Good afternoon,
In the past couple of months, the longshot candidacy of Kerri Harris against long-time U.S Sen. Tom Carper gained national attention.
It clearly caught the imagination of The Intercept, a leftist website that covered and pretty much beat the drum for her candidacy.
Harris was featured or mentioned in at least 10 stories. Many pieces seemed to hint that an upset was in the offing. The coverage was expansive for a state with 962,000 people.
Harris, who resides in Dover, has an interesting life story and did a lot with a tiny fraction of Carper’s campaign war chest.
At times, it appeared that Harris’ charges that Carper was a tool of corporate interests by accepting contributions from pharmaceutical and financial service companies had gained traction.
And while Carper, a centrist at heart, had long been a critic of the president, the tone of his remarks became more pointed after Harris announced her candidacy.
Harris’ candidacy fell back to earth on Thursday as Carper grabbed nearly 65 percent of the vote. It was enough for Harris to declare a moral victory but fell well short of the Intercept’s narrative.
Her cash-strapped campaign seemed to focus on liberal strongholds and had little presence in more traditional Democratic areas that need yard signs and other reminders.
A veteran campaigner who knows the location of every fire hall in the state, Carper did not become complacent, knowing full well what happened to popular Cong. Mike Castle. Castle fell victim to insurgent candidate Christine O’Donnell in the GOP race for a Senate seat. O’Donnell later lost by a wide margin to Democrat Chris Coons.
Carper now faces Rob Arlett, a Sussex County Councilman who was a key figure in Trump’s Delaware campaign. Trump bagged a big win in Sussex and a smaller margin of victory in Kent County. Trump did not fare as well in New Castle County and lost the state by 11 percentage points.
Have a great weekend. The newsletter returns on Monday. – Doug Rainey, publisher.
