Castle leads Biden's son in matchup [Delaware Senate seat]

Politico ^ | 05/05/09 | Josh Kraushaar

[freespirited]

Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) would start off as the front-runner in a 2010 Senate race against state Attorney General Beau Biden, the vice president’s son, according to a new poll.

The automated survey, conducted by the GOP firm Susquehanna Polling and Research, shows Castle leading Biden by 21 points, 55 percent to 34 percent. Neither has announced plans to run for the seat now held by Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), who is not running for reelection, though both appear to be leaning in that direction.

Castle, a leading Republican moderate, has comfortably won reelection since first winning the House seat in 1992. He served as Delaware’s governor from 1984 to 1992. Biden is currently stationed in Iraq with the National Guard.

Another automated poll, conducted in March, showed Castle with a much smaller 8-point lead over Biden, 44 percent to 36 percent.

[freespirited]

Doesn't Beau have a skeleton or two in his closet? (Besides his father, who is already out).

[RexBeach]

“Beau Biden,” and he’s already the state AG?

Is that his given name?

[freespirited]

No it’s a nickname.

[irish guard]

But I thought the Republicans were dead all over the US?

[RexBeach]

That’s a relief.

[freespirited]

The GOP is soooo dead that a Republican just won election in RAT-infested Fairfax County, People’s Republic of Northern Virginia.

And the GOP has been leading the RATS on Ras’ generic Congressional ballot.

That’s how dead the GOP is.

[TitansAFC]

Nice to have the opportunity for a pickup, but let's be real.

If a Republican is going to win this seat, it will be by a nose, not a landslide. Between defections on the right from folks who'll look to the Constitution Party, etc. even in the face of Super-majorities, and the left-leaning Moderates and Middle “coming home” to “generic Democrat candidate X,” it will take every last vote and a full night of counting to take over a Democrat Senate seat in Delaware.

Still, it's good to have a shot at a takeover there!!!

[GOPsterinMA]

This isn’t the worst thing to hear - or about as good as Charlene Crist winning in FL.

Trade the seat in PA (if Toomey doesn’t win) for one in DE.

[NTHockey]

>>Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), who is not running for reelection, <<

Kaufman was NEVER elected, so he can’t run for relection. He is the seat warmer for Beau, as the family seat passes in hereditary fashion.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Castle is a RINO. But, let’s be realistic here. In some states, the only thing that will win is a RINO. I think DE is one of those states (as is Maine, which is why I don’t call for primary challenges against Snowe and Collins like I was against Specter). In a state where you won’t see a true conservative win, I’d rather at least have the seat in our column and have someone who’ll vote with us half the time than I would see it helping to give Obama a majority and having someone in it who will vote for us none of the time.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Not only is Castle a RINO, he’ll be 71 years old by the time the campaign begins. Seniority is important in the Senate, and Castle would never get a significant amount of it.

[Big_Monkey]

"Castle is a RINO. But, let’s be realistic here. In some states, the only thing that will win is a RINO. I think DE is one of those states (as is Maine, which is why I don’t call for primary challenges against Snowe and Collins like I was against Specter). In a state where you won’t see a true conservative win, I’d rather at least have the seat in our column and have someone who’ll vote with us half the time than I would see it helping to give Obama a majority and having someone in it who will vote for us none of the time.

This is such a no-brainer, I don't know why it's lost on so many here. Beau Biden, assuming that he parrots his father's position, will virtually never vote for with the GOP except in the most administrative of Senate votes. But, for the ones that actually show a partisan split (incidentally, a great percentage of Senate votes have really nothing to do with partisan politics), Biden would never vote with the GOP.

Take a guy like Specter as an example. There's no clearer case of RINOism than with Specter. But, even in the most partisan of votes, Specter usually voted with the GOP - he had a 68% voting record. Certainly not ideal or acceptable, but it's better than what a Democrat would have given us. To be clear, I'm not sorry Specter's gone as I think his age and his vote on the budget alone were more than enough reason to jettison him. But, if you've got some time, check out Project Vote Smart. Specter certainly toed the line on conservative issues a surprising number of times, especially in key votes.

Beau Biden would be hundreds of time worse than Specter and I'm happy to see that he's vulnerable no matter how RINOish his challenger may be.

[JSDude1]

Delaware is the most RINO state I have ever been to in relation to the Republican Party, Castle is a big-gov/big business (corporate welfare & banker’s protection program) Republican in the US Congress..you’d be better off with a Dem, even Biden!