Delaware’s Democrats secure a mandate victory, Republicans strategize for 2014

A mandate victory for Delaware democrats, specifically among minority voters, sends a wake up call to  republicans.

Despite the GOP’s attempt to get minority candidates on the ballot during this election season, the party still didn’t seem to catch the attention of voters in the long standing blue state.

Charlie Copeland, former state senate minority leader for Delaware, said the state’s Republican Party was unsuccessful in connecting their issues to the more than 20 percent of the minority voting population in New Castle County.

“Delaware is not the same place it was 25 or 30 years ago,” said Copeland. “Brandywine Hundred is not a bunch of DuPont executive spouses. It is a vibrant intermixed community. It’s Newark, it’s Bear, and the Republican Party needs to, not change their beliefs, but explain those beliefs that resonate with a different demographic and I think we failed to do that.”

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As last night’s elections results were rolling in, Delaware Republican Committee Chairman John Sigler said the party is moving in the right direction with young, diverse candidates such as governor candidate Jeff Cragg, lieutenant governor candidate Sher Valenzuela, and Insurance Commissioner candidate Ben Mobley.

“This isn’t your grandfather’s republican party,” he said. “We’ve got an African American male and a female with a Hispanic last name at the top of our ticket. They’re doing well, they’re part of our future and I think they’re indicative of what you’re going to see happen here in the state of Delaware with the republican party of the future.”

Throughout the debates democrats tagged republicans as tea party candidates and Copeland said that could have scared off liberal voters. 

“I think there are a lot of individuals out there who think government has gotten too big, it spends money inefficiently, it’s allocating money to areas of the economy that are not growing areas or are sink holes like Bloom energy and Fiskr,” said Copeland. “I think that’s a good thing. We ought to have that debate. But I think there’s an element to the Tea Party, as it’s been popularized, that some have said that it’s a racist element.”

While republican assess candidates and gear up for 2014 elections, Sigler said they will continue working on the issues they brought fourth during campaign season.

“We will continue the discussion on issues. The Making Delaware First Again Program, our legislators will in fact, sometime between now and the first of the year, actually file legislation that they talked about. You’ll see the republican party drive discussion on the issues.”

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