With Biden in the White House, Delaware is in the spotlight

By Matt Bittle
Posted 4/11/21

DOVER — We all love Delaware, but let’s face it — it’s one of the more forgettable states.

Ranking 45th in population and above only Rhode Island in area, the First State …

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With Biden in the White House, Delaware is in the spotlight

Posted

DOVER — We all love Delaware, but let’s face it — it’s one of the more forgettable states.

Ranking 45th in population and above only Rhode Island in area, the First State is not exactly a powerhouse. It doesn’t have the cachet of a New York or California and is in many respects dwarfed even by its immediate neighbors of Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Twice the size of Luxembourg, a little less than half as big as Puerto Rico, Delaware is perhaps best known for being the first state to ratify the Constitution, for being the legal home to more than 1 million corporations and for being the butt of jokes (Dela-where?). But, it has miles of publicly accessible beaches, no sales tax and is located only a few hours from some of the country’s biggest urban areas.

Now, however, the little state situated on a peninsula sandwiched in between the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay/River has something else to brag about: one of its own in the White House. When Joe Biden was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, Delaware became the 19th state to have a resident hold the nation’s top elected office.

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1942, President Biden moved to New Castle County with his family at age 10. He was elected to New Castle County Council in 1970 and to the U.S. Senate in 1972, becoming one of the youngest senators ever. After spending 36 years in the Senate, making him the longest-serving member of Congress from the First State, he made history in 2008 as the first Delawarean elected vice president.

He’s long been proud of his Delaware background, returning several times to his Greenville-area home since the inauguration (to the chagrin of some who have gotten caught up in traffic caused by his motorcade).

“When I die, Delaware will be written on my heart,” he said at Delaware National Guard headquarters the day before he was sworn in. It’s a line he’s often echoed.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris garnered 58.8% of the Delaware vote in 2020, the second-highest total any presidential candidate has pulled in here in the past nine presidential elections. (Barack Obama earned 61.9% in 2008, a percentage undoubtedly boosted by having then U.S. Sen. Biden as his running mate.)

Many Delawareans celebrated when the Democrat was declared the winner in November and again when he officially took office in January. Dogfish Head shared a Twitter post jokingly speculating Punkin Chunkin will be held in Washington on the National Mall, with the Apple Scrapple Festival taking place on the White House lawn and actress Aubrey Plaza, a former Wilmington resident once voted the most famous Delaware native, hosting. The University of Delaware Creamery posted on Instagram a photo of President Biden enjoying some of its ice cream, which it described as “so good, it’s fit for a president,” while Capriotti’s sandwich chain shared a drawing of President Biden sitting on one of its signature Bobbies.

Though the impact of having a Delawarean as president can be overstated, there will be tangible effects on the First State.

“I think the most obvious first impact is that everybody hears about Delaware,” said David Redlawsk, the James R. Soles professor of political science at the University of Delaware. “It’s a funny thing, but this is a state that a lot of people don’t seem to know exists and so they can’t do that anymore.”

Because of how politically polarized the nation is, many Delawareans who voted for Donald Trump in November won’t take pride in President Biden’s victory, he noted, a change from a few decades ago when individuals could be unhappy with the outcome but still happy for their state.

Take Republican Tom Wagner, for instance.

Mr. Wagner, who was the state auditor from 1989 to 2019 and was for a few years toward the end of his tenure the only statewide Republican elected official, is proud of his home state Delaware. While he doesn’t agree politically with the president, he’s known Joe Biden for more than three decades and likes him personally.

When the current president was vice president, Mr. Wagner attended an event at his Washington, D.C., home. The longtime senator surprised Mr. Wagner’s aunt, a big fan of the Biden family, calling her on the phone while Mr. Wagner and the vice president spent a few minutes alone together — no security — in the same room.

“Not many people can say they’ve sat just one-on-one in the vice president’s living room with him,” Mr. Wagner said.

He never expected a Delawarean to become president, noting the state is almost an afterthought in the Electoral College because it has just three electoral votes.

Americans are more aware of the First State because of President Biden, Mr. Wagner said: “It certainly puts us more on the map.”

The 2020 Democratic National Convention, set to be held in Milwaukee, was scuttled because of COVID-19. Instead, many ceremonies and events took place virtually, while some were moved to Wilmington.

President Biden accepted the Democratic nomination in the city, and the Chase Center and the adjoining Westin hotel became for a time the unofficial campaign headquarters, especially in the days immediately following the election while ballots were tallied. The now-president delivered his victory speech outside the Chase Center in front of an audience of hundreds of adoring fans.

Delaware could see an increase in tourism as a result, especially down the road if President Biden has a successful tenure in office, Dr. Redlawsk said. Mr. Wagner shared similar sentiments, although he’s unsure exactly how big the boost will be.

Due to the state’s small size and the retail nature of its politics, many Delawareans have had encounters with Joe Biden over the years, be they at campaign events, Mass at St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church or just at the grocery store.

“In Delaware, if you haven’t met one of your politicians you don’t leave the house,” Mr. Wagner said with a laugh.

Even state GOP Chairwoman Jane Brady recognizes the nature of the accomplishment, expressing some Delaware pride ahead of the inauguration despite preferring Donald Trump.

Sam Hoff, the George Washington Distinguished Professor of History and Political Science at Delaware State University, said earlier this year Joe Biden will over time become a part of the school curriculum in the state.

“Eventually the president’s life story, it sort of integrates itself into education stuff, whether it’s a history quiz or that sort of thing,” Dr. Hoff said.

He noted Pennsylvania also claims President Biden, whose name is attached to centers at both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Delaware.

Though having one of its own would seem to be a boost for the Delaware Democratic Party, any sort of impact on the state’s politics figures to be muted because Delaware is already such a strong Democratic state, Dr. Redlawsk said.

Still, Delaware’s congressional delegation should have additional leadership opportunities in the coming years, with U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester having a sort of direct line to the White House.

Sen. Carper visited the U.S.-Mexico border last week to see how the federal government is handling the swell of Central Americans, mostly minors, seeking refuge here and planned to speak with President Biden about the situation. Meanwhile, Sen. Coons, who has long had a special interest in Africa, was dispatched to Ethiopia a few weeks ago to meet with the prime minister and relay human-rights concerns from the White House.

The fact the state’s delegation has the fewest possible members makes it easier for President Biden to communicate with Sens. Carper and Coons and Rep. Blunt Rochester about issues in Delaware, Dr. Redlawsk noted.

For Gov. John Carney, the election of President Biden is in some ways personal. He worked for then Sen. Biden in the late 1980s and actually met his wife, Tracey, a fellow staffer for the office, there.

“We’re extremely proud to have one of our own, a Delawarean, in the White House. Delawareans know Joe as a man of decency who is committed to making progress for all Americans,” the governor said in an email. “This is an exciting time for Delaware, and we hope and expect that having a Delawarean in the White House will bring more attention to our state, and more visitors to explore all the great things that Delaware has to offer. Delaware has a lot of advantages — the lowest taxes in the region, diverse communities, world-class talent, great beaches and proximity to multiple large cities. We expect Delaware will come out of this crisis stronger than ever.”

Of course, it’s not all positive: Traffic around the Biden houses in Greenville and Rehoboth Beach increases when President Biden is there, something sure to frustrate neighbors. But, that comes with the territory and many would consider it a small price to pay for having a Delawarean in the White House.

It seems safe to say that four years from now, more people both across the country and across the globe will be aware of little old Delaware, the small state punching above its weight.

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