Coons Promises Delaware A Clear Choice
New Castle County Executive Chris Coons formally entered the Delaware Senate race yesterday, a quick turnaround for the Democrat since Attorney General Beau Biden surprised many last week with the decision not to seek his father's former seat.
In an interview with RCP Wednesday, Coons said that Biden informed him of his decision just 10 days ago, and immediately urged him to consider running himself. That was followed the next day by a call from Vice President Joe Biden, who told Coons he was confident he could give Rep. Mike Castle (R) a strong challenge.
"There's no question that he will start with the lead in name recognition," Coons said of the state's 9-term Congressman and former governor. "I intend to give the people of Delaware a clear choice between Congressman Castle and his 18 year record of serving in Congress and what I've done to make our local government stronger and our communities safer."
On Tuesday, before Coons had formally entered the race, the elder Biden told MSNBC that he "is going to surprise the devil out of you" as a candidate. Coons chuckled at Biden's enthusiasm, and said it's a sentiment that he shared when they spoke last week.
"You've got this ability to connect with people, I think it's the preacher in you," Coons says Biden told him. "You listen to people, you engage with them and you lift them up. And if you keep doing that and you engage with people and you care about them the way I know you do, I think you'll surprise Congressman Castle."
That process will start later this month when Coons says he'll make a public announcement of his candidacy, and follow it up with a statewide listening tour. He intends to contrast the tough choices he's had to make in local government with the actions of lawmakers like Castle in Washington.
"Unlike the folks in Congress, local government leaders have to balance their budgets every year. We can't just print more money. And that forces a healthy discipline on us," he said.
Coons said Biden's decision was a surprise, but that he knows it was hard for him returning from Iraq "and immediately being besieged by reporters asking him about this race." The increasingly challenging environment for Democrats was not a factor. In fact, Coons argued that recent Republican victories have been less about either party's standing, and more about voters' mood for change -- something he says he can capitalize on.
"Whether it's Democrat or Republican, I don't think [voters] really care, as much as they care whether you're listening, you're working and you're making change," Coons said.
At the same time, he thinks Delaware is a different place politically than it was when Castle first went to Congress.
"He represented a Republican Party that doesn't really exist nationally anymore," Coons said. "The party has moved to the right significantly. And Delaware, which was a swing state 18 years ago, is now a solidly Democratic state."
Asked about the fact that Castle has not ruled out the possibility that he would only serve the remaining four years on Biden's term and then retire, Coons says it's something voters should consider this fall.
"Delawareans are used to having the advantage, in Senator Roth and Senator Biden, of very longstanding, very senior, very effective senators," he said. "I do think they need to be mindful that this is an open seat, and if one of the candidates is saying upfront that they intend to serve four years and retire, they might want to take that into account whether that's laying the groundwork for long-term effective representation."
Coons said he expects the vice president to campaign with him often, and has received "lots of encouragement from the national party." Castle welcomed Coons to the race Wednesday, saying it will be a campaign "focused on solutions to issues that voters care about-- economic growth, reigning in runaway federal spending, and getting Delawareans back to work."