By Greg Lavelle
Congratulations to newly sworn-in Reps. Eric Morrison, D-Glasgow, and Madinah Wilson-Anton, D-Newark, and Sen. Marie Pinkney, D-Bear. These three legislators won primaries that took place over the spring and summer months of 2020. In addition to shoe leather, they had the benefit of warm weather and long hours of daylight, so they and their volunteers could engage voters. Pandemic challenges noted, I’m sure they would confirm that voter contact was critical to their victories and will continue to be so in the future.
With bipartisan support, their incumbent colleagues in Dover are again trying to change the primary from September to April. By having the presidential and state primary combined, these incumbents argue that it may increase turnout, reduce confusion for voters and save money.
I don’t believe these arguments are true and feel there are ulterior motives are at play. Perhaps we could call Bill 30 the “Incumbent Protection and Summer Vacation Restoration Act of 2021” instead of its official title.
Presidential primaries occur every four years. Proposing that combined primary dates will increase turnout is speculative at best. To suggest that voters are confused with an extra election is insulting. The cost of a statewide primary is about $1 million. Delaware’s general fund budget over the next four years will exceed $20 billion. Do the math.
If supporters of the bill believe this, why not include school board elections as well? These arguments are a distraction to the underlying reason for the change, which is incumbent protection.
An April primary would essentially require a challenger to start campaigning the prior fall.
Knocking on doors when it is dark out — cold weather aside — would not be well-received by voters. Except for some limited hours on the weekends, December is out, as is January, February and most of March. The change to April makes is almost impossible to effectively campaign, as newly elected lawmakers did over the spring and summer of 2020. Money will matter even more, as the impact of voter interactions are significantly reduced.
Candidates currently make the decision to run in primaries in the early spring or sometimes later. An April primary will force this decision to the previous fall and considerably lengthen the election cycle. This will reduce the pool of candidates willing and able to run, given the work involved and the impact on families and professions.
Election results confirm that incumbents are difficult to defeat in primaries. Many legislators now announce their retirements in the spring, and an open seat can draw in numerous candidates and offer voters a choice. If an incumbent were to announce his/her retirement after the April primary, the party, not the voters, would select the candidates to run in November. Political insiders picking the candidates is hardly a good idea.
I have also heard on too many occasions legislators say they don’t want to lose their summer vacations as another real reason to make this change.
We should encourage Reps. Morrison and Wilson-Anton and Sen. Pinkney to reject this incumbent-protection bill and encourage their colleagues — some of whom also won primaries in previous elections — to do the same.
Republican Greg Lavelle was a state senator from 2012-18 and a state representative from 2000-12. He represented Sharpley.
