My Random Thoughts On Delaware’s Primaries
Subject to change from the moment I hit ‘Publish’.
1. The race between Marcus Henry and Karen Hartley-Nagle is, in my opinion, over. Marcus has been everywhere, Karen is barely running a campaign. In addition, KHN has reportedly split–or been split from–her political consigliere without whom she has no idea as to how to run a campaign. As if to illustrate that point, our 7th RD Committee held a Meet The Primary Candidates Virtual Town Hall, and invited the 6th and 10th RD’s (the other Brandywine 100 Democratic RD’s) to attend. The goal of the meeting was to hear from the statewide, countywide and local candidates we had not previously heard from so that we could make any potential recommendations for endorsement to the State and county D parties. Bethany Hall Long and Marcus had previously addressed the committee, so they weren’t part of the event. Every other invited candidate managed to attend and to make a presentation–with the exception of KHN. I spoke to her on the phone and invited her personally. She said that she was busy ‘working 80 hours a week’ for the County and couldn’t commit. Nor did she subsequently.
2. Remember the name Branden Fletcher Dominguez. He’ll probably hate what I have to say, but I think this primary for the 3rd RD seat is over. Use whatever term you wish–dynamo, juggernaut, whirling dervish (well, you probably won’t use that one), he’s a dream candidate and I think will be a dream representative. From that point forward, who knows? He’s only 24, he is especially passionate about affordable housing and serving the housing-vulnerable. I knocked doors twice in his district, the last evening with Branden. I cannot overstate how much potential he has. While Sherry Dorsey Walker didn’t suck, Branden has leadership written all over him.
3. I’ve knocked a few days now down in the 15th RD, where Kam Smith is challenging Our PAL Val Longhurst. At this point in the campaign, the 15th RD is more hospitable to Kam than the 13th RD was to Marie Pinkney when she challenged Dave McBride back in 2020, and we all know how that one turned out. No, I don’t know how Val’s war chest will impact that campaign, but the one way to make sure that Val isn’t Speaker in January is to defeat her in this primary. Kam has more than a puncher’s chance. Even more if, you know, you donate right here.
4. I’m fascinated by the Democratic primary for Governor. No, it’s not O’Mara’s race to lose, but I think it’s his race to win. Here’s why: I think that both BHL and Matt are close to their ceiling when it comes to support. Yet neither apparently is close to even a plurality in the campaign. Collin is at his floor. He is the only one of the three who can pick off both Bethany supporters and Matt supporters. I don’t see Bethany or Matt taking supporters away from Collin. The big question is whether Collin can get his campaign rocking to the point where his name recognition takes a big leap. I don’t know. But the reason I’m fascinated with this race is because he is the only candidate offering a way out of the business-as-usual Delaware Wayism that has stifled innovation since at least the 1960’s. Yes, I’m supporting him. God, I hope he doesn’t end up like Markell 2.0.
5. Get to know Val Gould and Jason Hoover. Both are running for NCC Council President. Both really impressed our committee at our Meet The Candidates Forum. While we as a committee were split between the two candidates (out of five who are running), we really liked them both. I loved Val’s humanity, and that’s the candidate I will support. But Jason Hoover perhaps made the most organized presentation of the night. Both Val and Jason have pledged not to take campaign $$’s from developers. I hope that both have bright political futures.
Hey, just figured we needed some political fodder while waiting for the Trump jury to reach its verdict.
But, but… they say all press is good press, and even all that bad press gave KHN name recognition that Marcus doesn’t have. And she is female which gives her a boost to undecided voters. I am not convinced “Marcus has been everywhere,” but I hope you are right about the outcome. KHN is clueless and it would be the epitome of the Peter Principle if she gets promoted to run a $330m+ budget and 2,000+ employees.
You’re telling me Marcus Henry, son of legendary state senator and community leader Margaret Rose Henry doesn’t have name recognition?
In the city he does. It’s a big county.
How many average, uninvolved primary voters a) know Sen. Henry, and b) know that Marcus is her son?
How many voters do you think are just casual primary voters? If you’re voting in a primary, you’re pretty involved already.
Nonsense. About 120,000 people will vote in the primaries, which is 10 times the weekday circulation of the News Journal. Add in other news sources and you get maybe another 10,000. How engaged are the other 100,000? Where are they getting their news about the candidates?
Lots of primary voters, particularly in the city where it’s more important than the general election, are there to vote for one particular candidate. The same is true in competitive rep and senate districts.
As for how “involved” primary voters are, I know politically active Democrats who knew nothing about BHL’s controversies until I told them. There is basically no coverage of the General Assembly, so even if they’re engaged, they aren’t getting much information.
It’s been awhile since KHN was even in the news. I forget how much of the County’s money had to be paid out for her mistreatment of employees.
BLH’s campaign seems to consist of ribbon cuttings and horning in on LBR public appearances. I second your opinion regarding O’Mara not becoming Markell 2.0 but he talks a good game.
Re the D gov race: Your point that Matt and BHL can’t pick off Collin supporters has little meaning as Collin has yet to assemble anything close to a broad base of support.
More on point: your concern that he doesn’t turn into Markell 2.0 is quite valid. In 2008, Markell was the ideas candidate and Carney was same old, same old. By the time he left office, Markell looked pretty much like any other Corporate Dem. O’Mara’s ties to Markell make me worry that he’s capable of talking a good game to get elected and even more capable of falling under the thrall of the State Chamber of Commerce.
I didn’t make my point clearly enough.
What I MEANT to say is that I think lots of BHL supporters are backing her b/c she’s not Matt, and lots of Matt supporters are backing him b/c he’s not BHL.
Meaning, if O’Mara can get his campaign rolling, there are a lot of prospective primary voters he can pick off from both BHL and Matt.
All true, but now try to imagine what Carney would have done in the wake of the Great Recession.
Probably would have gotten budget smoothing enacted into law…
Markell gave us Civil Unions, Marriage Equality and cleaner air (he cleaned up Delaware’s coal burning plants). Bloom and Fisker were trainwrecks, but we’d be looking pretty good right now if Fisker worked. At least Markell tried something.
All we got from this current blockhead is budget smoothing and tree planting that didn’t even come close to keeping pace with the state’s deforestation due to development. He’ll go to easier government pastures in Wilmington as Mayor, where he can throw the football back and forth all day with the current Mayor of Wilmington until it’s time to collect his 100 government pensions.
You’re right that we tend to overlook Markell’s accomplishments due to his fiscal conservatism and his zeal for charter schools.
I highly doubt that, had Carney been elected, he would have embraced marriage equality the way that Jack did.
I’m paraphrasing, but I remember Markell saying that his kids’ reaction to the controversy over it was ‘What’s the big deal?’
They, and he, were right.
My big question is, where does the blockhead go for another government pension after being Mayor of Wilmington? County Council? Clerk of the Peace? Flagger on I-95? The options are endless when you have no shame about sucking off the government teat.
I’ve got it! Delaware River & Bay.
Junket City, Baby!
https://www.drba.net/commissioners
Yes, that’s Tommy Cook and Vince Meconi you see in that Management Team photo.
OMG delete that post before there’s any chance he can see it!
Not so fast. DRBA is one place that could benefit from budget smoothing.
I take comfort in the fact that Carney is not hsving fun campaigning. He was challenged regarding the sorry state of the arts downtown with the closing of DCAD and the forced move of the Creative Visions Factory at the Highlands Civic Association meeting. He went back on stage. Clearly angry and said no governor put more money in the arts than him ( true?) He did not address DCAD or CVF.
He has never had to campaign on his ideas. Never.
He probably thought that he could coast into office, just like he did with his second try for Governor.
‘I just want a job’ will get him into more situations like the one you mentioned. He’s also pretty damned thin-skinned for someone who has never had any vision for governing.
I will second the thin-skinned part. He’s really not cut out for retail politics. If the state still had a functioning GOP his career would have been much shorter.
Carney has already created one of his push pieces. He will claim he’s bringing 300 Incyte jobs to Wilmington when the reality is that those jobs were coming to Delaware anyway. Incyte had no more room to expand in Pennsylvania and we’re headed here where they already have a significant presence. This maneuver by Carney and claim of reinvigorating Wilmington will conveniently ignore the fact that he, at the behest of the Chamber, is gifting $15 million in taxpayer money to Incyte. You don’t need a superpac when you have Delaware taxpayers money to create your image. Vote Velda Rep. John Kowalko
Don’t you love races where no matter which way you vote you have to hold your nose?
John,
No thank you. You and the Potters can retire together happily.
KHN seems to have a habit of avoiding the RD-level discussions, at least with yours she didn’t levy an additional attack. Down in MOT when she decided she was unavailable she then accused the committees of setting up the event to solely benefit Marcus and from what I heard, had some choice words about as much.
Regarding RD 3, do you mean Branden over Josue? SDW can’t run in the primary since she’s running for LG.
Yes. Nothing against Ortega, but, when it comes to this race, the ship has sailed.
I also believe that, were Dorsey Walker to withdraw from the LG race, she’d lose to Branden as well.
The irony with KHN is, that in our case, she would have had a free chance b/c Marcus had already addressed our committee and wasn’t invited to take part. She chose to blow us off.
Stop it. No way Branden would bet SDW in 2024. Having said that, he has a few signs around the district (and outside the district too) but we know what signs don’t do.
Josue has a lot of support with plenty of time before the primary. The race is wide open.
Uh, whatever. Thankfully we don’t have to clip this for future use.
But you’re wrongwrongwrong on the 3rd RD race.
KHN may be split or whatever from her whatever he was, Svengali maybe, but his stench is all over her endorsements and social media pages.
That’s not his stench.
That’s James Maravelias’ stench.
KHN seems to like to piss off the RD committees. Saw an email where she attacked the 8th and 9th RD because they wouldn’t move their forum around HER schedule. There is something very off with that woman, not sure if she’s heavily medicated or something but it’s a course of unstable conduct with her dating back to her harassment suits with the county.
Oh, it dates back much further than that. A brainless nonentity who shows that the problem with democracy is we don’t have enough qualified people running for the offices they seek and hold. She’s not qualified to run a bodega let alone the county.