verbatim w/o ever mentioning that Russ Huxtable is the incumbent. An excerpt:
A lifelong Sussex Countian, Kim is a former educator who taught sixth-grade science at Seaford Middle School and third grade at the Southern Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville. She currently is the mentor coordinator for the Cape Henlopen School District and is an award-winning author, having been recognized as an Emerging Artist for Literature by the Delaware Division of the Arts in 2023 according to a press release by Stevenson.
She previously served on the Suxco Planning And Zoning Commission. Based on her comments upon retiring, it seems clear that she would have loved to restrict some of the county’s breakneck development, but that the county ordinances prevented her from doing so. I have no idea why she’s an R and/or why she’s not running for Suxco Council.
5. Kayode Abegunde Files His Vanity Candidacy. A non-serious candidate who simply can’t resist the lure of running. Trinidad Navarro deserves a serious primary challenge. He’s not getting it from Abegunde, who shifts comfortably from first- to third-person in his statement:
I am Kayode Abegunde running for Delaware State Insurance Commissioner in 2024. I am a Democrat. Kayode is an advocate for cultural competence. As your 2024 Delaware State Insurance Commissioner Candidate, I will represent and advocate for all to reduce your insurance premiums.
I will enforce the policies aimed at regulating the insurance market.
He got 36% against Navarro in 2020. He also filed a committee to run in RD 17 back in 2017, but doesn’t appear to have run.
That’s all I’ve got. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?
Stevenson worked (in comms?) for a few years in the Senate GOP Caucus. Her husband is Dave who does questionable climate/energy/environmental policy work for CRI.
Kim was a downstate stringer for me when I was assistant city editor at TNJ. I had no idea she was a Republican, which of course won’t kill the myth that all reporters are liberals, but she was a good reporter and a nice person.
I have been back-and-forth with Dave Stevenson for years, and FWIW he is, or used to be, an old-school low-taxation Republican, not a Tea Party/MAGA type. Also, he wasn’t wrong about Bloom Energy.
I had no idea they were married.
Been quiet from BHL. No emails trying to raise money off ebola or cancer patients this week.
“Big” fundraiser with the union bosses and their weak puppets next week at the Christiana Hilton. I’d say they should be ashamed but I’m not sure if they’re capable of that intellectually or morally. Interesting thing with colin is that Valerie is pretty close with him. Wonder if she’s somehow behind this and shes screwing over BHL. That would be the least surprising thing in the entire world. All I know are the only people supporting/helping Omara are: Dennis Williams, Richard Korn, and maybe Val. I guess you can’t judge people by the company they keep but I am.
You aren’t the only one. When I hoped for a third candidate, Collin O’Mara isn’t what I had in mind.
Which Dennis Williams?
I see the repeated comment that Collin O’Mara’s “only support…is from Richard Korn and Dennis (E) Williams”. That is absurd. Both Korn and Williams are proven losers. The last time either were heard from was when Williams was the spoiler in the 2020 Auditor race-and Korn was his handler. O’Mara has long been known to be looking at running for Congress or Governor. That is why we still see him at events in Sussex-I think he has attended the Jamboree every year. I am told that he was approached about running for Governor after BHL’s finance issues came to light. Whether or not one agrees with his past government service, he is cautious and I doubt he would run for Governor only if he thought he now has a path.
As to Sussex politics, Kim Hoey Stevenson knows how to act and look in public She presents herself as a reasonable and moderate Republican. I doubt such people still exist. I know that she and her Caesar Rodney Institute husband have played right-wing politics for years. His latest thing is denying climate change and opposing wind turbines off the coast and arguing against the worth of electric vehicles. Kim’s announcement touts he opposition to “EV mandates”, a popular theme among Sussex Republicans, as they lie by telling people that they will not be able to purchase gasoline-run cars in the next decade, but will have to sell any internal combustion engine vehicle already owned. She voted for a large majority of developments when she was on Planning and Zoning, opposing only a few to appear “moderate”, like her mentor Ernie Lopez liked to claim he was.
I love our Sussex Spies!
In no particular order….
1) Trini Navarrao, who literally does nothing, deserves a competent primary challenger. Kayode can’t do it.
2) Man there are alot of retired NYPD cops in Delaware
3) Colin O’mara reeks of privelege. Oxford guy with wife who ran for governor of MD, so to improve the marriage he needs to run for Delaware governor. Maybe a child will keep it going and run for NJ governor. The connection? None will win
4) Val has ALOT of money in the bank. Not saying she can’t lose but 150k for an RD Race? wow
5) Stevenson is another “Leadership Delaware” cultist. Russ will have a race on his hands.
6) Anyone else get the Carney for Wilmington fundraising email? Imagine spending your whole life dependent on being an elected official for a paycheck? Dude go enjoy Florida or something. Life is to short.
Here’s the thing about Val’s $$’s. A lot of it is b/c she’s in leadership. Usually, she would parcel a lot of that money out to her caucus members. It’s expected of leaders who horde such money. Why? Because caucus members want to be able to count on that money.
She’s now gonna have to keep much of it for herself.
There’s a point where there’s nothing left to spend money on. Tony Deluca had a shitload of money when Bryan Townsend challenged him. Last week of the campaign, I think all D’s in the district got something like three mailers a day from Tiny Tony. Didn’t matter. TV ads aren’t feasible for a state rep campaign.
Kamela doesn’t need to come anywhere close to matching Val’s money. Just needs enough to run a credible campaign since she’s running a grassroots campaign. If she raises $50K, which I think she will, she’s totally fine.
Plus, as I’ve pointed out, all the money in the world can’t turn Longhurst into a decent human being. Believe me, the people in that district will know all about Val before this is over.
And Kamela is a wonderful human being, something the people in that district will know before this is over.
I was on the fence but omara’s new tv ad is pretty impressive. I think he has what it takes to lead us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvU3QQH2b2Y
Home Run! But BHL and Val need a version:)
It’s not a TV ad until it’s on TV.
More people will see it on social media than old-school TV. But don’t worry, it’s a pretty generic ad.
puckerup – I don’t know much about the governor’s race and nothing at all about you, but trashing O’Mara for going to Oxford seems weird. Sounds personal.
Agreed, much of the negativity towards O’Mara seems personal — or sour grapes from Meyer or BHL friends. Those camps know that Collin was recruited into the race because of the serious deficiencies of both the current candidates. And Sussex Worker is 100% correct: Collin would run for Governor only if he thinks he has a path.
He was recruited–IF he was recruited, b/c of the implosion of BHL’s campaign.
We’ll see just how deficient Meyer is against O’Mara, who is starting from scratch.
As Sussec Worker said above, O’Mara was not just recently recruited. He has been considering running for several YEARS. The BHL troubles simply changed the playing field in his favor and created more ripe opportunity.
He’s been considering running for years? So he was considering running for governor while his wife was running for governor in an entirely different state?
Have you guys thought this through? I know that there’s some grand strategy and “path” but I’m sensing some holes in the Korn/Williams approach here.
Btw the google maps of O’Maras house is from October and shows them apparently moving in. So I’d check on that street view.
This page has been around for a long time.
I’ll have to visit more often.