Following the election victory of Barack
Obama and Joe Biden over the McCain-Palin ticket,
American politics settled into a relatively quiet
transition period. Several positions in the U.S. Senate,
House of Representatives, and Governor's seats came open
as Obama picked several veteran Democratic office-holders
to fill out his cabinet. Nearly all of those open seats
stirred some national interest, and, in several cases, a
degree of controversy as jockeying for those seats broke
out in several states.
Vice-President-Elect Joe Biden gave up his long-time
position as Delaware's senior Senator, and the Governor
of Delaware, Ruth Ann Minner (D), picked an old political
crony and senior adviser of Biden's to replace the new
Vice-President. Ted Kaufman has worked with Joe Biden for
decades in Washington D.C. as Biden's Chief of Staff, and
Kaufman had already declared that he will not run for
re-election.
This actually caused a bit of controversy as it was
widely assumed that Kaufman was serving as a
"place-holder" for Joe Biden's son, Delaware Attorney
General Beau Biden, who was considered very likely to run
for the seat in the 2010 Senate election. At the time of
the appointment of Kaufman, the younger Biden was
preparing to be deployed to Iraq with his National Guard
unit, and took himself out of the running as an appointed
replacement for his father's Senate seat.
Joe Biden has a reputation for speaking his mind, and
for being fairly honest with his opinions (for a
politician), and had this to say on the speculation
surrounding his son and his Senate seat:
"It is no secret that I believe my son,
Attorney General Beau Biden would make a great United
States Senatorjust as I believe he has been a
great Attorney General. But Beau has made it clear
from the moment he entered public life, that any
office he sought, he would earn on his own. If he
chooses to run for the Senate in the future, he will
have to run and win on his own. He wouldnt have
it any other way."
With Kaufman taking himself out of the 2010 election,
the early betting had a Democratic primary contest
between Attorney General Beau Biden and Delaware's
outgoing Lieutenant Governor John Carney. Carney lost the
2008 Governor's primary by 1,700 votes to Governor-Elect
Jack Markell. Carney had been considered as a potential
Senate candidate for whenever Biden would have moved on
or retired, prior to the ascendency of a potential Biden
Dynasty.
In October, 2009, Rep. Mike Castle, who is a former
two-term Republican Delaware governor, announced his
candidacy for Joe Biden's old Senate Seat.
In late January, 2010, Beau Biden sent shockwaves
through Delaware politics, and struck another body blow
to the Democratic Party's attempts to retain control of
the Senate in the 2010
Congressional Elections when he announced that he
would not run for his father's old Senate Seat.
Links and
Resources:
Beau
Biden takes a pass on a Senate run--Los Angeles Times
, Jan. 25, 2010
Biden's
son will not seek Delaware Senate seat--CNN, Jan. 25,
2010
Biden's
Son Will Not Run for Father's Senate Seat --New York
Times, Jan. 25, 2010
Bidens
seat kept warm --TheHill.com, Nov. 24, 2008
Ted
Kaufman to succeed Biden in Senate--Politico, Nov.
24, 2008