GOP has high hopes for District 6 Senate seat
Members of the Republican Party gathered from all parts of Delaware to honor the accomplishments of President Abraham Lincoln over dinner and cocktails. Eastern Sussex Republican Club hosted about 90 people at its annual Lincoln Day Dinner at the Atlantic Sands Hotel in Rehoboth Beach. Candidates in the 2012 election each had four minutes to relate their own ideas to one of Lincoln’s concepts.
It was chance for some candidates to introduce themselves in Southern Delaware. Sher Valenzuela, co-owner of First State Manufacturing in Milford is campaigning against Lt. Gov. Matt Denn. She said if elected, she would work to reduce regulations faced by small businesses. Insurance Commissioner candidate Jim Van Houten of Bear said he would guarantee lower insurance premiums and prescription costs.
Steve Smyk, who announced his plan to run for Sussex County’s new 20th Representative District in January, is president of Delaware State Troopers Association. Smyk said he shared Lincoln’s commitment to public service. “This man put the welfare of the country before himself,” Smyk said.
For many incumbents, the dinner was an opportunity for a lighthearted gathering. Rep. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, who so far faces no opponent, said, “As of right now, I’m not a candidate; but I do plan on filing.”
Sen. Joe Booth, R-Georgetown, reflected on the irony of his name at the Lincoln Day Dinner. “Being a Booth, especially with the initials J.W., it’s been interesting to attend,” he joked.
But all members of the Republican Party hope they will gaining seats in the coming election. And no race seemed to hold more promise to the party than that of the new District 6 Senate seat, established during the redistricting process that follows the U.S. Census.
Eastern Sussex Republican Club President Mary Spicer said speeches from candidates Glen Urquhart and Ernesto Lopez were the most anticipated speeches of the night, so she reserved them for last.
Lopez, an employee at University of Delaware and a resident of Lewes, said he thought of Lincoln as a great president, but he also sympathized with him as a father. “His resilience is what stands out to me most,” Lopez said. The candidate then led the room in a sing-a-long of “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which, Lopez said, his 6-year-old daughter had recently sung to him.
Urquhart, a former Sussex GOP chairman, took a more traditional approach by quoting the Gettysburg Address. The Rehoboth Beach resident said state government should be restructured into a body of the people, by the people and for the people, as Lincoln intended.
“Threats to our liberty are with us again today,” Urquhart said. “Abe Lincoln would urge us to free ourselves from bondage to big government.”
Jeff Cragg, a Wilmington small business owner, is running against incumbent Gov. Jack Markell. But Cragg focused on District 6 seat rather than his own race. “We have come through dark times as a party,” Cragg said. “What we need to do is unite behind the winner of this primary.”
Before the event was over, Spicer said she had planned to award whoever gave the best speech, but decided against the idea. “I don’t want us to compete against one another,” Spicer said. “Let’s work together.”
