The Delaware House [2012]

And now onto the House. Since the last time we did this in March, some new candidates have filed. But before we go on, I should note something. In the chart below, I list every incumbent unless they have announced that they are not running for reelection. In a lot of cases, some incumbents have not yet filed, but they have some more time to do so, since the deadline is not until July 10. All 41 Representatives are up for election. So let's see what has developed in the House races since the last time we reviewed the playing field.

The Delaware Senate [2012]

It has been a couple of months since we have done this, so let's check in on the playing field of our General Assembly races this fall. First up is the Senate. The Senate has 21 members, 14 of them are Democrats and 7 are Republicans. The GOP would need to pickup 4 seats to gain of majority of 11. The big news since we last did this is that Liane Sorenson, the moderate Republican Senator who was redistricted into a very competitive race with Democratic Senator Dave Sokola in a new merged 8th Senate District in the Newark area, decided to retire rather than face Sokola. I must say, I found that surprising. I had listed that race as a toss up of course, but if I had to bet the race, I would have said that Sorenson had the edge. But maybe the demographics of the new 8th SD were too daunting.

Thursday Open Thread [5.24.12]

Here are some oldie but goodie negative cartoons about JFK. I love this kind of historical stuff, because it serves to remind us that, despite the popular notion that in the good old days Democrats and Republicans got along and did not hate each other, politics has always been nasty. In the election of 1884, charges of illegitimate children and affairs dogged Grover Cleveland. "Ma Ma Where's my Pa? Gone to the White House Ha Ha Ha."

Quote of the Day

"There was a woman in Iowa who shared her story of financial struggles, and [Romney] gave her an answer right out of an economic textbook. He said, "Our productivity equals our income." And the notion was that somehow the reason people can’t pay their bills is because they’re not working hard enough. If they got more productive, suddenly their incomes would go up. Well, those of us who’ve spent time in the real world -- (laughter) -- know that the problem isn’t that the American people aren’t productive enough -- you’ve been working harder than ever. The challenge we face right now, and the challenge we’ve faced for over a decade, is that harder work has not led to higher incomes, and bigger profits at the top haven’t led to better jobs."

I just got polled in the NCCo. Executive Race.

For real this time. And by that I mean, it was a real poll, not a push poll from a union on behalf of Tom Gordon. The pollster asked my opinion on a host of issues facing New Castle County, and also asked me what I thought was the most important issue facing the county. I answered "development." I was asked my opinion of Tom Gordon. I answered unfavorable because I consider him a criminal. Then I was asked my opinion of Paul Clark, and I said I wanted to answer undecided, but was told my only two options now were favorable or unfavorable. So I said unfavorable due to my concerns over his ethics. I was then asked if the election were held today, who would be getting my vote, and the choices were Clark, Gordon, Shahan or undecided. I answered Shahan.