DELAWARE | 3 Electoral Votes |
Delaware was "sort of on the cusp" of being a battleground state, but never really made it on the list. None of the candidates or their wives made it to Delaware in the final eight months of the campaign. The state can almost be thought of as a suburb of Philadelphia, and it saw a share of the campaign in the form of news coverage and ads from Philadelphia television stations. There was also a bit of television advertising intended for Delaware done in the relatively inexpensive Salisbury, Maryland media market. There were also some yard signs.
Lee Ann Walling, who directed the Democrats' coordinated campaign in the state, offers the following observations (Sept. 28, 2005 e-mail):
"Because of our size and
fragmented media market, Delaware is still very much a retail politics
state where voters expect to see and meet the Governor and other statewide
candidates; we were mostly impervious to negative television ads up until
2004, when they started to work. We have become increasingly blue
in the northern, urban-suburban area of the state (Wilmington and metropolitan
New Castle County) and have turned red below the Chesapeake and Delaware
Canal (the geographical,
cultural, metaphysical dividing
line between northern and southern Delaware). But we look very blue
to the outside world.
"Democrats constantly complained about the lack of trinkets (yard signs, stickers, etc.) compared to what Bush had on the ground here, but in the end we delivered for Kerry."
See also:
Josh Levin. "Delaware:
It's up for grabs, and no one cares." Slate. Oct. 15,
2004.
Bush-Cheney '04 | Kerry-Edwards 2004 |
Organization details... | details... |
BC'04 State
Chair: Rep. Mike Castle
Victory 2004 Director: Rob Eppihimer Republican Party of Delaware
|
KE
State Director:
Summer Oesch initially, but she went to Pennsylvania in September.
Thereafter none.
Coordinated Campaign Director: Lee Ann Walling Delaware Democratic Party
|
Travel
BUSH-CHENEY | KERRY-EDWARDS |
none by the principals | none by the principals |
NADER-CAMEJO
September 11, 2004-Press
availability with Mike Billington, reporter w/ Wilmington News Journal,
at Mary’s Country Kitchen in Wilmington.
May 22, 2004-Press availability followed by meeting with volunteers at Mary’s Country Kitchen in Wilmington.
COBB-LAMARCHE
August 27, 2004
-Local briefing and breakfast
at Golden Castle Diner and Restaurant in Wilmington; media interviews;
press conference on Wal Mart with local candidates in Wilmington; lunch
and public meeting at the Crossroads Restaurant (intersection of Rte 7
and Kirkwood Highway); meet and greet at residence in Wilmington.
Newspaper Endorsements
BUSH | KERRY
The News Journal |
Nader
On Aug. 15, 2004 the campaign
announced it had accepted the nomination of the Independent
Party of Delaware and would appear on the Delaware ballot on their
party line.
Copyright © 2004,
2005 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.