Stephanie Hansen beats Pepe in DelawareMost election-junkies were glued to the DNC race today. But there was another election going on as well, a special election for a state Senate seat in Delaware. This one pit New Castle County ex-Council President Stephanie Hansen (D) against John Marino (R). Libertarian Joseph Lansendorfer was also running for the seat previously held by newly inaugurated Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long (D). The 10th district covers Middletown, Glasgow and southern Newark in New Castle County in the suburban northwest corner of the state, flush up against the Maryland border. What made this election so crucial is that the Democrats have controlled the state legislature for over 4 decades but the Hall-Long vacancy left a 10-10 tie in the Senate. Republicans haven't controlled the state Senate since the early 1970s. Joe Biden was in the district campaigning for Hansen and she was backed by Gov. John Carney, both U.S. Senators and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.Democrats have around 16,100 registered voters in the district, compared to about 10,100 for Republicans-- with 9,300 unaffiliated voters. To boost turnout the Democrats have tried to make the election a referendum on the Trump Regime. Marino had run against Hall-Long and came within one point of beating her. The district went for Obama in 2012, 59-40% and voted for Clinton in November by a closer 54-41%. Marino's campaign theme was "Make Delaware First Again." The voters did-- they made Delaware the first state with a special election to show the Republicans what they can expect from an electorate that detests Trump, his enablers and his ugly, toxic agenda. Turnout for the special was more than double what is normal. And no one thought Hansen would win by this wide a margin. This is just the beginning.Hansen's campaign raised than $400,00 and an allied PAC, First State Strong, spent another $497,482 independently. Marino raised $140,000 and a PAC supporting him, FirstStateFirst, spent $40,785. Trump and his failing regime was very much the focus of the campaign. The final score tonight:
• Stephanie Hansen (D)- 7,314(58.13%)• John Marino (R)- 5,127 (40.75%)• Joseph Lazendorfer (L)- 139 (1.12%)
Hansen won way bigger than either Hillary or Hall-Long did in the district. And there really is just one reason: T-R-U-M-P! Republicans better get ready for a lot more of this-- or start cracking down on him and his fascist coterie... fast!
