Could a low turnout primary shock Schwartzkopf ?
I rather doubt Schwartzkopf will be caught with his pants down. But primaries are tricky, (just ask Mike Castle). Sure he won his last elections with 89.9% of the vote, but who has he faced? The GOP doesn’t even both to run against him, so the 89% was against a fringe party. Have the gaudy vote totals made him soft? I know Mitch Crane talks up Pete as a solid door knocker, but that door knocking seems to have been on behalf of other candidates. Has he lost touch with the district? That he is facing a primary opponent suggest he may have.
Rehoboth Beach — For the first time in Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf’s political career, he will have to face off against an opponent in a Democratic primary for the District 14 Representative seat.
Rehoboth Beach resident Nelson Warren filed his nomination paperwork with the Sussex County Department of Elections in Georgetown July 8, the day of the filing deadline.
“I was waiting to see if anyone else was going to put their hat in the ring, and no one did,” said Warren, a member of the Warren family that operates Rustic Acres farm off Holland Glade Road, on why he waited until the last possible day to file. “I’m a nice guy. I’m not wealthy. I’m about as average as they come. I’m just a hardworking guy who thinks a lot of things need to be changed.”
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If he wants any chance of winning Mr. Warren better get it together. He has a Facebook page that only he (from his personal account) has liked. I wasn’t able to find anything else. Anyone know anything about him?
I spoke with Mr. Warren this afternoon. He has issues of concern to him and it is his right to raise them in a campaign. He works his family farm and was a registered Republican until earler this year. He has more than one FB friend and people should read his page to get a sense of what he believes.
As to Pete Schwartzkopf, he is constantly meeting with civic groups in the district. He has also attended coffees so that constituents can discuss their concerns with him. I co-hosted one in my community. So, unlike other incumbents not used to a challenger, Pete has kept up his regular interaction with the people who live here. He has not been afraid to take positions constituents have disagreed with. He is respected for that. He appears on local talk radio frequently and has no trouble articulating his positions in the face of some of the more interesting callers on those shows.
While he did not have a Republican opponent in 2012, he did in 2010. In the “year of Christine O’Donnell’, he had a scare and learned from that. I know he takes this race seriously and will be out there working the likely primary voters.
The thing I would add about Schwartzkopf is that he’s one of the most accessible legislators you’ll find. He has breakfast in Dewey with friends and interacts with constituents almost every morning. He might be speaker, but he’s out in his community all the time. He will sit down for hours and personally answer emails from constituents. If Warren tries to run on the idea that Pete is out of touch with his district, he’s going to be very surprised.
No.
Warren withdrew his candidacy yesterday.