Please see our previous Fundraising Race posts on the statewide races of Governor, Lt. Governor and Insurance Commissioner, the U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative races, the State Senate races and the State House races if you have not already. These posts, and this one, and our upcoming posts on the County and City Races will be updated when the next fundraising reports are submitted. For state primary races, that will be on September 9. For federal primary races, that is September 3. For state general election candidates, the next fundraising deadline in October 6, and for federal general election candidates, it is October 15.
Reminder, in the chart below, all figures that are highlighted in a light orange color are fundraising figures from that candidates’s Year End 2019 report, because they have not had to file a more recent fundraising report so far this year since they do not have a party primary. Otherwise, the numbers are all from the candidates’ 30 Day Primary Reports filed on August 18.
In New Castle County, there are four big primaries on September 15 to focus on.
The first is the biggest: New Castle County Executive. Incumbent progressive Matt Meyer is being challenged by a former Republican and Trump lover Maggie Jones. Meyer has far outraised Jones and has a monster lead in cash on hand. However, the Trumpette is being supported by PACs funded by the more conservative elements of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Delaware Association of Realtors, and James Maravelias of the Delaware Building and Trades Council. So that will more than make up the difference in cash on hand spending. The bad news for the Trumpers is that their planned mailer bombs on behalf of Jones may be hitting after a lot of voters have already voted by mail.
Next we have the New Castle County Clerk of the Peace. The fundraising is pretty even between the two candidates, Lisa Darrah, the current and now retiring Clerk’s deputy, and Aja Ajavon, who had earlier planned to run for the President of the New Castle County Council but switched races when this race opened upon Ken Boulden’s retirement. Darrah has more cash on hand, though.
The only County Council race featuring a primary is the 12th Council District. Incumbent Bill Bell has outstayed his welcome and is being challenged by Delaware National Guard Captain and Afghanistan War veteran Kevin Caneco. Bell has been the developer’s friend on the council for years and no longer looks out for his actual constituents while Caneco is a young family man setting down roots in the neighborhood with his wife and daughter. Yes, I am very biased in this race, as you can tell. Bell has raised no money this year but has over $22k cash on hand. Caneco has raised $2400 and has loaned his campaign $5k and has $4700 cash on hand. Here is hoping David beats Goliath.
Finally, New Castle County Council President. We have incumbent Karen Hartley Nagle, and Monique Johns and current Register of Wills Ciro Poppiti in the race. Nagle has raised nearly $11k and has over $15k cash on hand. Monique Johns cannot be bothered to open a candidate committee for her race let alone file a timely finance report, so we have no information on her current finances. For this reason alone, no one should vote for her and she should be banned from the ballot for all future races that, as a perennial candidate, she’ll attempt to run. Poppiti has raised $29k, loaned himself another $20k, and has spent all but $15k of it. That leaves him on par with Nagle for the stretch run.
I confess, I don’t know much about Kent or Sussex County local races. It seems, financially wise, that Mark Schaeffer is the favorite in the 3rd Council District in Sussex County, that it’s a toss up between Cynthia Green and Lisa Hudson Briggs in the 2nd. The same seems to be true for the Kent County Council’s 1st District, and yes I am calling the Kent County Levy Court a County Council because that’s what it is. That is a open race between Joanne Masten and Morgan Russum.
Sadly, there are no real Democrats running for Sussex County Council, however there are distinctions between the Republicans. Is District 1, for Sussex Young Republican Chair Hunter Hastings changed parties and is taking on Council President Mike Vincent as a “Democrat”. Hunter has a lot to learn but he eschews the culture wars of his former Party Though there is nothing offensive about Mr. Vincent, his shame is from his failure ti ever call out the offensive comments from the council table of retiring racist and homophobe Sam Wilson (who once famously said that we should not regulated Nitrates being released into our drinking water because “Nitrogen is natural” (as is Arsenic)! More on Wilson later.
District 2 is a Primary between two long time Republican Party figures Register of Wills Cynthia Green, Lisa Hudson Briggs whose Republican activist husband is the brother of State Representative Ruth Briggs King) and Robert Wilson, the son of the aforementioned Sam Wilson. Ms. Briggs is the more “moderate” of the three, in that she does not play to the emotional bigotry of so many voters down here. Ms. Green does as she attempts ro reach higher office, again. The most interesting fact about Mr, Wilson, other than his run to replace his daddy, is that Bob Wilson has NEVER voted before, unless the voter database is totally wrong. Though he has been registered to vote for decades, that data base is blank for every election since he registered-including those elections his father was running in (and his dad was first elected after winning a hotly contested 3-way Primary. This may help explain why he hasn’t filed his required financial reports.
I disagree with DelDem in the Council 3 race, though he admits not being an expert on Sussex. This seat was held by twice elected Democrat Joan Deaver. Ms. Deaver retired in 2016 and there was an issue-based race between Democrat Leslie Ledogar and Republican Irving (IG) Burton. Burton won that close race and has been a pleasant surprise in his nearly 4 years in office. He is a pre-Trump and pre-Tea Party Republican. he pays attention to the needs of his coastal constituents and as a result he does not rubber stamp the demands of developers to change zoning and approve development plans, that are detrimental to the coast. He comes from a family of leaders in Sussex. His father (David) is a long-time civic leader. His grandfather (the first IG) founded a car dealership that has expanded throughout Sussex and Southern Kent. His grandfather bravely stood for the integration of the Milford Schools against riots by right wing white extremists in what became a key part of Brown v Board of Education in 1954. Mr. Burton is opposed by former Smyrna mayor Schaeffer,who left office, and Smyrna) under a cloud. He has money behind him, but he lacks the name recognition and record of accomplishments of Burton. It is because of what he has accomplished that the Democrats were unable to field a candidate in what had been a Democratic seat for decades.
Schaeffer is a total piece of shit. Nobody ever bothered to dig into his web of companies he used to enrich himself by rezoning most of Smyrna to allow all the ticky-tack housing that got built during his time in office.
But, as Ralph Ackerman demonstrates, being a sleazy piece of shit has never harmed anyone’s ability to rip off the Delaware public under the guise of “public service.”
Hello Mitch, I would disagree with you saying I am “not a real democrat.” I am not what you consider a “progressive” democrat. I have said I am centrist. Depending on the issue, is where I you will find whether I am “progressive” or “conservative. Better yet, just don’t call me late for dinner and understand that the democratic party is a big tent and I am just not your taste of democrat. Thanks!
You’re a pro-life “freedom”-worshipping ex-Republican Party official who wants to get on the county payroll and has zero understanding of the issues.
You’re no Democrat. You’re a sad little child who’s in way over his head.
I’ll be very interested to see which Republican with a grudge against Mike Vincent is bankrolling you.
No one is bankrolling me.
Mr. Hastings: You are what we call a Democrat of convenience. Even in a big tent we know who the imposters are.
Alby I am glad that you know what I stand for. Please let others know more about my experience and the challenges I have had. It’s good to know there are others who can see the intentions and sincerity through internet comments and posts.
I don’t care what you claim to stand for. I judge by actions, and it’s clear to me that you seek power and don’t care which letter you put after your name to get some.
My advice would be to become a Q-anon believing flat-earther who poses with guns — you could be the GOP’s next Senate candidate.
The dude donated to Homophobic wing nut R Steve Washington:)
” I have said I am centrist.” – Hunter Hastings
Let’s be clear on what “Centrist” means.
The Centrist’s Dictionary
https://www.laprogressive.com/purity-test/
“Centrist”
Someone who presents a corporate-friendly agenda with less fervor than the typical Republican, with a modest measure of regulation as demanded by circumstances and with a patina of social liberalism.
The Robert Wilson campaign is interesting. He or his supporters appear to have taken his dad’s old signs, put stickers over “SAM” with the son’s name, and put them out on the road. It’s subtle and not even noticeable at first, especially since the sign design is very distinctive. Are they trying to get people to think Sam is running again? Wouldn’t that be an in-kind donation from one campaign to another?
Hunter Hastings is an utter dipshit who lowers the collective IQ of the county whenever he opens his mouth. (Read this letter for proof: http://firststateupdate.com/2020/05/democratic-candidate-calls-on-carney-to-rescind-state-of-emergency/) Sane people have to vote for Vincent.
Schaeffer is being backed by the odious Hudson family. Let’s hope he fails. Burton is the only bright spot on the council.
Side note: The deadline has passed for the Dems to name any candidate for the Sussex Council District 2 and 3 seats, and for Clerk of Peace. The Republican primaries for council will be the general election. The Dems aren’t even putting up a token candidate in those three races.
Can anyone truly say with a straight face that Sussex Dem Chair Jane Hovington and Vice Chair Greg “I Can Sing” Fuller are doing a great job?
To be fair to Jane Hovington, maybe no one has told her that the County Chair has a responsibility to recruit candidates. Her predecessor did recruit and did slate candidates. Unfortunately none won. As to Vice Chair Fuller, he is too busy running his own race, as he always has been, to worry about anyone but himself. What people forget is that the County Council seats up this year were all held by Democrats until 2008, when all three announced their retirement at the filing deadline, which resulted in only one Democrat filed, Joan Deaver, who won in 2008 and 2012.