BLUE WAVE ROCKS DELCO
LOCAL GOP SAYS THEY GOT HIT IN ANTI-TRUMP FERVOR IN ‘BURBS
It’s a sign of the times Wednesday morning as campaign signs go out with the trash in the wake of Tuesday’s election.
As Democrats won the Delco seat in U.S. Congress, one state Senate seat and four state representative positions, leaders on both sides of the aisle analyzed the phenomena that motivated thousands of voters to hit the polls Tuesday.
On Tuesday, 59 percent of Delaware County’s 402,804 registered voters came out – at times in driving rain – to select their chosen candidates.
And, upsets were plenty. The mayor of Swarthmore, Democrat Tim Kearney, edged out state Sen. Tom McGarrigle, R-26 of Springfield, to become the first Democrat in that position since 1974. Democrat Dave Delloso won over Republican Mary Hopper in the
162nd state legislative district race. Jenn O’Mara took the 165th from incumbent state Rep. Alex Charlton,
R-165 of Springfield, and Democrat Mike Zabel overtook state Rep. Jamie Santora, R-163 of Upper Darby.
“We drove into some tough headwinds tonight, all throughout the year, not of our own doing,” Springfield GOP leader Michael Puppio said at the Springfield Country Club Tuesday night after announcing McGarrigle’s loss. “Every day, folks like us tried to explain a tweet. Social media is a different world today.”
Delaware County Democratic Chairwoman Colleen Guiney acknowledged that dislike for the president drove many voters to the polls, but she said that wasn’t the sole reason for Delco’s move to blue.
“If it was just (President Donald) Trump, then every Democrat in every race in the country would have won,” she said. “It was a combination of excellent candidates who worked very hard and energized and mobilized the Democratic base and hard work of reaching out to voters.”
Yet, like her counterparts, she recognized the president’s demeanor did come into play, noting that this season’s candidates emerged as early as February 2017.
“When the last presidential election happened and it was as upsetting to people as it came, they understood their democracy was at stake and they understood they had to get involved,” Guiney said. “Since 2016, people have been reaching out more and more.”
And, voters historically have favored the opposite party of that of the president.
“During President Obama’s presidency, he lost 60 seats in Congress,” Delaware County Republican Chairman Andrew Reilly said. “He was a great motivator for Republicans. We got the benefit of the enthusiasm when President Obama was in there.”
So, then, Reilly said, the reverse holds true as well.
“I think 95 percent of Democratic voters and 25 percent of Republicans were there to send a message to President Trump,” Reilly said. “That was driven by national media.”
He said Delco voters were focused when they went to the polls, with many of them not taking literature from poll workers.
“It certainly was a Democratic surge in Delaware County,” Reilly said. “We’re going to have a lot of new faces in Delaware County.”
Guiney said local Republican candidates should have been more critical of the president.
“Why isn’t it that they didn’t distance themselves from the negative behavior and negative comments that he made,” she asked, adding that McGarrigle’s negative campaigning hurt him. “He tried to change tunes very quickly. It didn’t work. It obviously didn’t work. People were very tired of having their elected official saying there were bad people living in this district.”
Reilly said there is support for the president in Delaware County.
“The candidates we lost got caught up with the national trend,” he said. “Still, 75 percent of Republicans in the county are supportive of the president.”
The GOP leader said their local candidates had their own strengths that got lost in the national dynamic.
“They ran on their own merits,” Reilly said. “In this campaign, national issues really overtook local issues and candidate credentials.”
“It was a combination of excellent candidates who worked very hard and energized and mobilized the Democratic base and hard work of reaching out to voters.”
— Delaware County Democratic Chairwoman Colleen Guiney