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
State Chair: Terri Strine
Exec. Director-Political: David Crossan
Office: 43301 Lancaster Pike, Suite 4B, Wilmington

KE State Director: Summer Oesch initially, but she went to Pennsylvania in September.  Thereafter none.

Coordinated Campaign Director: Lee Ann Walling

Delaware Democratic Party
State Chair: Richard H. Bayard
Exec. Director: Nicole Majeski
Office: 19 E. Commons Blvd., 2nd Floor,  New Castle 

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.


The 2004 Campaign on the Web--Delaware 11/04/04
Republican State Comm. of DE
www.delawaregop.com
DE Democratic Party
www.deldems.info
[missed] [missed]
Libertarian Party of DE
www.de.lp.org
Green Party of DE
www.gpde.org
Independent Party of DE
www.independentparty
ofdelaware.org

...Governor
Bill Lee (R)
www.leedelaware.com
Ruth Ann Minner (D)
www.ruthann2004.org
Frank Infante (L, IndDE)
www.oneofusinoffice.com