U.S. Senate candidate Chris Coons called on friends in high places to help him rally Delaware Democrats, just as the first poll results were released following the widely watched debate between Coons and his Republican opponent, Christine O'Donnell, two days ago.
[caption id="attachment_4412" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Delawareans greet President Obama’s motorcade"]
President Barack Obama, still popular in Delaware, and Vice President Joe Biden, hoping to see his former Senate seat filled by a Democrat, came to Wilmington Friday to motivate the state's Democratic base. They appeared at Wilmington’s Grand Opera House for a Coons’ fundraiser, joining a Who's Who of Delaware Democrats: Governor Jack Markell, Senators Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman, U.S House of Representatives hopeful John Carney, state House Speaker Robert Gilligan, and state Senate President Anthony DeLuca.
The President spoke for about a half hour to the crowd of nearly 1,000 people. He came with a you-snooze-you-lose message: “In a little more than two weeks you have the opportunity right here in Delaware to set the direction of this state and this country for the next several years,” Obama said. "Although I think Chris has so far run an extraordinary race, I don't want anyone here taking that for granted.”
[caption id="attachment_4409" align="alignleft" width="210" caption="Coons supporters line up to get into fundraiser with President Obama"]
In fact, the new poll released Friday by Rasmussen Reports indicates that Coons’ double-digit lead over O'Donnell may be narrowing in the wake of Wednesday’s nationally televised Delaware First Media/University of Delaware debate between the two candidates. The new Rasmussen poll shows Coons up by 11 points over O'Donnell. Coons held a 9 point lead in the last Rasmussen poll three weeks ago. But that poll included Congressman Mike Castle, loser to O’Donnell in the Republican primary, who was still considering a write-in campaign at the time. Rep. Castle grabbed 5 percent of voters polled. Since then, Castle has decided not to proceed and Coons’ lead has expanded in other polls, reaching as many as 21 points in a pre-debate survey by the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication. A follow-up to that UD poll, released Friday, reached 891 of the voters questioned in the pre-debate poll. 56 percent said Coons won the debate and only 2 percent said they’d switched their votes after the debate.
DSU professor Sam Hoff reacts to new Rasmussen poll (click to hear)
Coons said the only poll he’s concerned about is the one on Election Day, but he appreciated the President and Vice President coming on his behalf to help sharpen the focus on the race and what he considers its central issue. Obama "spoke about the the stakes in the election, how important it is for folks to be engaged and to think about the consequences of this vote and of this election,” said Coons. "All the speakers today were focused on the importance of getting Delaware’s economy and our country’s economy back on track.”
Chris Coons discusses President Obama visit (click to hear)
O’Donnell, in a statement, suggested today’s visit by President Obama indicates Coons has “superglued himself to the Obama agenda of job-killing, big government policies.” She also cited the Rasmussen poll numbers as an example her campaign is gaining traction. “Delawareans want a new approach,” said O’Donnell in her statement. “They want a senator who listens to them and understands their problems, not another out-of-touch, big government, big spending elitist telling them what to do from Washington.”
[caption id="attachment_4410" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Governor Markell arrives at fundraiser featuring President Obama"]
Gov. Markell said he believed the presidential visit would provide “an energy boost” to Democrats in Delaware. Obama's approval ratings remain relatively strong in Delaware. Earlier this month, a Public Mind poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University found 47 percent of Delaware voters approve of the President’s performance, including 4 out of 5 Democrats polled.
Markell said the Obama visit "really puts a spotlight on the choice around the country between fringe candidates who have moved very far to the right versus solid Democrats who have a track record of working with the private sector to create jobs.”
Delaware Republican Party Chair Tom Ross responded in a statement. “President Obama's visit to Delaware confirms that a vote for Chris Coons and John Carney to Washington is a vote to rubber stamp the Obama-Reid-Pelosi agenda ... an agenda that has already cost Delawareans millions of dollars and thousands of jobs," said Ross. "When Delawareans send Christine O’Donnell and Glen Urquhart to Washington, we’ll have two pro-business, pro-taxpayer votes to stop the Obama agenda.
"When President Obama came to Delaware in 2008, he promised Delawareans positive change," Ross added. "Unfortunately, what we have received is change we can’t afford.”
Delaware State University political science professor Sam Hoff says that despite Coons' lead in the polls and Democrats' edge in voter registration in Delaware, a presidential visit is necessary "to rally the troops.” “The turnout in the primary ... the 32 percent Republican turnout versus the 13 [percent] Democratic is a cause for concern.”
Both Republicans and Democrats gathered outside the Grand Opera House to take advantage of the event.
[caption id="attachment_4415" align="alignleft" width="189" caption="U.S. House candidate Glen Urquhart (R) campaigns outside President Obama event."]
Republican U.S. House candidate Glen Urquhart worked the crowd, undaunted by the the fact it was not necessary a friendly event for him. “I’m coming where the people are,” said Urquhart. “I am thrilled about the historic fact that we have an African American in the White House. I disagree with his policies because they destroy jobs. I hope [Obama] will come over to the side of the people and create jobs. I'd really like to have a debate with him and Nancy Pelosi.”
Asked about Urquhart’s presence at the event, his opponent, Democrat John Carney, said, “I’m not sure there are many votes for him here, to be honest with you.”
The crowd outside included Coons and O’Donnell supporters, as well as a group from the 9-12 Delaware Patriots tea party group.
[caption id="attachment_4411" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Coons and O’Donnell supporters gather outside Wilmington’s Grand Opera House."]
Alex Garcia, a founder of the 9-12 Delaware Patriots, engaged a number of Coons supporters in a heated conversation about the Constitution and how to interpret it. Asked what one question he would ask President Obama if he could, Garcia replied, “When is he gonna resign gracefully?”
Hoff believes the President’s visit could backfire, energizing Republicans and tea party supporters dissatisfied with the President and his policies and driving support to O’Donnell. “There’s some dissatisfaction and potential blow back and that’s a risk. But, I think the White House, national Democrats, Democrats in the state, and the certainly the Coons campaign have evidently weighed that risk and decided that it would be more of a benefit to have the President come."