Kudos to the Delaware GOP
I knock the Delaware GOP. A lot. I often feel like they are too obsessed with national politics and money, and not with turning the tide in Delaware. They got skewered by Celia Cohen a week ago, and their tactics are often bitterly partisan and negative. They came down to Sussex very late in the 2004 campaign and had a big fundraiser, taking a big chunk of change out of the county that the Sussex GOP and the local candidates could have used.
But when they do well, integrity demands that I recognize it. And in fact, I have nothing against Strine, Crossan and company personally, and I want them to succeed. And there is a road map for the 2006 elections to be successful, in a state with a 10-point registration deficit.
It looks like all of the Republican incumbents in the legislature have a good chance of returning to their seats. The deregulation issue may have an effect, but there doesn't appear to be many strong challengers at this point. Also, it looks like the R's will retain their vacant seats in the 33rd and the 39th. Pickups are possible in the 13th Rep and the 8th Senate.
Tom Wagner and Mike Castle will be re-elected, maybe by less than they are used to, but re-elected still.
They recruited a solid candidate to face Tom Carper. Make no mistake, Jan Ting will lose. But he'll have a lot to say, and he will force Carper to run and spend. I posted earlier on Ting, and the fact that he'd be a great AG candidate, and that it was a waste to run him against Carper. I said it was a colossal failure if they didn't have a high-quality candidate waiting in the wings.
It looks like they did. Ferris Wharton. Paraphrasing Gerry Fulcher today on WDEL, just lay the resumes side-by-side, and you get your answer. We can stop the vaunted Democratic "bench" in its tracks, and end up with a highly qualified Attorney General. It would also be a statewide pickup, since Carl Denberg is a Democrat.
So in review, it is completely possible that the R's can hold all our incumbents, make Carper sweat a little, and stop the next generation of Democrats in their tracks with an R pickup. The only thing missing is a candidate to oppose Markell and start knocking him down a peg in advance of 2008.
I have to say, at this point, things are looking exciting for the Delaware GOP in 2006.
But when they do well, integrity demands that I recognize it. And in fact, I have nothing against Strine, Crossan and company personally, and I want them to succeed. And there is a road map for the 2006 elections to be successful, in a state with a 10-point registration deficit.
It looks like all of the Republican incumbents in the legislature have a good chance of returning to their seats. The deregulation issue may have an effect, but there doesn't appear to be many strong challengers at this point. Also, it looks like the R's will retain their vacant seats in the 33rd and the 39th. Pickups are possible in the 13th Rep and the 8th Senate.
Tom Wagner and Mike Castle will be re-elected, maybe by less than they are used to, but re-elected still.
They recruited a solid candidate to face Tom Carper. Make no mistake, Jan Ting will lose. But he'll have a lot to say, and he will force Carper to run and spend. I posted earlier on Ting, and the fact that he'd be a great AG candidate, and that it was a waste to run him against Carper. I said it was a colossal failure if they didn't have a high-quality candidate waiting in the wings.
It looks like they did. Ferris Wharton. Paraphrasing Gerry Fulcher today on WDEL, just lay the resumes side-by-side, and you get your answer. We can stop the vaunted Democratic "bench" in its tracks, and end up with a highly qualified Attorney General. It would also be a statewide pickup, since Carl Denberg is a Democrat.
So in review, it is completely possible that the R's can hold all our incumbents, make Carper sweat a little, and stop the next generation of Democrats in their tracks with an R pickup. The only thing missing is a candidate to oppose Markell and start knocking him down a peg in advance of 2008.
I have to say, at this point, things are looking exciting for the Delaware GOP in 2006.
cross-posted at delathought
posted by delathought at 10:56 PM
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