Tag Archives: DE-AL

Breaking: Kovach To Challenge Carney

The NJ just tweeted that NCCo Council President will announce formation of a committee to challenge US Rep John Carney. It’s not a surprise to see office-hopping Kovach try for higher office, despite only being in the NCCo Council President job for a year. Really though, what choice does the shallow bench of the Delaware GOP have?

As suspected, Kovach plans to run against President Obama and Ruth Ann Minner. Urquhart got absolutely nowhere with that tactic in 2010, does Kovach think it will work for him? Both Kovach and Castle think 2012 is going to be a “relatively Republican year.” I don’t agree – I think the Occupy Wall Street movement has changed the whole calculation.

The Speeches From Last Night

Jason330 did a great job taking apart Christine O’Donnell’s “concession” speech last night, but here’s the video (as promised):

My favorite part – “we changed Delaware politics.” So true, she completely cleared the shallow bench. Tom Kovach in RD-6, John Marino in RD-9 and Colin Bonini all can blame their losses on Christine O’Donnell’s negative coattails. I’m also touched by O’Donnell’s concern for the top 2% of income earners.

Chris Coons’s victory speech:

Glen Urquhart’s concession speech:

Yes, I couldn’t resist doing a little victory dance on Urquhart’s loss. I sent him some love on Twitter, since we’re such great buddies. Who’s the extremist now, buddy?

John Carney’s victory speech:

I feel a bit sorry for John Carney. He’s going to have to work in the U.S. House as a member of the minority party. Personally I think the next 2 years are going to be full of gridlock and bullshit investigations but good luck with that Rep. Carney!

New Monmouth Poll Gives 10% Lead To Coons

Christine-mentum?

A new poll released by Monmouth (no internals yet) has Coons lead at 10% – 51% to 41%. This is 11% worse than yesterday’s FDU poll, and represents at 9% loss in Coons’s numbers from the previous Monmouth poll – last poll had Coons 57% to O’Donnell’s 38%. From the NJ:

In what is sure to be a surge of polling data coming at the end of the race, the newest numbers from Monmouth University show Democrat Chris Coons leading Republican Christine O’Donnell by 10 percentage points.

The newest poll, shows O’Donnell with 41 percent and Coons with 51 percent of those polled. The poll of 1171 likely voters was conducted October 25 to 27 and has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

The poll also had Carney with a smaller lead:

Monmouth also polled the U.S. House race, finding Democrat John Carney ahead of Republican Glen Urquhart by 7 percentage points.

My guess for the discrepancy – the Likely Voter screen. FDU stated they didn’t see an “enthusiasm gap” in Delaware. I can’t guess what Monmouth is saying but I assume they have the Delaware electorate as more Republican-leaning than FDU does.

**UPDATE** Tommywonk tweets to me:

Which party would you like to control Congress? Monmouth D 38% R 40% Fairleigh Dickinson D 47% R 37%

FDU Poll: Carney Leads By 17%, Flowers-Bonini Tied

Fairleigh Dickinson University released the rest of their poll on Delaware today. It showed that John Carney leads Glen Urquhart by 17% – 53% for Carney, 36% for Urquhart. It also showed a tie between Flowers (42%) and Bonini (41%). Wagner still leads Korn, but his lead has been cut from 15% to 10%.

Democrat John C. Carney Jr. leads Republican Glen Urquhart by 17 points in the race for Delaware’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a PublicMind poll released this morning by Fairleigh Dickinson University.

The poll, which surveyed 797 likely voters statewide from Oct. 20-26, showed Carney leading 53-36, up a few ticks (51-36) from a similar poll released Oct. 5.

Yesterday Rob Tornoe talked about Christine O’Donnell’s “long shadow.” I’ve always wondered whether O’Donnell would help or hurt Urquhart, since they’re very similar ideologically. I think it’s fairly obvious that she’s hurting him. Urquhart hasn’t been able to make the case for his candidacy but he also can’t raise money. The last FEC report shows that Urquhart raised $63K (not too bad) but loaned himself another $110K. Carney raised $100K in the same period.

Now for the rest of the state ticket:

Well within the poll’s margin of error — 3.5 percent — is the state treasurer’s race, where Democrat Chip Flowers holds a sliver of a lead, with 42 percent to Republican state Sen. Colin Bonini’s 41 percent. The men were tid at 38 percent in the last FDU poll. The number of undecided voters dropped from 21 percent to 17 percent in that time.

The race for the state auditor’s office tightened a bit, with Republican Tom Wagner, the incumbent, holding a 10-point lead over Democratic challenger Richard Korn. Wagner’s lead was 15 points in the last poll. Korn leads in New Castle County, 43-38.

Democratic Attorney General Beau Biden, running without a Republican opponent, led independent Doug Campbell by 42 points, the same lead he had earlier in the month.

It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a Republican year in Delaware although they could double the number of statewide elected Republican officials.

The News Journal States The Obvious

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the News Journal endorsed Chris Coons for U.S. Senate.

We believe that choice should be a simple one, both for Delaware’s future and the country’s.

Republican Christine O’Donnell and other tea party candidates around the country are offering voters a simple wish list: Cut taxes and everything will be fine. Accept their interpretation of the Constitution and our problems will disappear.

Ms. O’Donnell offers no blueprint and acknowledges no hazards to her plan. She says nothing about paying for Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid.

She wants to honor veterans but is quiet about the military budget or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Just once, wouldn’t it be nice if someone endorsed Chris Coons without listing all the problems with Christine O’Donnell? At least they had some nice things to say about Chris Coons:

Her opponent, Chris Coons, knows it doesn’t work like that. He actually has executive experience. He has balanced budgets.

He has had to make unpopular, but necessary decisions. He knows what it is like to face hostile crowds and what it’s like to tell supporters that government spending has limits.

He also has a history of finding solutions to real problems, making bureaucracies more innovative and, most important, making those hard choices.

Yesterday the NJ also featured dueling op-ed by Glen Urquhart and John Carney regarding renewable energy. John Carney’s essay was a rah rah alternative energy, much of what we’ve seen before from Carney. Urquhart’s was a typical defense of the status quo (with even more deregulation!) and new stuff is too hard op-ed from a Republican candidate. Someone explain this to me:

Can your family afford $1,769 a year just to make some people billions for doing nothing but trading paper and good feelings?

Can America afford a net loss of 2.3 million jobs? Can small businesses afford to have their utility rates doubled? Do you want $7-a-gallon gas, like Europe has?

Do you want to make these sacrifices for no tangible gain?

If the answer to all of these questions is yes, career politician John Carney is your man. He is on the side of Jeffery Emmelt, Goldman Sachs and Al Gore, who stand to make hundreds of billions from cap and trade.

First, way to pull numbers out of your ass. Second, why is it bad for Al Gore to make money? Is money only for conservatives? As far as expensive gas goes, we’re all going to have that if nothing at all is done.

Glen Urquhart, Coalition Builder

In at least one of the debates with John Carney, Glen Urquhart claimed that he was a coalition builder. He’s been trying to distance himself from his comments: “Ask your liberal friends why they are Nazis.” Urquhart is running in a blue state and he can’t win by only appealing to the right – he has to win over independents and Democrats. That’s why his decision to do this is baffling:

This is something that is being pushed from the far right Jim DeMint. Many voters are listeners of NPR. Urquhart also tweeted this many times. He’s mad about NPR’s decision, so he wants to censor NPR.

On Twitter, a lot of people were responding to Urquhart’s proposal negatively. I retweeted one of these responses (basically BOOOOO!) and got this tweet in response:

Yes, that’s Glen Urquhart attacking a Delaware voter and calling me an extremist because I don’t want to defund NPR. Thanks Glen! I guess we now know that Glen Urquhart is still this guy:

The funny thing is, I don’t really agree with NPR’s decision. I do think NPR has the right to hire and fire the people that they want but I think the handled this case very poorly. It’s been obvious for a long time that NPR has been uncomfortable with Juan Williams’s dual roles at Fox and NPR. Also, he did violate the ethics clause. In my opinion, NPR should’ve publicly reprimanded Williams and then gradually taper off his contract. I doubt anyone would have even noticed and Fox wouldn’t have a $2M NPR basher.

Truly, Glen Urquhart, you have earned your nickname Jerkhart (h/t skippertee).

Best Description Of Republican Candidates I’ve Read This Cycle

And it comes from our very own newspaper, the News Journal. Muqtedar Khan is a UD professor that writes a column about international issues for the NJ. In a recent column he discusses the international policy views of both Glen Urquhart and John Carney. He describes Urquhart this way:

Glen Urquhart, a wealthy businessman with some Washington experience, is primarily a “one of each” candidate. He has one domestic policy issue — the burgeoning national debt — and one international issue — a space-based missile defense shield. He speaks passionately, though not necessarily convincingly, on those issues.

But when one raises other topics, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Middle East, U.S. relations with the Muslim world — key issues which have dominated American foreign relations for a nearly a decade, he appeared to be out of his depth.

He believes peace can be achieved only through strength and because America has become weak, it is vulnerable to “irrational people who do irrational things.” His panacea is investment in a space-based interceptor program. This missile shield, he argues, will not only protect the U.S. but also its allies, making preemptive wars unnecessary. He believes this would also solve the problem of Iran’s nuclear program by ensuring Israeli security.

Urquhart says his leadership style is based on “principle, reflection and is relational,” and backed by his faith in reconciliation and pragmatism. The message he is trying to send is that he is a man of faith and principles, who can relate to people and is willing to learn on the job. He believes he can bring reconciliation between America and the Muslim world. He is proud of his “independent perspective” and that he stood up to his own party.

Is there any better description of the current crop of Republican candidates than this?

Urquhart has done a pretty good job (since April) of keeping his head down and riding on the conservative coattails of Christine O’Donnell – without all the baggage that she has. Dr. Khan perfectly describes how I feel when I see Urquhart – when you’ve seen him one time, you’ve seen him every time. He relentlessly harps on his narrow issues until your ears bleed.

Glen Urquhart Needs An Editor

Yesterday the News Journal published an op-ed column by Glen Urquhart. Can you guess what it’s about?

Even my name — Glen Urquhart — is anchored in the word heart. It breaks my heart that career politicians have destroyed jobs for us and our children.

GAG! That’s the nice part.

I am a proven job creator. My opponent is a career politician. He hasn’t even created a job for himself, let alone for others. He even tried to take $1.45 million of our taxpayer money for salaries to fund himself and friends in a venture whose only business plan was to go to Washington to grab more taxpayer grant money.

Several paragraphs of attacks on John Carney follow, without mentioning his name.

I am a proven job creator. I’ve done it, not just given speeches. Debt destroys jobs. Employers are not hiring because the $5.5 trillion of National Debt added by the Pelosi Congress terrifies them.

The rest of the op-ed: debt, debt, Reagan, debt. Did he mention debt? Here’s my favorite part:

I have worked with both sides; I continued to serve with President Clinton. My commission helped consolidate the CIA and cut costs and I even worked with Mayor Marion Barry and made progress creating jobs in D.C. That is coalition-building in the real world.

He’s a coalition builder! Just remember, this is the same man who said this:

the next time your liberal friends talk about ‘separation of church and state’ ask them why they’re Nazis.

New Delaware Polls

Two new polls of Delaware voters were released today. The first was a poll of the Senate and House race from Monmouth University. It shows a widening lead for Chris Coons and a tightening race for the U.S. House.

Among likely voters, 57% say they will vote for Coons compared to 38% who support O’Donnell. While the race is basically tied in the southern part of the state (i.e. Kent and Sussex counties) – 46% for Coons to 47% for O’Donnell, the Democrat holds an overwhelming 63% to 33% advantage in New Castle County.

Coons is viewed favorably by 50% of the electorate and unfavorably by 33%. By comparison, O’Donnell has an upside down personal rating of 31% favorable to 58% unfavorable. The difference is even more stark when the question involves the candidates’ qualifications to serve. While nearly 2-in-3 (64%) likely Delaware voters say Coons is qualified to be a U.S. Senator, only 1-in-3 (35%) say the same of O’Donnell. Fully 57% say she is unqualified for the job.

Glen Urquhart is outperforming Christine O’Donnell, he trails Carney by only 9% probably because he doesn’t lose as many Republicans as Christine O’Donnell.

The poll finds Democrat John Carney holding a 53% to 44% lead over Republican Glen Urquhart in the race to fill Castle’s House seat. Carney has a 58% to 40% advantage in New Castle County, while Urquhart has a 51% to 45% edge in Kent and Sussex.

The gender breakdowns are interesting. Chris Coons has a favorable/unfavorable of 43/44 (-1) with men and 57/22 (+35) with women . Christine O’Donnell has a favorable/unfavorable of 39/49 (-10) with men and 22/68 (-46) with women.

A Fox News poll of the Senate race was also released today. It shows a 16% lead for Chris Coons 54%/38%. O’Donnell’s favorable/unfavorables are similar to the Monmouth poll 33/58 (-25). Worse for O’Donnell, Coons voters are more sure 92% compared to 83% for O’Donnell.

Farleigh Dickinson Poll Results

Fairleigh Dickinson has released poll results for several Delaware races. The poll finds John Carney with a 15% lead, with Urquhart’s support in the mid-30s.

But according to the most recent poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind, Democrat and former Lt. Gov. John Carney is leading Republican Glen Urquhart by 51%-36% for the House seat soon to be vacated by Republican Mike Castle.

“Reputation and name brand matter,” said Peter Woolley, professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson University and director of the poll, “and it matters a little more in Delaware than in most states,” he said. While Carney predictably leads comfortably in New Castle County (56-32), he runs even with Urquhart (43-43) in the more Republican counties of Kent and Sussex.

Urquhart is underperforming O’Donnell slightly, so he probably has room to grow his numbers. Carney is also underperforming Chris Coons. The hot Senate race has really overshadowed the U.S. House race in this cycle.

For Auditor of Accounts, Richard Korn has a lot of ground to make up, Wagner leads by 15% (but is under the magic 50% mark).

Likewise, one of five voters (20%) is undecided in the race for auditor of accounts where Republican incumbent Tom Wagner leads the Democrat Richard Korn by 46%-31%. Wagner leads downstate by a 2-to-1 margin, 55-24 and in New Castle County by 42-35.

The Treasurer’s race may turn out to be the most interesting race. The poll found Flowers and Bonini tied.

In the race for state treasurer, Democrat Chip Flowers and Republican Colin Bonini are neck and neck at 38%-38%, with 21% unsure. Flowers leads in New Castle by 41%-34%, while Bonini leads downstate by 44-33. “Don’t look for many of the undecided to break,” said Woolley. “Lots of these unsure voters will resolve their dilemma by not casting a vote in this particular race.”

The poll finds that Beau Biden is the most popular politician in the state, and is handily beating his challenger Doug Campbell by 40% (65/25). Biden’s favorable/unfavorable is 61/23. Jack Markell is also popular, with a 57% approval rating.

Is The O’Donnell Campaign Starving The Urquhart Campaign?

Ever since Christine O’Donnell won the primary she has been the media’s new shiny object. She knocked off an establishment candidate, one that most everyone thought was invincible, so the attention is not surprising. O’Donnell also has a long video record of saying goofy things, which the national media is just discovering.

Glen Urquhart also defeated the establishment candidate. The margin was much closer. Urquhart also has a history of saying crazy things. He’s not only said “ask your liberal friends why they are Nazis” but also has an obsession with debt (deeming it a bigger national security threat than terrorism), has said that is was “God’s will” that he won the primary and at some point said that Unemployment Insurance is unconstitutional.

Urquhart is an underdog in the race against John Carney. What Urquhart needs is attention, his only way to win is to engage the passion of the teabaggers like Christine O’Donnell. Urquhart is just as crazy and has the same misunderstanding of the Constitution as Christine O’Donnell. Why hasn’t he inspired the same passionate intensity?

O’Donnell has had a number of national Republicans endorse her, the most recent was Bob Dole. Why isn’t Bob Dole helping Glen Urquhart, too? Is O’Donnell making appearances with Urquhart?

Carney Leads Urquhart By 18 In New Poll

John Carney leads Glen Urquhart by 18% in a new poll released by the DCC. The poll was taken after Urquhart’s primary win and at least half of the poll was taken after the JCC debate. So far Urquhart is not getting any traction.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today released a new Grove Insight poll that shows John Carney leading Republican challenger Glen Urquhart by 18 points.

In the initial head-to-head in the race for Delaware’s At-large congressional district, Carney leads Urquhart 50 to 32 percent. Conducted September 15-18, the poll surveyed 400 likely voters and has a 4.9 percent margin of error.

Also notice that John Carney is hitting the magic 50% in this poll. I think we all know that we can’t afford to take things for granted this year but so far the evidence is that Glen Urquhart is not catching on with the electorate.