Delaware Election Results Explained by Democrats Massive Voter Registration Drive

RED STATE ^ | November 22, 2010 | Jonathon Moseley

[Moseley]

Recent voter registration statistics have now largely answered a lively debate within Delaware’s Republican party about the reasons for Republican losses on November 2, 2010.

Mike Castle would likely have lost the 2010 election if chosen as the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, Republican candidates for all offices in Delaware faced a fundamentally more hostile electorate in 2010 than ever existed in past years.

Democrats added 29,650 voters — a staggering 11% increase — from 2008 to 2010 in a highly-aggressive voter registration drive by the Democrat Party of Delaware.

Known as “the First State” for ratifying the US Constitution first, Delaware is nevertheless a lightly-populated, mostly agricultural oasis. Only 305,716 votes were cast for US Senate in Delaware. Therefore, the 29,650 increase in Democrat voter registration represents almost 10% of all votes cast for US Senate. It may be assumed that newly-registered voters are likely to vote.

2010 election results for all Delaware offices may be largely explained by the failures of the Delaware and national Republican party to engage in party-building and voter registration, compared to an aggressive and effective party-building operation by Democrats.

Total registered Democrat voters in July 2008 were only 264,167 voters for the entire State of Delaware. Democrats managed to increase total Democrat registered voters by 29,650 — an astonishing 11% increase — to 293,817 Democrat voters registered for the 2010 elections.

Increases in Democrat voter registrations did NOT come (on net) from Republicans switching parties. The Democrat Party aggressively registered new, first-time voters.

During the same period from 2008 to 2010, Republican registered voters increased by 4,153, and “Others” increased by 10,516. Therefore, the Democrats 29,650 voter increase does not represent (on net) Republicans switching to Democrats, but represents entirely new voters who had not previously voted in Delaware elections.

By comparison, Democrats showed a similar successful drive in prior years. Democrats increased registration from 2007 to 2008 by 14,451, while Republican increased registration from 2007 to 2008 by only 1,389, and “Others” increased by 1,286 voters.

Meanwhile, weaknesses in the Republican party’s core operations at the national level were just exposed by a controversial resignation letter by the Political Director of the Republican National Committee. Gentry Collins described an inadequate effort of party-building and fund-raising at the Republican National Committee.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45193.html

Voter registration totals from 2010 are published online at: http://elections.delaware.gov/services/candidate/regtotals.shtml

For 2008 at: http://elections.delaware.gov/services/candidate/more_regtotals.shtml

[lack-of-trust]

most of the “new” democrats were democrats before they moved to delaware.

We also get acorn type groups doing streetcorner registration in Newark (college town) and Wilmngton (the state’s only urban center)

[lack-of-trust]

I think you mean the 26th rep district... which is to the east of Newark. The Universitry has very little impact on this district (it’s not home to students or faculty).

I don’t recognize the name of the R. I don’t think he acutally campaigned. (no signs, no debates)

Here are the Delaware results:

http://elections.delaware.gov/results/html/election.shtml

[Hartlyboy]

I beg to differ with the article’s premise and the idea that the newly minted Democrats were illegals here to work in agriculture. Our problem in Delaware has been the rapid loss of farmland by aggressive developers who bought up hundreds of farms and turned them into a sea of vinyl boxes for people from NJ, PA and NY to buy as they fled their tax hellholes . A few of the people who swarmmed in here were Republicans but most were Democrats who will assure we follow the same tax and spend policies that ruined the places they came from.

[deport]

It may be assumed that newly-registered voters are likely to vote.

---

Yep most anything can be assumed but that doesn’t make it fact. It may also be assumed that many of the newly registered democrats didn’t bother to vote.

[Moseley]

This still does not explain the 15-20 point lead Coons had over O’Donnell leading up to the election. Unless the polls included newly registered first time voters who were very committed to voting on election day.

The polls were all over the map.

Christine O'Donnell was AHEAD of Chris Coons in the polls in the Summer, before the GOP moderates started to attack her.

Polls leading up to the election were all over the map, from showing Christine ahead to down 20 points.

So who turns out is the entire issue.

[Moseley]

ARI-FREEDOM wrote: People registered to vote against COD. Republicans, get your act together.

You have proof of this? No, of course not.

The facts on the ground are that FOR A SOLID YEAR before the election, the Democrat Party had a team of 22 people registering new Democrat voters -- ALMOST A YEAR before the nominee was known.

These Democrats registered to vote believing that the nominee would be Mike Castle.

The deadline to register to vote in the general election was October 9, 2010. The primary election was on September 14, 2010. 29,650 new Democrats DID NOT register to vote between around September 21 (after getting to know Christine O'Donnell) and October 9.

Can you document that 29,650 Democrats registered to vote between September 14 and Octoer 9?

Of course, everyone said that Chirs Coons would be a shoe-in against Christine O'Donnell, that Christine O'Donnell could not possibly win. That was said the very night of September 14.

So why would any Democrat regsiter to vote simply because Christine O'Donnell was the nominee? They were told that Chris Coons would easily win hands down, without breaking a sweat, against Christine O'Donnell. If they had not already registered, they would not register after learning that Christine O'Donnell was guaranteed to lose against Chris Coons, according to the pundits.

29,650 Democrats were registered to try to defeat MIKE CASTLE, the expected winner of the nomination.

[gusopol3]

yes, that’s the district; how in the world is that 95 % D for anything? I see O’Donnell, Urq, etc, did a little better there. I can’t buy even lack of name recognition for a practically anonymous republican candidate; there have to be 25 % Republicans just going down the line just about anywhere.

[lack-of-trust]

Did some digging, he had officially withdrawn from the race. (not sure how he got 100 votes)

from the Dprt of Elec website:

STATE REP DIS 26 N REPUBLICAN JANCO HANS-ERIK
27 MAHOPAC DR, VILLAGE OF BECKS POND, BEAR DE 19701

NOTE: Effective Oct 7, 2010 at 9:57AM candidate has withdrawn.

[exit82]

Ping for an excellent review of the Dem strategy for 2010 in DE.

New voters were registered prior to the DE GOP primary by the Dems, thinking their opponent would be RINO Mike Castle.

This puts an end to the “Mike Castle would have won in DE” argument.

[hoosiermama]

Wonder if those registration were legal? How many voted absentee? Out of state college students?

[SkyPilot]

Yup - you're right on with everything you said.

There is a lot of agriculture going on, however, in the NJ - PA - Delaware region as well.

Here is but one example: have you ever heard of Hammonton NJ? Nice place, known as the "Blueberry Capitol of the World." Because of blueberries (and other ag products), a lot of illegals get work there, and then stay there.

Drive through downtown Hammonton, and you see a town where a lot of 5'5" illegals wearing hooded sweat jackets walk down main street with open cans of alcohol, as they stumble down to the dirty, greasy Mexican restaurant by the RR tracks. Crime in that town went way, waaay up the last few years. Don't be a woman and walk down a side street after dark there.

Where you have agriculture, you get illegals.

Hammonton Flooded With Ohio License Plates for Illegal Aliens