It depends on how ugly the campaigning becomes and how sticky

It looks like Delaware Democrats are about to learn the lesson about party primaries that the Republicans suffered 16 years ago.

True, there's only one Democratic candidate for governor, U.S. Rep. John Carney, he the failed candidate in the primary eight years ago. The News Journal already is anointing him to be "next governor." I think they actually call it "presumptive" next governor.

Delaware is unusual among the states in the lateness of its partisan primary at the second Tuesday of September. There's a mild cliché to describe this: "It's difficult to hate them in September and love them by November." By this it is meant that it is difficult to conduct a vigorous primary-election contest when thing are said that offend other candidates and then come together in the seven short weeks before the general election.

Until recently, this has been a Republican problem. The quintessential example occurred six years ago when Christine O'Donnell challenged longtime U.S. representative and former governor Michael Castle for the U.S. Senate nomination. Castle was well known to be a moderate Republican. Ms. O'Donnell was the Tea Party darling. Talk radio glorified her, and there is no question she espoused far more conservative positions than Castle.

The conventional wisdom, even among national commentators, was that Delaware Republicans threw away a nearly certain victory when they nominated Ms. O'Donnell and defeated a man who had won 13 straight elections. It was pretty clear, at least to this scribbler, that like him or hate him, Castle had a well-rounded political persona while Ms. O'Donnell was a mile wide and an inch deep.

Similarly that year, when Castle was relinquishing his U.S. House seat, the early favorite was Michele Rollins, a well-known upstate activist and philanthropist. Challenging her in the Republican primary that year was Glen Uruquhart of Milton, another Tea Party conservative. Uruquhart, again a talk-radio favorite, won, allowing Carney to capture the congressional seat.

But it was even worse in 2000. That year, now-U.S. Sen. Tom Carper was leaving the governorship (term limits) to run for the Senate. Then Lt. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner was the Democratic nominee (no opponent in the primary) and the upstate Republican grandees selected John Burris, also of Milford and state chamber of commerce president, to be the Republican candidate. However, Sussex County Superior Court Judge William Swain Lee decided to run in the Republican primary, resulting in Burris eeking out a six-vote (statewide) victory. There was a recount.

After that, with Lee's supporters not lifting a finger and staying home, the Republican nomination wasn't worth six cents. Ms. Minner, despite all her flaws, waltzed to an easy victory.

This year, it's the Democrats' turn. Although there is only one candidate for governor, Carney, there are six (count 'em, six) candidates for the vacant lieutenant governor position.

And there are six candidates for Congress. The Republicans have only one, Hans Riegle, the mayor of Wyoming.
And unbelievably, there are two candidates for insurance commission even though the incumbent Democrat, Karen Weldon Stewart, is running for re-election.

But the worst by far is for Wilmington mayor, which draws eight, including the incumbent Mayor Dennis Williams. New Castle County Democrats apparently don't like Mayor Williams very much.

All of this might be fine except for one thing. That is the primary date at the second Tuesday of September, only 56 days before the general election. How all this comes out depends on a couple things.

First, it depends, in each of these races, on how ugly the campaigning becomes and how sticky the mud is. For example, in the Sussex County Council District 3 race, the four Republicans have vowed to run a congenial campaign – and so far they are. They vow to support the winner, which is a definite plus.

That will not be the case in the Democratic Insurance Commissioner primary, where the only purpose of a challenge is to paint the incumbent as incompetent, which she actually is. The same clearly is occurring in the Wilmington mayoral race.

So what's next? Delaware Republicans, few though they may be these days, have long proposed to change the state's primary date to sometime earlier. Perhaps, after this year's blood bath, Democrats may agree.

Beveridge has covered politics in Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Delaware and Washington, D.C. He is now retired at Broadkill Beach. Beveridgere@prodigy.net.