I am in a heated conversation with Capt Jack in the prior posting. I contend that Delaware, Sen. Joe Biden's state of residence, is a left leaning state. He contends otherwise. I point out that the overwhelming majority of the statewide offices are held by democrats. I point out that Sen. Biden is ranked as the third most liberal senator in Congress. I further contend that Delaware is comprised of many commuting citizens who are more kin to their big city neighbors (Philadelphia, Newark, New York City, Washington). It is less than one hour from Wilmington to New York via train and slightly longer to DC. The realities of the northeast corridor make commuting not only practical but essential to avoid the onerous costs of living in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
The Captain points out Delaware's "free market" tax structure. There is a reason that Delaware has established itself as an economic haven - otherwise it would likely cease to be a viable governmental entity, unable to sustain it's tax base. Delaware has a population of about 850,000. Of these, 637,000 are eligible to vote. The population centers (Wilmington, Dover and Newark) have 70, 30 and 30 thousand inhabitants respectively. In the last primary, only about twenty percent of eligibles chose to exercise their right to vote. Thus, I submit the result of the recent presidential primary;
| Machine | Absentee | Total | Percent | |
| Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | |
PRESIDENT | 313 of 313 Districts Reported | |||
| DEMOCRATIC PARTY | ||||
| JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR. | 2789 | 74 | 2863 | 3 . 0 % |
| HILLARY CLINTON | 39984 | 776 | 40760 | 42 . 3 % |
| CHRISTOPHER J. DODD | 167 | 3 | 170 | 0 . 2 % |
| JOHN EDWARDS | 1116 | 125 | 1241 | 1 . 3 % |
| DENNIS J. KUCINICH | 183 | 9 | 192 | 0 . 2 % |
| BARACK OBAMA | 50467 | 681 | 51148 | 53 . 0 % |
| REPUBLICAN PARTY | ||||
| RUDY GIULIANI | 1161 | 94 | 1255 | 2 . 5 % |
| MICHAEL D. HUCKABEE | 7577 | 129 | 7706 | 15 . 3 % |
| JOHN MCCAIN | 22228 | 400 | 22628 | 45 . 0 % |
| RON PAUL | 2083 | 48 | 2131 | 4 . 2 % |
| MITT ROMNEY | 16060 | 284 | 16344 | 32 . 5 % |
| TOM TANCREDO | 174 | 1 | 175 | 0 . 5 % |
Out of a total of 130,000 plus voters, democrats enjoyed a two to one majority. Support for Barack Obama soundly eclipsed Hillary Clinton and traditional "conservatives", Huckabee, Tancredo and Guiliani, were soundly trounced by McCain and Romney. Delaware was ranked 21st most liberal state, by virtue of laws protecting women, reproductive rights and homosexuals. Wilmington ranks 134, versus a national average of 100, for gays and lesbians. This is a measure of same sex households versus a national average.
Given all of these aspects, I believe it is safe to conclude that Delaware is a democrat controlled, left leaning state. Economic policies notwithstanding, it should remain so for many years to come.
Data Sources:
5 comments:
I won't even get into this debate. I live in schizophrenically liberal California, and everything east of our border looks extremely conservative in comparison... except maybe Chicago :-)
PLUS: Neither of you have visited my blog in a while!!! (walks away pouting)
*sigh*
I haven't visited ANYONE's blog in a while!
Dear Sonic: health issues in my family, trips to Liberal Leaning Countries Like Greece and Delaware, and other things have prevented me from visiting your blog. Sorry. At least you still have a blog (sniff, sniff, whine, whine, I hate you Arlington County School board, and yes I am bitter and will never get over it...)
I find it hard to believe that common sense laws, which even you, Deux for the most part approve of, protecting women against domestic violences, protecting reproductive rights, etc, are still considedered "liberal", i.e. "bad" in the vernacular. 21 out of 50. That is a round, clear, central (center?) number). Only 34 same sex households above the national average? how many of them are permanent state residents, and (like Rehoboth Beach) not just summer people"? Wilmington only has 70 thousand of close to 700,000inhabitants? how can that skew an election by any reasonable means? In any event, it should be the other way around. What your numbers do tell me is that more liberals who are eligible to vote do so than conservatives, which I find interesting to say the least. Why have the so called "conservatives" in the state chosen not use their hard earned right? And, if they were so dissatified with the states current government, why have more chosen not to? And remember, this is a state which has a large number of military retirees, due not only to the proximity of Dover AFB (please Mom! No more frozen bread from the commisarry! I BEG YOU!!!!!) but also its tax structure. If these people wanted to live in a republican controlled, right leaning state, I think that with voter turnout, it could be a fait accompli. Maybe they just don't want to fix what is obviously not broken.
Liberal does not equal bad. Crikey! Who ever said that? By the way that is 34% higher, not in number. 70,000 can skew an election where only 130,000 vote.
What we see is a state with a 21% voter efficiency (140k voting out of 647k eligible). I have no data on registration. Remember, all politics are local. Voting for your senator or governor is easy when your country commissioner takes care of the safety and security concerns.
BTW, on my absentee ballot I can only vote for state offices, not local...interesting, innt it? Also, all those queens from DC who own houses in RB can vote for local, but not state....
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