Sussex delegates: Conventions exceeded all expectations

Party affiliation and presidential candidate support aside, the one thing Sussex County convention delegates agree on is that the Republican and Democratic conventions surpassed expectations.

“It was a real coming to Jesus moment,” said Donna Whiteside, Lewes resident and Bernie Sanders delegate, the morning after the Democratic National Convention ended.

It was interesting, she said, to see how messy, wonderful, sad and celebratory the democratic process was up close.

“It’s all part of democracy,” she said.

The Republican National Convention took place July 18 – 21 in Cleveland. The very next week, July 25 – 28, the Democratic National Convention took place in Philadelphia.

Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett has been on the Trump bandwagon from the beginning, and he is head of Trump’s campaign in Delaware.

“To see and witness democracy being enacted was tremendous,” he said. “There was a feeling of appreciation, pride, patriotism and gratitude for the opportunity.”

As Delaware’s chief delegation whip for the convention, Arlett was on the floor the entire convention and stayed in the hotel where the Trump campaign had its headquarters.

“It was somewhat surreal,” he said. “It was all such an honor.”

Looking at the Republican convention from a logistical perspective, Senate Minority Leader Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, said he couldn’t imagine what went into putting together the event. Former manager of the Delaware State Fair, Simpson said the convention was very well organized.

“I was surprised how smoothly everything went,” he said, estimating 150 buses in use during his week in Cleveland. “They were lined up precisely, and when the schedule said a bus was leaving at 2:30, you got left behind if you weren’t there.”

Simpson said, given the state of the world today, he was a little apprehensive in the days leading up to the convention, expecting some disruptions. But the barricades were quite a way out and there were lots of security personnel. He said there were 2,700 security forces representing all 50 states there, including 21 from Delaware.

Billy Carroll, Sussex County Republican Committee chair, also said he was impressed by how smoothly the whole event went.

“Paul Manafort had done this before, and he really had things under control,” said Carroll of Trump’s campaign chairman and former adviser on the presidential campaigns of Republicans Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, George W. Bush and John McCain.

Carroll said Delaware’s 16 delegate seats were all the way to the right of the stage, and, he said, while disappointed at first, they were seated next to Texas’ 155 delegates, which meant anytime a camera wanted to get a shot of Texas’ noisy delegates, the cameras would show Delaware’s delegates.

“They sort of overwhelmed us,” he said laughing. “I stood up a couple of times to stretch my legs, and I had a guy texting me, saying that he and his wife just saw me dancing in the aisles on TV. He also said to stop dancing.”

Mitch Crane, Sussex County Democratic Party chair and Clinton delegate, said the effort in Philadelphia was herculean. There were thousands of volunteers, and the police did a great job, which is why it takes years to plan, he said.

“The convention ran like clockwork,” he said. “Everything was on schedule the whole time.”

Crane said the Thursday night speech made by Khizr Khan, father of Capt. Humayun Khan who was killed in Iraq, was one of the most powerful speeches all week. Delaware’s whole delegation, he said, was proud of Vice President Joe Biden.

“He always reaches the level he needs to reach,” said Crane of Biden’s performance. “I’ve heard him use the word malarkey before. That’s just the way he is.”

Crane said a delegate’s days are long and full of meetings, which meant he didn’t go to the after-parties some of the younger delegates went to at the end of each day.

“It was pretty exhausting,” he said.

As a woman close to Clinton’s age, Whiteside, a Sanders delegate, said she stood at her seat and fully embraced the moment when the balloons fell down from the ceiling at the conclusion of Clinton’s acceptance speech. Clinton is the first woman to be nominated for president by either of the country’s two major political parties.

“I wanted to remember as much of that moment as possible,” she said.

Whiteside credited security with being upbeat and polite all four days of the convention. It must have been so hard to secure the Wells Fargo Center, she said.

“What makes it great for sports, is what makes it bad for homeland security,” she said.

Moving past the conventions

Like the 100 percent humidity and 95-degree days Delawareans have recently slogged through, the campaign trail is going to heat up locally as the state’s Sept. 13 primary and then the Nov. 8 general election get closer.

None of the delegates are actively campaigning, but all said they’ll be out supporting party candidates and spreading the word of their party’s presidential candidate.

Simpson said Delaware’s Senate Republicans are going to push hard to regain control of the Senate, something he said hadn’t been done in 44 years. Currently, Senate Democrats hold a 12 to 9 lead over Senate Republicans.

“It’s so close now, it’s enticing,” he said. “There are still a lot of conservative Democrats in Delaware, and we’re looking to pick up those voters who think the national party is too far to the left.”

Arlett said Trump’s message of national security, economic development and leadership will be his focus as the election day nears.

Trump is the only GOP candidate who's attracted independent and Democratic voters from the very beginning, said Arlett.

Crane said it will be important to work hard to get Clinton’s message out, especially here in Sussex County. He said he already had messages from people wanting to know how they could help out.

During a presidential election, Crane said 10 percent to 15 percent of voters don’t make it all the way to the bottom of the ticket to vote in local elections. He said he will be focusing on a campaign with a message centered around voting the bottom of the tickets first and then voting on the presidential candidate.

“We’re going to be working for those people,” he said.

Despite being a Sanders delegate, Whiteside said she is fully supporting Clinton.

“Delaware’s delegates were very united during the convention, and there will be a strong, unified message moving forward,” she said.