As some of you folks with too much time on your hands may know, I graduated from the University of Delaware. While I'm in Florida now, I still have a lot of friends up at my alma mater, and a number of them have been following the politics recently and keeping me up to date. And what's coming together now is a fun meeting of Tea Party versus centrist Republican vs Democrat.
In 2008, Joe Biden handily defeated Christine O'Donnell for the senate seat. No big surprise; it was something like... 65 to 35% or some huge swing. Then Biden became the vice president, and his seat was given to Ted Kaufman until the special election, held this November. Kaufman stated he would not run; a lot of people thought Joe Biden's son Beau would run, but he declined, leading the Democrats to select Chris Coons without opposition in their primary. Ugly, ugly man, but pretty solid Democrat. Believes in cap & trade, pro-choice, Obama's healthcare reform, etc. Not bad in the polls, but not a sure fire winner... against one of the candidates.
The two contenders for the Republican nomination are Mike Castle, a very long-running State Representative now gunning for the Senate, and Christine O'Donnell, Tea Party and Palin-backed hard-right winger. Originally Castle had a HUGE lead over O'Donnell in polls, but recently the gap has become neck-and-neck. Why is this important?
Because if O'Donnell wins, right now all signs point to Coons winning overall. But Castle is viewed favorably by both sides, and has a slight advantage over Coons in the most recent polls. He is as close to a centrist as possible these days: he voted against the stimulus and healthcare based on how much debt they would add, but he is pro-choice and for energy reform, including cap & trade.
O'Donnell is a long-time conservative activist, and has not won an elected office before. She has had a lot of trouble with personal finances, which has given her some street cred with people going through similar situations in a tough economy. While she supports the fiscally conservative policies of the Tea Party, she is also a staunch social conservative; pro-life, anti-pornography and extramarital sex, and with a history of working with groups to promote Christian teachings and lifestyles. She also, among other things, amassed thousands of dollars in campaign debt, was confronted by the IRS about unpaid income taxes and sold her Wilmington home to a campaign staffer to avoid a sheriff’s sale ordered to settle mortgage claims, a News Journal investigation shows. Oh, and a recent campaign spokesperson fabricated a rumor of Mike Castle having a gay affair as another bit of mud to toss at him, besides the perennial call of "RINO!"
Personally, I'd be fine with seeing Castle win, because he's a fiscal conservative but has some socially liberal policies. But on the other hand, if he loses the Democrats will win - still get the social liberal there too. But it's amazing that the Tea Party could end up getting a MORE liberal candidate elected.
I'm interested in seeing how it all plays out.