I am El Somnambulo, and I am a political junkie. This is my kind of week.
1. State Rep. Rae Moore Draws Primary Challenger. Well, it’s a candidate from the past. One Matthew Powell. He ran in a three-way primary to succeed DINO Quin Johnson in 2020. Despite having Johnson’s endorsement, Powell finished behind both Moore and Yvette Santiago, garnering about 27% of the vote. I think Moore has solidified her support, and it looks like it’s gonna be a two-way primary. Doesn’t sound like a winning formula to me. RD 8, which is in the Middletown area, has a solid D edge–9925 D; 4735 R; 5891 I.
2. Three-Way Cluster-Bleep In RD 10. I don’t envy the voters in this Brandywine Hundred district. Believe it or not, the committee has reportedly overwhelmingly endorsed Dennis Williams after he pledged not to support Val Longhurst for Speaker. Dennis Williams was responsible for inflicting the Schwartzkopf/Longhurst team on us in the first place, and went back on his word to do it. That alone should be a disqualifying offense. He is also unfit for public service. I don’t care if his opponent is Val’s long-lost sister. His never-ending pursuit of public office verges on the pathological. Having said that, the word is that Val’s Chosen One has made a singularly unfavorable impression. Or so I’ve heard from people involved with the 10th RD committee. Her name is Melanie Ross Levin. You (meaning I) would think that her background would make her the strong favorite. I honestly don’t know why she has met with such disfavor. Enter Stephen Jankovic. A chiropractor whose practice is in the 10th RD. Don’t know if I can recall a chiropractor running for office, as the profession’s interest largely began and ended with the Title 24 licensing requirements. I have some spies in that district w/o a dog in the hunt. Guess I’ll give ’em a call. Whoever survives the primary will face R Brent Burdge, an anti-abortion candidate who ran against Sean Matthews in 2022 and got less than 35% of the vote.
3. A Couple Of Interesting Wilmington City Council Primaries. Featuring one of my favorite prospective candidates, Christian Willauer. Here is her profile from the Delaware Community Foundation:
Christian Willauer is a coordinator for Wilmington Neighborhoods Coalition (WNC). Prior to founding the WNC, Willauer launched the Wilmington Land Bank, a nonprofit managing vacant real property. From 2009 to 2017, she worked at Cornerstone West CDC, where she established West Side Grows Together and coordinated a comprehensive community development initiative that leveraged more than $75 million in neighborhood improvements, including affordable housing, parks, streetscapes and youth programming.
Willauer lost to Bregatta Fields in City Council District 5 by the narrowest of margins in 2020 (OK, virtually the narrowest of margins): 617-594. Willauer is the kind of person who could make City Council more functional and responsive were she to win.
Incumbent Chris Johnson has filed for reelection in District 7, and will face Peggy Brooks in a primary. I like Chris, and supported him in his run for AG back in 2018. He has been a little all over the place on Council, so we shall see whether this is a serious challenge. There are people who read this who know much more about city politics than I do, so what do you think about these races?
4. Carney Could Well Lose This Mayoral Race. Just take a look at the 2020 primary, and you can easily see why. Purzycki only won reelection in 2020 because, stop me if you’ve heard this before, two Black candidates split the vote. Final primary results? Purzycki: 43%; Jones-Potter: 36%; Justen Wright: 21%. Two questions: Tell me how Carney wins in a two-person race. And/or who will the Black spoiler be? Especially since whatever Potter stench has existed has likely begun to dissipate. I think people who view this as a coronation are all wrong.
5. Old Candidate. New District. Not ‘old’ old. R Alex Homich, who was demolished by Kendra Johnson in RD 5 in 2022 (19% of the vote??) is now prepping to be demolished by Kim Williams in RD 19. Oh, he was also demolished by Marie Pinkney in 2020 for the SD 13 seat. Got 24% in that one. Could we have an embryonic Dennis E. Williams on our hands?
6. Filings. D State Senator Trey Paradee (SD 17); D State Rep. Eric Morrison (RD 27); D State Rep. Kendra Johnson (RD 5).
What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?