Really?!
Bodenweiser drops out
Five days after putting his campaign for a state Senate seat on ice, Republican Eric Bodenweiser has filed papers to take his name off the Nov. 6 ballot.
State elections Commissioner Elaine Manlove confirmed Bodenweiser had withdrawn from the 19th District race, and the Department of Elections in Georgetown posted signs in its offices last week announcing the change.
It’s been reported that the former candidate, a conservative allied with the tea party who defeated incumbent Sen. Joe Booth in September’s Republican primary, is the target of a Delaware State Police investigation.
Bodenweiser facing 100+ counts in child sex abuse case
Ed Heath, a Bridgeville Republican who attended Bodenweiser's fundraiser last month, said he was left dumbfounded by the news of the indictment against Bodenweiser.
"We don't know the whole story, so there's always a chance he could be found innocent," he said. "But we're definitely disappointed by this. If he had this skeleton in his background, he never should have run because everything gets brought out in the wash."
Police give few details on Bodenweiser probe
Bodenweiser’s brother, Paul, who lives in Kingsport, Tenn., said he was questioned at length last week by a Delaware State Police detective seeking information on his brother.
He would not disclose the nature of the conversation, but said that “there is absolutely nothing concerning my brother that would surprise me.”
The brothers’ relationship has soured to the point that Paul Bodenweiser maintains a website to campaign against Eric Bodenweiser’s 2010 and 2012 state Senate campaigns.
Bodenweiser drops out of Senate race
Election officials will re-issue absentee ballots in the 19th district, Manlove said, but have few options about actually taking Bodenweiser’s name off the ballot. Some polling places may cover his name with a sticker. “At the minimum, signs will be placed near the machine in the polling place,” Manlove said. UPDATE: Sussex County Elections Commissioner Ken McDowell says officials, at the minimum, will place stickers over Bodenweiser’s name on the ballots in the 19th district.
Republican party officials are now supporting Brian Pettyjohn, the Republican party official who is running as a write-in candidate against Democrat Jane Hovington, who has not returned calls seeking comment.
Most of the news right now is local. And amusingly dancing around the reason for his withdrawal. But SFGate is on it. Visit for the pic:
Former Del. candidate charged with child sex abuse
A Republican who recently dropped out of a state Senate race for personal reasons was indicted Monday on charges of child sexual abuse.
A Sussex County grand jury returned an indictment charging Eric Bodenweiser, 53, of Georgetown with 39 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and 74 counts of unlawful sexual contact involving a young boy.
Democratic candidate Jane Hovington is running against the stickered-over Republican candidate. You can donate to her campaign
here.