After the filing deadline today and the final list of Delaware candidates for Delaware Election 2018, there are some things we can say for certainty. Some candidates are running unopposed. Sure, there is a chance opposing parties could nominate someone for an unfilled seat for their party, but that doesn’t happen very often. So for now, I am tentatively going to call the following candidates “winners” and look at what it means for party leadership in the Delaware House and Senate.
While Delaware is primarily a “blue” state, meaning it leans Democrat, I expect this election to be very different from others. There are a ton of factors for this. I see more primaries with Democrats than I’ve seen in a long time. This will cause some campaigns to expend funds faster. While many more will vote in this mid-term election due to President Trump, it will be on BOTH sides. A clear example of this is the way Republicans rallied over gun rights. A Facebook page called “Delaware Gun Rights” has over 23,000 members. I don’t see that kind of “rally” for Democrats going on in a public setting. The Republicans are mobilized and organized and want to bring the status quo in Washington D.C. to Delaware. What is also hurting the Democrats is they are essentially divided into two groups, the “Progressives” and the “Corporate Dems”. They will need to find a way to unify and quickly. The Democrats have a one seat advantage in the Delaware Senate. I expect the Dems in the House will stay in power but the Senate could be up for grabs. Most would say it will stay Democrat but in a world where Donald Trump is President, anything goes.
Senate: 10 out of 21 seats up for re-election, with these “winners”, Senate stands at 8 Democrats, 7 Republicans, Majority is 11 seats, even though Districts 2 and 3 are up for grabs, no Republican challenged and there are Democrat primaries for each seat. There are at least 3 key races in this election to watch for.
16th District-Colin Bonini (Republican, Incumbent)
18th District-David Wilson (Republican, was in the House)
House: All 41 seats up for re-election, with these “winners”, House stands at 6 Democrats, 5 Republicans, Majority is 21 seats
4th District-Gerald Brady (Democrat, Incumbent)
11th District-Jeff Spiegelman (Republican, Incumbent)
13th District-John Mitchell (Democrat, Incumbent)
15th District-Valarie Longhurst (Democrat, Incumbent)
18th District-David Bentz (Democrat, Incumbent)
23rd District-Paul Baumbach (Democrat, Incumbent)
27th District-Earl Jaques (Democrat, Incumbent)
33rd District-Charles Postles (Republican, Incumbent)
37th District-Ruth Briggs King (Republican, Incumbent)
39th District-Daniel Short (Republican, Incumbent)
40th District-Tim Dukes (Republican, Incumbent)
The Season Of Myths 