BREAKING: We Have Our Coons Alternative!
We can only send one Chris to the United States Senate. Why not send a true Democrat? Here is the official campaign release:
Chris Beardsley Announces Candidacy for U.S. Senate to Champion Healthcare and Housing as Human Rights for Delawareans
WILMINGTON, Del. – Chris Beardsley, community advocate and dedicated public servant, today announced his candidacy for the United States Senate to represent the people of Delaware.
Beardsley is launching a people-first platform, grounded in the belief that healthcare and housing are fundamental rights for Americans, and that the burgeoning affordability crisis can no longer be ignored. “I am running for Senate because I believe Delaware deserves a leader who feels accountable for the consequences of their decisions,” said Beardsley. “The consequences of political inaction are particularly visible in Delaware, where the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased by 16% since 2024. Half of all renters in Delaware are cost burdened. But this need not be our reality. Housing is a human right, and all policies related to a person’s well-being should be rooted in Housing First principles. That is why I am running on behalf of the dignity of all Delawareans.”
A Democratic candidate, Beardsley offers Delaware a bold and fresh perspective to policy and politics, putting people first and turning the page on partisan politics. He argues that neither party has passed meaningful legislation to address the economic needs of Americans, such as the passage of a comprehensive healthcare plan and stabilizing the cost of rent.
Chris Beardsley’s core priorities for the U.S. Senate include:
Medicare for All: Each year, roughly 68,000 Americans die as a consequence of lacking health coverage. Dozens of studies – done by entities as varied as Harvard to right-wing think tanks such as the Koch-owned Mercatus Center – have proven that Medicare for All is a cost-effective policy which would save trillions of dollars each decade.
Housing for All: Passing meaningful legislation to substantially lower the cost of rent, holding landlords accountable for living conditions, and eliminating burdensome processes for housing voucher utilization.
Economic dignity: Fighting for a living wage, implementing Medicare for All, and ensuring economic opportunity for all Delaware residents, given that 9.6% live below the poverty line.
Accountable governance: Advocating for climate action rooted in climate justice and ending U.S. complicity in global conflicts by supporting the Block the Bombs Act (H.R. 3565).
facebook: beardsleyfordelawareinstagram: beardsleyfordelawaretwitter: CBforDE
Delaware native Christopher Beardsley has announced a Democratic primary run for the United States Senate seat currently held by Chris Coons.
Beardsley, who was born in Delaware in 1993, said he has served in AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, was a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa, and worked in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Stack the US Supreme Court? Where does he stand on that?
There is quite a bit on his website which covers biographical information and credentials. It can be found here: https://www.beardsleyfordelaware.com/
And if anyone wants to up his odds of winning, today is Giving Tuesday! https://secure.actblue.com/donate/chrisbeardsley
Chris Coons is out of touch with people’s needs and votes like a Republican on damn near everything. Beardsley would literally need to throw an elderly woman in front of a bus for me to consider voting for Coons. And even then I’d probably opt to simply leave the line blank.
That, right there, is MY kind of candidate!
Depends on the elderly woman.
Why am I thinking of my mother-in-law?
I am happy to consider a reasonable and qualified alternative to Chris Coons, who is not the progressive he once fooled many into believing he was. However, in order to be that alternative, a Primary opponent must show qualifications and a record of accomplishment.
Mr. Beardsley states he has experience as a Peace Corp volunteer and claims service in Africa, I need to know what, if anything he has done domestically to demonstrate a commitment to progressive principles. His personal Facebook page contains nothing to demonstrate his beliefs or accomplishments. What is his current occupation?
He has been registered to vote since 2012, but his first vote was in the 2012 REPUBLICAN presidential primary. While he became a Democrat by the 2014 election, I am concerned that he has never voted in a school board election or referendum. I would like an explanation as I believe one can not demonstrate “caring” for the state of our country and propose improvements for our future, and not vote in school board elections or in referenda.
I am interested in hearing from people who know Beardsley and can attest to his qualifications, commitments to progressive principles and to his accomplishments.
I have no intention of voting for a candidate, let alone contributing money, unless I am convinced there is a plan to win and something in the candidate’s history that convinces me this is a good alternative to the incumbent.
Have to say I mostly agree. He seems like a swell guy; his buzz words align with my mine. But what has he done? What are his accomplishments? This is the fucking US Senate we are talking about. And Coonsie ain’t gonna be easy pickin’s.
I’m open minded but currently unimpressed.
Fair point. The US Senate is no joke. However, I would posit that Democrats who vote like Republicans are.
In all fairness, he has done a lot for a person his age. He has dual Masters in the two most relevant fields for such an office, and they happen to be from the best program in the country for such study. He went to Africa as a volunteer three times and then worked for HUD, which makes sense for someone who sees housing and healthcare as human rights. Got sick of how Coons was voting and then decided to give voters a better option.
There aren’t a lot of people who would step away from a well-paying federal job with great benefits in order to run against someone with as much of a war chest as Chris Coons. We need that kind of courage representing us in DC. Without it nothing will change.
Who cares if a teenager raised in a conservative household cast their first vote as a Republican? By the next race he was already voting for and donating to progressive Democrats.
When Chris Coons was a teenager he was working for Ronald Reagan, and then he went on to work for Bill Roth (another Republican) in 1982.
Chris Coons didn’t become a Democrat until 1988. He didn’t “see the light” until he was 25, so why would you hold Beardsley to a standard you don’t hold Coons to?
And as far as school elections and referenda go, that’s not a realistic expectation of someone who is in college out of state. How many college kids have the time or money to travel several hours and vote in those elections?
He voted in primary and general elections but no school elections. I would hope his two masters’ degrees and well paid federal job ( what is that job?) hopefully gave him the education and ability needed to figure out one can vote absentee for school elections. Fair enough that he may not have been aware of school elections while in Africa, but what is the excuse since he returned?
I am not against this guy and I will not vote for Coons, but I need to know more and to be convinced his credentials are real and he is the real deal- Coons fooled me once- in 2010 and 2014- I don’t want to be fooled again.
As long as one keeps an open mind and is willing to listen, that’s enough.
Keep in mind, though–Coons has been an impediment to progressivism in the Senate, an opponent, really. A Third Way centrist.
To me, the question is, will this Chris be better? My initial impression? Definitely. In fact, his statement of purpose suggests to me that that’s why he’s running in the first place.
I can tell you that in those programs at UD they do not teach students about the kinds of races you mentioned, nor do they at the graduate level at Johns Hopkins. Perhaps that has changed in the last 10 years, but not a single thing was mentioned about them when I was a student.
And much like him, I had those majors because I was interested in helping other people to the best of my ability. I am ashamed to admit I didn’t vote in a school board election until I was 30 because they simply weren’t on my radar. An awful lot of young folks assume school boards are comprised of adults who govern rationally. It often takes a headline-earning story to learn otherwise.
Respectfully, who gives a FUCK if he voted in school board elections?
Did Chris Coons vote in school board elections? I wouldn’t care if he didn’t.
Depending on the particular district, there might not even have been a contested election where he lived.
The question for me is this: Will Chris Beardsley fight for what should be the principles of the Democratic Party? Chris Coons doesn’t, and never has.
I mean, JEE-zus, we don’t really need Worry Trolls concerned about whether he voted in school board elections. If that’s a deal-breaker for somebody, they were never gonna stray from the comfort of Coons’ ineffectuality in the first place.
You took the words right out of my mouth, El Somm. Voting in a school board election… Who cares? Irrelevant.
He’s not going to win. Voting for Beardsley is a protest vote against Coons.
That is a point I was making in my previous post. A protest vote against Coons is important in its own way. But if progressives really want to unseat Coons and send a real and reliable democratic vote to D.C., we need a candidate with a real track record, with a roster of donors, etc. Someone, just to throw one name out, like Medinah Wilson-Anton.
What is Madinah’s track record of success?
Well since you asked , Madinah introduced several bills during the august session and when she was blocked she got them substantially adopted by redrafting them as amendments. Not to shabby!
Rep. Wilson-Anton is a great legislator, you’re definitely right about that. But she’s not running in this race. TBH I’d be afraid for her safety if she ran while Trump is in office.
Be that as it may, I’m glad she’ll keep doing great things in the Delaware legislature and that we still have an anti-genocide candidate for US Senate.
Thanks, Emma. We need your cogent analysis on DL more.
Not.
Mamdani isn’t gonna win either. Oops.
Progressives will never win in Seattle and Jersey City. Oops.
Feel free to be dismissive. At some point, we’ll feel free to dismiss you.
I was wondering when the first ‘horse race’ posts would pop up. Didn’t take long.
You know what Beardsley has? A winning message. Whether he can turn that into an effective campaign remains to be seen, but I’m hopeful.
I am just saying that we don’t need to do a deep dive into his “qualifications.” He has my vote.
And I’m just saying that asserting that he won’t win when we’ve been seeing seismic shifts in the electorate is an assertion not worth making.
OK. You could be right. That would be tremendous.
Ever see “The Candidate”? Peter Boyle is trying to convince Robert Redford, playing idealistic young lawyer Bill McKay, to run for Senate against an incumbent conservative Republican. He writes his closing pitch inside a matchbook: “You lose.”
Knowing he can’t win, McKay can say whatever he likes to get his progressive (at first) message out. There’s a certain freedom in facing long odds. I’ll wait to see what Beardsley does with his before forming any opinions.
I admit to starting out with some hesitation about greenhorns given Fetterman’s right turn and the faux-working man Platner in Maine (not to mention the numerous local examples of people who start out progressive and drift steadily to the right).
I’m not saying Beardsley is either of them, but I don’t think most people realize what it’s like going from the bleachers to the deep end of the pool – how much time you spend looking for money and how the people who give it to you pitch you on AI or crypto or whatever makes giving you money worth it. And if you don’t take it, they’ll find someone who will and work like hell against you.
Unless he’s a Platner, or a better/more experienced candidate runs, I’ll probably vote for Beardsley, even if it’s just to protest Coons’ weak-tea centrism and unshakeable support of Israel.
Great movie. Redford played ‘Bob Forehead’ before there WAS a Bob Forehead.
The lollipop-smashing media man was patterned on a young Roger Ailes.
There are two reasons why a Delaware politician does not identify the high school from which they graduated. Which one applies here?
What’s the second one?
The second reason is that it’s not enough of the first reason.
I went to school with him. I’m guessing he’s in the same boat as me in wanting to forget that place. I will be voting for him anyway.
That’s fine. Nobody picks their high school, or at least has the final say anyway. There’s “wanting to forget” and then there are things like “Red Lion Christian Academy wanting to forget”. Now I’m intrigued.
For some reason, ‘Salesianum’ lodged itself in my brain.
It actually was Red Lion Christian Academy, then Messiah U. Now the guy is following the Zohran playbook and claims he’s Muslim.
Something seems off. Hoping a third candidate emerges.
Same here.
Have heard some pretty negative things about what passes for his campaign.
He doesn’t include his undergraduate information either. He went to U of Delaware for a year and then transferred to Messiah University for his Bachelors. Why hide that? Too Evangelical? Where did he go to high school?
Messiah’s not bad, as far as those sorts of schools go. I’ve known two graduates from there, and they were both decent people. It’s no Bob Jones or Liberty University.
From what I have read Messiah seems like a decent school. Defiantly better the Bob Jones. I was just saying it is a leapt to go from conservative right leaning education to progressive candidate. I guess based on his time in Africa he has evolved. Or is he reading the tea leaves and adapting his platform?
…by way of a highly regarded graduate program at Syracuse. Some folks do eventually understand that the hymn is not “they’ll know we are Christians by whom we dislike.”
This thread is filled with annoying people. If this is one of his many (?) supporters and not just him or his family, I’d ask you to please stop because you’re going to make me vote for Coons.
If he is opposed to genocide he is already running ahead of Coons in my mind.
That appears to be correct, and puts him well ahead of Coons.
I’d vote for a soggy cardboard replica of Vivian Houghton if it was on the ballot against Coons.
These responses on this are eyeopening. Kudos for someone for believing enough in humanity to have the courage to run & call out Coon’s complacency/lack of service on behalf of working class families. I don’t have any personal issue with Coons – but we are worried about Chris B’s progressive bonafides as Coons grew up with the Delaware Corporate Silver Spoon in his mouth? (And his legislative votes/creation prove this!)
Not saying that CC isn’t a Democrat, and in a certain era wasn’t a perfectly serviceable Senator. But, has anyone noticed the war Republicans are waging on Blue States & the middle class?
I actually knew Chris B, when he was young, and not surprised in slightest that his compassion to actually discuss people-first politics over political donor happiness is legit. His family certainly has been incredibly kind, generous, and dedicated to their community – even if there are ideological differences.
You know this thread taught me? The biggest qualification to run is simply the guts. These comments feel just as cultist as Trump supporter weaseling themselves into contrived logic to fight the obvious flaws of their candidate.
I hope this is the start of a very impactful public service era for Chris. Working class families, in the face of AI, need legislation to protect our lives. Can’t imagine Coons fighting against corporate board rooms to keep life affordable.
At the very least, Chris B. could be a wake up call to CC that Delawareans are hurting – and scared. And, staying our Senator is not a guarantee.
That’s a great post! There were prospective candidates who chose not to run. Chris had and has the guts to run.
I also admit frustration with the ‘Kremlinology’, those seeing some sinister motivations behind his candidacy.
He had the guts to run against Chris Coons because his values and, yes, empathy, are profoundly different than the Senator From Gore-Tex.
Yes, I worry about anyone’s bona fides. As I stated, I’ll vote for him as a protest against Coons, but progressive is as progressive does, as Sarah McBride illustrates. Being liberal on social issues isn’t hard. Being liberal on economic issues is.
But if you think some noob is going to Washington and is going to clean the place up you’ve been watching too many Capra movies. And if you think no progressive candidate can become a centrist officeholder, you haven’t been paying attention.
As for courage, I call bullshit. It takes time and money; I don’t see where it takes any courage, unless you’re going to credit all those perpetual candidates with a surfeit of courage.
“Definitely better than Bob Jones” is not much of a school recommendation. But I’d guess his school at that point doesn’t much matter.
Speaking of schools, I don’t understand the “what high school did you go to” references, but I’ve probably missed something in the thread. Not having gone to any of them, I don’t have a clue. But we’re talking about high schools?!
In Delaware, you don’t ask where someone came from. You ask where they went to high school, sort of the way when someone says they’re from New Jersey you ask, “What exit?”
Exactly. Nobody gets upset that El Somnambulo graduated from Ferris.
…But it was with HONORS!
I put the ‘juvenile’ in ‘juvenile detention’.
“But we’re talking about high schools?”
Just curious. Being a Delaware native, it’s not an unusual question when meeting another Delaware native. Like any other small talk, it is a way of finding mutual connections, shared experiences, etc.. It’s bizarre the question gets anyone’s back hair to stand up. Was he home schooled or something?
Dickinson here, btw.
Thinking its a sanford/friends/tower hill/tatnall/St. Andrews case. That kind of background screams privilege. Not that a sallies/st marks/caravel doesn’t, but those preceding schools are on a whole different level.
@el som – Sallies grads are like penn state alums, they will remind you a million times where they went.
You got a point there.
It’s just that Sallies would have been MY nightmare school.
But I’m speaking as a Jew, so there’s that…
Went to Sallies, went to Brandywine , no nightmares just too many old classmates that I can’t remember, though it has thinned out lately.
I understand asking about high school as small talk etc. I guess I was wondering what being from a certain high school might tell you about a person’s political qualifications — maybe it’s just a problem some progressives might have with a private school guy.
Actually I’ve been around here a long time and have a pretty good idea what the other schools might symbolize. (As for me, I went to a Catholic all-boys school somewhere else that taught me some good things and some things I’ve been trying to forget ever since. It did not prepare me for a political career, thank goodness.)
Did this guy just not list his high school? Would a candidate normally do that? Not sure how the subject came up to begin with. But that doesn’t mean I won’t spend too much time on it.
“Would a candidate normally do that?”
Yes.
https://governor.delaware.gov/governor-bio/
“Growing up in Delaware, Matt attended schools in the Brandywine School District, followed by Wilmington Friends School, and then studied Computer Science & Political Science at Brown University.”
https://mcbride.house.gov/about
“She is a graduate of Cab Calloway School of the Arts and American University.”
Not apparently listed in their main bio:
https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/B001303
“BLUNT ROCHESTER, Lisa, a Representative and a Senator from Delaware; born in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pa., February 10, 1962; graduated from Padua Academy, Wilmington, Del., 1980;”
Chris Coons is a little harder to dig out, but this is kind of funny…
https://www.chriscoons.com/meet-chris/
“Chris grew up in the Pike Creek and Hockessin areas…”
Usually, if you are in Pike Creek and you want to overprice your property, you’ll try to get some Hockessin shine, depending on how far up route 7 you might be. Did they move around? Was he from Hockessin but wants to be more a “man of the people” from Pike Creek? Who knows.
But, as I mentioned above, IMHO there are two reasons a Delaware politician doesn’t say. The first is noted above… “sanford/friends/tower hill/tatnall/St. Andrews” which nails Coons (Tower Hill).
There are plenty of solid middle tier private schools, also noted above… “sallies/st marks/caravel” into which you might throw Padua, and I don’t know if I would include any school proudly “founded in 1979” (which for the uninitiated coincidentally was the year when New Castle County had to integrate the ‘neighborhood schools’ which were themselves a consequence of housing discrimination). On the other hand, there was f—all for schools down where People’s was building those developments for folks who weren’t sending THEIR kids to wherever else one goes along the route 40 corridor (other than, I guess, Glasgow… do we have any schools south of route 40, or is it like Lancaster County and the kids are free after eighth grade?)… so maybe Caravel has risen above the motivations for its establishment.
It’s more like asking what someone’s zodiac sign is, than a question of “political qualifications”, though.
And, as far as relative class distinctions go, this is Delaware, we happily elected Pierre Samuel du Pont IV to anything you can be elected to be, even if we had to remember “Oh, that’s ‘Pete'”.
“Would a candidate normally do that?”
I think my previous answers are being eaten by an antispam measure, for having included links to various Delaware candidate bios.
In short, yes. Just off the top of my head, I know that Meyer went to Friends, McBride went to Cab Calloway, and LBR went to Padua. You have to dig to find out that Coons went to Tower Hill, and that’s reason #1 in action.
To me, it doesn’t make sense to infer anything from what type of school a child went to. His/her parents determine that. And people evolve as they age.
Most people don’t list their high schools on their resumes. I get that people from DE want to know where someone went to HS, just as people from MD or anywhere else do. But I don’t see the political or professional relevance.
It comes up when you knock on doors all the time.
And obviously, it’s not making or breaking a campaign. But in a small state, I think it’s something that helps people feel like they know you a bit better. The high school I attended certainly says a lot more about my parents than it does me, but there’s no denying it was an influence.
Al Catraz – Thanks for the info/observations. Nick too.