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Three candidates are running for the Democratic nomination for Delaware’s sole congressional seat, held since 1992 by Rep. Mike Castle, a Republican.
Karen Hartley-Nagle, Jerry Northington and Mike Miller are all newcomers to political office. They will face off in the Tuesday, Sept. 9 Democratic primary.
Hartley-Nagle
Hartley-Nagle, 46, lives in North Wilmington. In 2006, she ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress, losing the Democratic primary to Dennis Spivack, while capturing 40 percent of the primary vote. Then she ran on an Independent ticket, losing in the general election. The support she received inspired her to run again, she said. “I consider myself a candidate of action. I have vision, ideas and leadership to take us into a prosperous future,” she said. Hartley-Nagle is a stay-at-home mother of four, who founded a nonprofit, child-advocacy association in 2003. She said her lobbying efforts helped to influence lawmakers to pass stronger laws against child predators.
She said she would offer tax incentives to keep companies in the U.S. “Right now we’re seeing an outsourcing of jobs overseas across the board,” she said. She supports green, clean jobs in Delaware. “I’ve been promoting the wind farm and I would like to see us manufacture offshore wind turbines and electric boxes for hybrid, plug-in cars,” she said.
In 2004, she also lost the 16th Senatorial District race to Sen. John Still, but from that campaign sprung her support for a single-payer universal healthcare plan. “I believe that we’re going to have to embrace a form of single-payer healthcare nationally to compete globally,” she said. She also supports founding a university in southern Delaware. In Sussex County, in particular, she said, more doctors, nurses and medical practitioners are needed. She supports a safe, phased pullout of Iraq. “The $270 million a day we’re spending in the war that we’re also borrowing from China should be targeted for Americans,” she said. “This is a time of profound national change…In spite of our own inadequacies or shortcomings, this change will sweep many of us into office, just as it sweeps the old out,” Hartley-Nagle said.
Northington
Northington is a 61-year-old veterinarian who lives in North Wilmington. He is a Vietnam veteran and peace activist. “The war is the No. 1 reason that got me into this race. We need to get out of Iraq as rapidly as possible, a full withdrawal,” he said. He supports small businesses and says they’re the greatest source of new jobs in the state and the country. “Let’s level the playing field between large corporations and small businesses,” he said. He said he would push for the same opportunities and tax breaks for small businesses that large corporations receive.
“I’m a staunch environmentalist. I’m opposed to carbon fuels,” Northington said. He supports alternative energy, including solar, wind and thermal energy. He also advocates for expanding public transportation. “My wife and I installed solar panels thanks to a Delaware subsidy,” Northington said. Northington also calls for a universal, single-payer healthcare plan, or what he calls Medicare for everyone. “Every person should be able to walk into a doctor’s office, get the finest healthcare they have to offer and not worry about who’s going to pay for it,” Northington said. He said the government should pay for healthcare. “It would be similar to an expanded Medicare program just like all the developed nations of the world,” he said. He is married, has an adult son and enjoys spending time with his teenage stepdaughter.
He also enjoys playing the dulcimer and banjo and has a perennial English cottage garden. “We need a whole new direction: the economy, the environment, healthcare,” Northington said.
Miller
Mike Miller, 39, is a Lewes resident who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress in 2000 and 2002. In the 2000 election, Castle garnered 70 percent of the vote to Miller’s 30 percent. Miller is a tax accountant who received a bachelor of science degree from Delaware State University. He owns an accounting firm and lawn-care service.
Miller was born and raised in Sussex County. Both his businesses are in Lewes. “Instead of Congress being on a six-week break, we need to concentrate on the issues,” said Miller. He introduced a nine-point plan, which includes fighting discrimination, raising the minimum wage to at least $9, drilling for oil off Delaware’s coast, and stopping pork barrel spending. Miller also supports universal health care system including health insurance for those who are not covered by their employers. He said he’s running again because Castle’s support is waning. “If you look at Mr. Castle statistically, his percentages come down year after year after year after each election cycle,” said Miller.
“New people are moving into the district and state, over the last four years, that don’t even know the name Mike Castle.”
Miller also said he favors repealing the No Child Left Behind Act – a law Miller said Castle campaigned for. “Mike Castle is out of touch with the working man and woman, the small business owner and our state,” said Miller. He also said a 12-year term limit should be established for representatives. “No congressman should be in there like it’s a rite of passage,” Miller said. Miller lives with wife, Denise, daughter, Jordyn Renae and son, Michael II. He is also active in the Crossroad Christian Church in Dover. Miller is also a member of the National Federation of Independent Business Owners and the Delaware Nursery and Landscape Association. “The system is not designed for us to live to our godly given potential. I would like to get in there and make these changes,” Miller said.
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