Cape area incumbents mark primary wins

Two days after defeating three candidates in the GOP primary for Sussex County Council District 3, I.G. Burton III was out working on his campaign.

“When you work hard and win, it's really rewarding,” he said. “There was nothing more I could have done, and I was at peace win, lose or draw.”

Burton won with 35.77 percent of the vote. He received 1,256 votes, while Mark Schaeffer tallied 1,129, Kevin Burdette received 665 and Frank Shade received 461.

Burton said he had a lot of praise for people who supported his campaign. “I didn't know just how valuable volunteer supporters are. District 3 is huge, and I couldn't cover it all,” he said. “You need people who believe in you. They were wonderful.”

Burton said while he will still focus on key issues, he will also have to reach out to Republicans who did not vote for him. “I have to gain their confidence,” he said.

In addition, he said, he will reach out to Democrats and Independents. “I had a long time to plan for the primary, and now I have just 50 days until the general election,” he said.

He said he would continue to talk about a predictable path forward for people who do business with county government. “It's a new concept. I'm not saying the county needs to say yes to everything, but they have to put clear, concise rules out there,” he said. “And the county needs to act quicker.”

Burton, who has served 11 years as a county planning and zoning commissioner, said the effort to provide more predictability extends beyond the comprehensive land-use plan. “The plan is the blueprint, but it's new ordinances that are the nuts and bolts,” he said.

Burton will now face off against Democrat Leslie Ledogar in the Nov. 8 general election.

In the other county council race, incumbent Sam Wilson defeated challenger Lisa Hudson Briggs with 55.55 percent of the vote – 1,355 to 1,093 – in the Republican primary for Sussex County Council District 2.

Wilson, who faces no Democratic challenger and was elected to a third term, said he has a lot of good friends and supporters who worked hard for him this primary season. “A lot of people believe in what I say and do,” he said.

Recovering from a stroke, he vowed that he would register to run for office only if he could get out of his wheelchair and walk into the elections commission office under his own power.

“I was able to do that. The Lord called me to run,” he said.

Looking ahead, Wilson said county officials need to change their spending habits. “The general public is not happy about money being spent foolishly,” he said.

He said a prime example is the $100,000 spent on a name change and marketing for the county's airport, now known as Delaware Coastal Airport.

Wilson also said the county has spent too much money and time on a new sign ordinance. “I don't hear any real complaints from anyone,” he said.

Wilson said he has seen a shift of attitude on county council. “I need more conservative help on council. We need to vote like Republicans,” he said.

Wilson, who lives on the Georgetown family farm, first ran for office in 1974, seeking the state attorney general's seat as Independent and receiving 5 percent of the vote. He was first elected to county council in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012.

State-level races

The afternoon after securing his first primary election victory in over a decade, Pete Schwartzkopf said he was tired.

“We were up until 2:30 in the morning pulling signs,” said Schwartzkopf, who defeated Democratic challenger Don Peterson in the Sept. 13 primary for the 14th District Representative. It’s a position Schwartzkopf has held since 2002.

Sussex County’s only elected Democrat in Dover, Speaker of the House Rep. Schwartzkopf defeated Peterson with 73.9 percent of the vote – 1,868 to 660. He said the decisive win shows that people approve of what he’s doing in Dover.

“You have to take primaries seriously. You just never know,” he said. “There’s a lot of door knocking. It gets you back into close contact with voters, which is always a good thing.”

Schwartzkopf will now face off against Republican and Long Neck resident James DeMartino in the Nov. 8 general election.

In the closest race of the evening, Republican George Parish lost to Jeff Cragg in the GOP primary for insurance commissioner. Parish, who received 48.4 percent of the vote to Cragg’s 51.6 percent, had 1,800 more votes than his opponent in Sussex and Kent counties, but lost New Castle County by 2,700 votes.

“I’m disappointed we did not prevail, but I’m very pleased with the number of voters in Sussex County who overwhelmingly approved of my candidacy,” said Parish.

Parish’s campaign slogan throughout the primary was, “The status quo must go!” He said he was happy to see Karen Weldin Stewart lose her re-election bid in the Democratic primary. She lost to Trinidad Navarro, with 45.1 percent of the vote to his 54.9 percent.

Parish said a Weldin Stewart loss is a real benefit to the state’s citizens and insurance policyholders, Parish said.

Cragg and Navarro will now face off in the general election.

Kathy McGuiness, a Democrat from Rehoboth, finished third in a Democratic primary for lieutenant governor that featured six candidates. She received 17.24 percent of the vote; the winner of the race, Sen. Bethany Hall-Long, received about 29 percent. Of the four other candidates, Sherry Dorsey Walker tallied 21.8 percent, while Brad Eaby won 5.6 percent. Sussex County’s Gregory Fuller tallied 9 percent of the vote, while Ciro Poppiti garnered 17.2 percent.

McGuiness held her ground in Sussex County, where she received the most votes – 3,915 – of the all candidates. Hall-Long, who grew up near Bethany but lives in Middletown, finished second with 3,153 votes.

“My team and I were disappointed that things didn’t go our way last night. I feel we ran a strong, professional campaign,” said McGuiness, congratulating Hall–Long and the other candidates. “When you look at the turnout numbers, Sussex County nearly matched the City of Wilmington’s turnout. Now with the primary over, we need to look ahead to November and unite.”

Hall-Long now faces off against Republican La Mar Gunn in the general election.

In the Democratic congressional primary, Lisa Blunt Rochester enjoyed a comfortable win over the five other candidates with 43.76 percent of the vote. New Castle County candidates Bryan Townsend and Sean Barney each received more than 20 percent of the vote, while Lewes’ Mike Miller finished fourth with 5.5 percent of the vote.

Rochester, looking to become the state’s first woman and first African-American U.S. representative, now moves on to a general election battle against Republican Hans Reigle and Libertarian Scott Gesty.

Candidate Scott Walker, who received less than 5 percent of the vote, filed as a write-in candidate Sept. 14.

In the Republican primary for governor, Sen. Colin Bonini’s primary win was nearly as comfortable as Schwartzkopf’s. Bonini received 70 percent of the votes, while his opponent Lacey Lafferty received 30 percent.

Lafferty, who responded to an email while working out at the gym, said she was feeling great, refreshed.

“Campaigning throughout Delaware in the past three years was an awesome experience meeting people I would have not met any other way. That's real grassroots campaigning,” she said. “To talk with people and hear what they are experiencing whether it's a tragedy, good or bad news, family or working issues within our communities, counties and state is an enlightening experience.”

Bonini will face off against U.S. Congressman John Carney, a Democrat, and Sean Goward, a Libertarian, in the general election.

According to the Department of Elections, voter turnout for Democrats was 20 percent, while 16 percent of Republicans voted.