Daily Kos

Delaware: A "50 State Strategy" case study

by Delawareliberal

Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:19:28 AM PDT

(From the diaries. More here -- kos)

If anyone still doubts that Howard Dean's "50 State Strategy" is a huge success compare this recent email message from the Delaware Democratic Party to this recent newspaper article about the Delaware Republican Party:  

First the Dems:

We need your help -- this is NOT the end...
Election Day 2006 has passed, but the work at the Delaware Democratic Party is really just beginning.

All five staff members are staying on and we all have a full plate. There are still many jobs that need to completed all over the state, and we need your help.

The worst possible result of an election -- especially a successful one such as this -- is that our supporters go home and are not heard from for two years.

It is in that light that we ask for your help. Please email Kristin Dwyer (kdwyer@deldems.org) or Renee Bensley (rbensley@deldems.org) with:

1) Your list of volunteers from the recently finished campaign; and/or

2) Your ideas as to what we can do to keep our many excellent volunteers (like you!) around during off-years.

As always, we need you in order for us to succeed. Please continue to help us as much in off years as you do during election cycles.

(emphasis added)

Now check out the Republicans:

State GOP ousts staff
Three paid employees out on Dec. 31; party chief blames money woes

The Delaware Republican Party has fired its entire paid headquarters staff, effective at the end of the year, blaming a post-election cash shortage.

State GOP Chairman Terry Strine said David Crossan, the party's executive director, Ken Grant, its communications director, and Chris DuHadaway, the office manager, will stay on the payroll through Dec. 31.

He said unpaid volunteers will perform the office manager and communication director jobs until the party is on a better financial footing, but that the GOP will look for a new executive director.

"It's a very, very difficult job and something I'd rather not do," Strines said. "But it's something we have to do to keep the doors open."

The dismissals follow disappointing Election Day results for the GOP, highlighted by the loss of three state House of Representatives seats and the defeat of Ferris Wharton, the Republican candidate for state Attorney General.

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Tags: delaware, Howard Dean, 50 State Strategy (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Permalink | 73 comments

  •  LOVE IT! (5+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    wiscmass, trashablanca, Nightprowlkitty, 73rd virgin, possum

    by Karyn on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 05:56:16 PM PDT

  •  is the Delaware seat in the US House (2+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    wiscmass, 73rd virgin

    an at large, republican?

    Republicans are not a national party anymore.

    by jalapeno on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 05:58:10 PM PDT

  •  The Delaware Republican Party (3+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    Fran for Dean, 73rd virgin, possum

    is pretty much dead right now.  But will Charlie Copeland bring it back in 2008?  

    by Delaware Dem on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 06:11:53 PM PDT

  •  too bad there isn't (3+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    skidrow, 73rd virgin, possum

    a map here with a state by state roundup of events....kind of a cross between a wiki and a blog.

    wikog?

    Republicans are not a national party anymore.

    by jalapeno on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 06:12:50 PM PDT

  •  DL...here are my predictions for 2008.... (6+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    Fran for Dean, monkeybiz, feebog, John DE, 73rd virgin, possum

    Jack Markell runs for Congress.  He will not run for Governor.  He will follow Carper's lead and past career path.  

    He will announce early.  Castle will announce his retirement, and will play coy on whether he will run for Senate.

    Joe Biden's Presidential campaign does not survive past the Delaware primary.

    Joe will then run for reelection.  Castle states that he will not run for Senate.  Joe gets token Republican opposition.

    The Governor's race is between Lt. Gov. John Carney and St. Sen. Charlie Copeland.

    Matt Denn runs for Lt. Gov.

    Beau Biden stays on at AG, not running for anything.

    And a family relative of mine is considering a run at Insurance Commissioner, but I cannot reveal anything yet.

    by Delaware Dem on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 06:16:30 PM PDT

  •  My advice to Republicans is . . . (3+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    skidrow, 73rd virgin, possum

    . . . to get a party chairman that understands the importance of implementing a 50-state strategy.

    Otherwise the Republicans will simply limit themselves to control of patches of the deep south.

    And Democrats are fix'in to fire on those deep south Republican strongholds in '08 so the Republicans better brace themselves for the next wave.

    ;)

    Obama-Feingold '08

    by XOVER on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 06:40:18 PM PDT

  •  Speaking of Delaware (7+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    clyde, Boris Godunov, dufffbeer, skidrow, John DE, 73rd virgin, Delawareliberal

    Have you guys seen this diary from redstate?  Blargh source, but so delightful:

    http://www.redstate.com/...

    ""All politics is local", is a phrase all political pundits know by heart. Yet, when Howard Dean revealed his plan to transfer money from the DNC to state and local committees he was said to be wasting valuable resouces. Later, in the final weeks of the campaign when the RNC held a $17.8 million advantage over the DNC, many in Democratic circles were calling for Dean's head.

    However, Even though the RNC had a huge financial advantage in the final weeks of the campaign, the RNC failed to stem the tide and put enough Republicans over the top to maintain control of Congress, or at least the Senate. Could Howard Dean's strategy be part of the reason why Republicans lost so badly? An example of his strategy in action is below the fold...

    In August, Howard Dean sent $100,000 to lowly Delaware as part of his "50 State Strategy." Delaware is a State that has gone for the Democratic Candidate for the past four Presidential elections. All pundits agree Delaware is a solidly Blue state.

    The Delaware Republicans were putting up the most experienced prosecutor, with a 6-1 favorability, as their candidate for attorney general. The Democrats ran Beau Biden, who's never prosecuted a single criminal case in Delaware. In the final weeks of the campaign, the Republican Ferris Wharton, and two Republican state senate (farm team) candidates held leads in the polls. That all changed however, in the final 72 hours of the campaign.

    Turns out, the Democrats used the DNC's $100,000 to pay for 2 field representatives who engineered the largest GOTV effort the Democrats had ever put forth in Delaware's history. The state party used that money to rent 36 vans for union workers and paid college students to go door to door and drag Democrats to the polls and pull the blue lever. It provided the difference as Beau Biden won by a few percentage points. Both of the Republicans hoped-for farm team candidates lost badly as well.

    While Dean's strategy may have seemed initially to be a poor use of limited resources, it effectively destroyed the Republican Party in Delaware. Even the respected centrist Mike Castle received 10 percentage points less than what he's accustomed to each election day.

    Across the country, blue states were able to use the DNC's funds to solidify their ground game. Just look at what happened in Pennsylvania. In the midwest, the DNC was able to finance the state efforts in Indiana and Ohio, which rejected Republicans left and right. In the south, where Dean was criticized wherever he went, The Democrats were able to win a US Senate Seat in Virginia and a house race in North Carolina.

    Republicans have criticized him everywhere with "scream contests", and Democrats have disagreed with him internally. Yet the week after the polls closed it wasn't the DNC chair who had to resign and whose replacement was being debated."

    John McCain
    wants to put more meat into the meatgrinder.

    by SouthSideDem on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 07:03:39 PM PDT

  •  Yeah, but (1+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    John DE, possum

    If you look at the election results (sorry, don't have a link) you will see that Delaware is becoming a split state - very blue northern, southern turning a bit purplish red. Reason is all the retirees moving into Sussex County from other states and they tend to be more conservative. Repubs did very well downstate.

    I was not impressed with Spivack's campaign against Castle. Basically, never met him, he really never reached out to dems in the state, just did the "senior circuit" - community meetings, senior centers, etc. Even with a weak campaign (at least in my opinion), he carried New Castle county.  I was shocked! I do think he picked up a lot of votes from people who were concerned over Castle's health.

    To the comment about supporting our old men - just remember that historically, Delaware has always had a Dem and a Repub senator. Carper jumped the gun by running against Roth and won. Yes, we do tend to be a pretty loyal bunch around here and traditionally vote split tickets, but, I think the Carper win broke that tradition.

    Hey, Delaware Dem, I like your lineup. I keep hearing that Jack Markell was going to run for gov, Carney makes more sense. Do you really think Matt's ready to move up? Then again, he did win a statewide office as a novice.

    One more question - any thoughts on Chris Coons? I can't remember how much longer he has as County Exec and I think he is interested in moving up. May be wrong, just a question to ponder.

    Hey, let me know what I can do to help your relative. I'm very well connected in the insurance arena around here.

    Going back into my lurking mode.....

    by Blu Gal in DE on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 07:45:14 PM PDT

    •  DE (0+ / 0-)

      Remember that Delaware is in effect a border state. It still had slavery up to 1865, and it's southern areas have much more in common with Virginia than the New Jersey. New Castle County always votes Democratic, as it has much more in common with the Northeast (it is located right between Philly and Baltimore, after all), while Kent and Sussex counties are reliably GOP.

      Once they lose their advantage in those two counties, DE will be bluer than New York.

      by ctman1638 on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 12:49:21 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Question (0+ / 0-)

    How did the 2006 elections turn out in DE?

    by jiacinto on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 08:30:10 PM PDT

    •  We gained (0+ / 0-)

      two seats in the House, but it is still GOP controlled.  Democrats kept their control of the Senate.

      Sen. Carper was reelected with over 70% of the vote.
      Beau Biden was elected State Attorney General.

      On the GOP Side, Congressman Castle was reelected, albeit with his lowest margin of victory ever, and State Auditor Tom Wagner was reelected.  These two are the only remaining statewide Republicans in Delaware.

      by Delaware Dem on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:24:53 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  The First State (0+ / 0-)

    As goes Delaware - so goes the nation.

    • With the minor exception of being in bed with the bankers.

    by johnnygunn on Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 08:37:17 PM PDT

  •  Rhode Island headlines: (2+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    zzyzx, Delaware Dem

    Local offices caught up in GOP tide

    But come election night, bewildered town and city council candidates instead found themselves undone, they say, by a trickle-down of anti-Bush sentiment and macro-level issues such as the national economy, the war in Iraq and embryonicstem-cell research.

    “We got caught up in something that was bigger than Rhode Island. I think everybody was taken by surprise. I’m surprised we didn’t see it coming. I’m surprised at its effect all the way down the ticket,” said state Republican Party spokesman Chuck Newton.

    In Warwick, Republicans were completely swept from the City Council for the first time in city history. Next door in the traditional Republican stronghold of Cranston, Republicans appear to have lost the mayor’s office and held on to only one seat on the nine-member City Council.

    Established Republican majorities in Foster, North Kingstown, Richmond and Narragansett were broken, with Foster turning entirely Democratic.

    And in places such as West Warwick, Coventry and Charlestown, longtime incumbents who had made careers of surviving in the minority were pushed aside by the Democratic wave.

    “We couldn’t overcome the ‘R,’ that’s the bottom line,” said incumbent Warwick Republican Councilman Timothy Lee, who was kicked from the council by Democrat Helen Taylor, whom he beat decisively in 2004.

    Lee said he ran into scores of new voters who came out to vote for or against the West Warwick casino and against U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee, and weren’t familiar with local issues or local names.

    “They don’t care what you’ve done or who you are — once they find out you’re a Republican, they say no, they’re voting Democrat,” Lee said.

    ...

    Obama's mixed heritage: part RFK, part MLK, part Clinton, part Dean. Read more

    by jab on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:23:28 AM PDT

    •  How in the hell did Carcieri survive? (0+ / 0-)

      He doesn't even pretend to be a moderate.  I guess they didn't hold Bush against him?

      by TDDVandy on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:26:01 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  good question (0+ / 0-)

        Power of incumbency, weak campaign by Fogarty, and a general sense that the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature needs to be reined in.  And Carcieri only won by 2%.  If we had had a nominee from outside the State House ranks, like Deval Patrick in MA, we would have taken it.  All other statewide offices went Democratic -- even the ethically challenged Secretary of State candidate and beleagured incumbent Attorney General both won handily.

        Obama's mixed heritage: part RFK, part MLK, part Clinton, part Dean. Read more

        by jab on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:30:42 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  •  Delaware??!!! (0+ / 0-)

    Umm ... Delaware is pretty Democratic, outside of a few moderate R's from another era that continue to hang on (think Maine). I don't think even the most committed critic of the "50-state strategy" would ignore Delaware!

    Bad example.

    by ColoDem on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:25:53 AM PDT

    •  Good point (0+ / 0-)

      A more representative example would be a red state that's trended blue recently, like Colorado.

      So -- how are things in Colorado?

      Finding God in a Dog

      by maxomai on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:44:18 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Not true, actually (0+ / 0-)

      The "ten-state strategy" is all about focusing resources only on the battleground states. It takes reliably blue states for granted on the presidential election (which is strategically sound, given the elctoral vote system) and lets them fend for themselves on the state level unless there's a seat there that everyone knows is going to be hotly contested two years in advance (which is a lot less strategically sound, in my humble opinion.)

      by tjekanefir on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 09:22:41 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Republican ... Cash ... Shortage ... (1+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    Phoenix Woman

    Memories of Monty Burns attempting to pronounce unfamiliar words like " re cy kleeng " .

    We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for victims of our nation and for those it calls enemy.... --ML King "Beyond Vietnam"

    by Gooserock on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:27:41 AM PDT

  •  From a Dela-Where?-ean (0+ / 0-)

    I've lived away from my home state for more than a decade and miss it very much. I love seeing this much attention - and excellent information - about a place most people only know as a toll booth on I-95. (I was once asked if Delaware is the capitol of New England! Where do you start with that one?!)
    Keep the posts coming, DelawareDem.

    by DFAer on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:29:57 AM PDT

  •  Can we please please please (0+ / 0-)

    Import some of that magic to Georgia?

    Pretty please?

    I'm liking that Obama fellow.

    by internik on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:30:15 AM PDT

  •  smart move (0+ / 0-)

    Its great see wins across the board such as last Tuesday, but it is very wise of the Delaware Democratic party to continue to seek out a pool of volunteers.  A lot can change in two years, but with foresight like this, my hope is we can keep up the momentum, and continue winning.  Lets see a blue pres in ’08!

    by red pepper on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:31:13 AM PDT

  •  contrarian view--again (0+ / 0-)

    It's hard to say if the 50 state strategy worked this time out--we have no control group.  Maybe the dems would have won more seats if time and money were concentrated in known areas of possible success.  The news cycle was so anti-repub that the dem victory seems smaller than expected (but, since we captured the Senate, big enough).

    It would be tragic if the news cycle is this bad in 2 years, but bushy does make that possible. This years results might be the best dems could do ever, the beginning of the end for the r party, a temporary pendulum swing, an anomoly--we won't know for another 10 years.  Remember though, since there was no control, there can be no conclusive conclusions.  Under those circumstance, numbers can be made to lie big time.

    by melvynny on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:35:01 AM PDT

  •  Biden's Nearsightedness (0+ / 0-)

    The collapse of the R-DE Party is the reason Biden is running for President.

    The weird group who do run for their party's nomination all have in common their huge local popularity over their local competition. That bubble, regardless of their gravity on the national stage, is at the heart of their worldview, their campaigns, their fundraising, and their myopia.

    Biden will see this local victory as a mandate to take his tiny empire nationwide. His insufferable face will fill our TVs for the next 2 years. I predict that credit card debt will boom.

    "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - HST

    by DocGonzo on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:35:52 AM PDT

  •  happening elsewhere... (0+ / 0-)

    Does anyone know if this is happening elsewhere.  It makes sense to me that the Delware GOP is suffering as much as my home state Illinois GOP is right now.  But is this going on in other states?

    Intersecting faith and politics from a liberal perspective, Faithfully Liberal

    by Peace to all on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:40:54 AM PDT

  •  Reality check: DE is status quo in a national wave (0+ / 0-)

    Broke even in the state senate, picked up a couple state house seats, broke even (won A.G., lost Auditor) in 2nd-tier contested state offices, left a blue-state GOP US Rep in place.

    DE GOP spent $580K in October (a substantial amount for a one-seater state with not much on the ballot), and they're alive and well (with some griping by routinely surplussed campaign season staff).

    The Great Obama might saw the lady in half, but he won't make the elephant disappear. The Confluence

    by RonK Seattle on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:45:06 AM PDT

    •  Alive and well? (0+ / 0-)

      They hold 2 of 9 statewide positions - Auditor and Rep. Castle's seat. They don't control the seante, and their hold on the state legislature shrunk to 3 seats. In a state as incumbent-friendly as Delaware, that shows movement.

      And seriously, why not give the 50 state strategy credit for taking advantage of the national wave?

      Visit Election Inspection for analysis, polls, and predictions!

      by XStryker on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 11:53:27 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  imho (0+ / 0-)

    “They don’t care what you’ve done or who you are — once they find out you’re a Republican, they say no, they’re voting Democrat,” Lee said.

    This is the money quote.  We need to use this to get people registered and then we need to help them to get out to vote.  There is a Democratic majority in this country, but for some reason they don't vote.  That is our job - to get them to the polls.

    If you are in DC see Man of La Mancha at the Church Street Theater opening 7/10/08

    by BDA in VA on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:48:32 AM PDT

  •  Delete e-mails (0+ / 0-)

    I wanted to suggest that the diarist delete the e-mail addresses of the two persons in Deleware. The addresses will get a lot of visibility on the front page, and there are likely some disgruntled Republicans out there who wouldn't mind spamming some Democrats.  

    by Heartpine on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:55:59 AM PDT

  •  Carville says you are wrong (0+ / 0-)

    Carville says that we missed out on 10-20 seats because of this insane 50-state nonsense. Please, stop the madness. We need to immediately redirect all resources to Hillary and Rahm.

    /sarcasm

    With Democrats now in the driver's seat, the ironic thing is we should have an easier time raising money, and the Republicans an even harder time.

    MattW

    by mattw on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 08:59:06 AM PDT

  •  Dean is vindicated; Emanuel is not. (1+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    DaveW

    Rahm started last July targeting only 21 seats - needing to win 15 of them to turn the House. Only 9 came through as D wins.  Yes, Rahm expanded the targeted elections in Sept & October, but so what?  Digby did a tremendous breakdown on this including how much money Rahm funneled towards his favorite races (as opposed to Dean's). One example: despite $3M from DLC, Tammy Duckworth (good candidate; amputee war vet - but didn't even live in district) got fewer votes than the Dem candidate in '04 - who ran with about $300K funding.

    Look, there are all sorts of excuses, and individual reasons for winning/losing any given race.  The old adage that victory has a thousand fathers, while defeat is an orphan. However, my opinion is that there were enough long-shots that came through (credit to netroots as well) and "serendipitous" (ie, the Repub self-destructed and thank God there was a Dem waiting) that the DLC cannot take credit for but Dean can.

    by Habitat Vic on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 09:02:00 AM PDT

  •  The Republicans are isolating themselves. (0+ / 0-)

    They are sinking down the drain of irrelevance and down the dustbin of history. The only place they will be able to win any elections in a few years will be the South and maybe Utah, Wyoming, and Alaska. They are no longer a national party but a regional one. The only reason people will have to vote for a Republican will be if the Democrat is a crook; and sometimes, even that will not be enough, as the example of Blago winning his reelection shows.

    Conservatism is Dead!

    by Eternal Hope on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 09:03:47 AM PDT

  •  Wait a minute... (0+ / 0-)

    If we are offering Delaware as an example of how well the FSS worked, why did a Repug win the AL House seat in a Blue state by 18 points?

    In other states, we are crediting the FSS for winning congressional seats.  Why not in true-Blue DE?

    I think all this credit-taking and blame-laying has gotten a bit irrational.  How many FSS staffers were in CT?

    by Muir Woods on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 09:46:16 AM PDT

    •  irrational? Read the email and compare it to the (0+ / 0-)

      article in the newspaper.  What could be more rational?  What's the matter you don't trust your own eyes?  

      by Delawareliberal on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 10:41:08 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  You obviously don't know much about Castle. (0+ / 0-)

      Or Delaware. More than any other state I know of, Delaware has a love affair with incumbents and bipartisanship. I was at the Doubletree Hotel with the Democratic party on election night, and you would not BELIEVE how many people failed to be disappointed by getting two more years of Castle. Popular former governor, blah blah blah, so moderate, blah blah blah, he's likeable, blah blah blah. Picture a room full of Tom Carper supporters - this is DLC-land. Carper and Biden cannot be bothered to campaign for Castle's challenger because they're so friggin' fond of doing photo-ops with him. "Look how we work together for Delaware, we're so bipartisan!"

      We had record turnout. Record turnout for a state where the only competitive statewide election was an attorney general's race. We knocked Castle from 70% down to 57% despite a grand total of zero help from ANYONE outside the DNC - no appearances from the Big Dog, no money from Rahm, no campaigning from Kerry, not even local support from our own senators. Absolutely NO ONE thought Castle would lose... you might as well complain that we failed to defeat Olympia Snowe. But by knocking him down to 57%, we made him look vulnerable.

      That said, the only way he's going to actually be defeated is if we crash the gate hardcore in this state.

      Visit Election Inspection for analysis, polls, and predictions!

      by XStryker on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 12:10:37 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  I'd say that the crew of the People-Powered Dean (0+ / 0-)

    deserve credit for sinking the GOP Delaware, a small, but significant commerce raider...

    We need not think alike to love alike -- Ferenc Dávid

    by ogre on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 04:39:18 PM PDT

  •  Ha! (0+ / 0-)

    Let's see how many Republicans are willing to fill those volunteer, unpaid positions in their party structure.  We know how those Republicans are SO NOT motivated by money or greed so I'm sure those positions will be filled in no time.  Hee!

    by jiminy on Thu Nov 16, 2006 at 10:39:42 PM PDT

  •  a bit of exageration, but there is a point here (0+ / 0-)

    Somehow in USA incumbency offers a big advantage, so part of the strategy has to take care of local and state offices --- where the future candidates will come from.

    The true importance of "50 state strategy" is what it will do in the future.  For example, state legislature will control re-apportioment, which is probably not that important in DE, but in OH, IL and FL we got much fewer seats than the percentage of the votes.  FL may be out of reach for a while, but in OH it will change.

    by Piotr on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 12:12:29 AM PDT

Permalink | 73 comments