Delaware Democrats anticipate embattled State Auditor Kathy McGuiness will forge ahead with her primary campaign despite the latest court rulings against her.
Superior Court Judge William Carpenter upheld McGuiness’ July misdemeanor convictions for conflict of interest and official misconduct Tuesday, though he dismissed her conviction for improperly structuring contract payments. Carpenter also denied McGuiness’ request for a new trial.
Emily David Herschman, a spokesperson for Governor John Carney, says Carney maintains his position that the state constitution only allows him to remove her from office after she is sentenced. However, she added, "the Governor’s previously stated concerns remain – that it is difficult to understand how the Auditor can continue to do her job effectively under these circumstances.”
But many fellow Democrats – including her primary opponent, Lydia York – do not anticipate Carpenter will hold a sentencing hearing until after the September 13 primary election.
“There’s no indication that sentencing will occur prior to the primaries," said state Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend. "It could I suppose, but it probably won’t. To layer an election onto the end of this unprecedented process makes this all the more tense if you care about governance implications.”
To avoid creating further turmoil, York argues now is an appropriate time for McGuiness to step down and bow out of the primary. “I’m going to join the growing chorus of Democrats who are saying that now is a good time to step down and save us all a lot of grief moving forward," she said. "And I think that’s where we need to place some emphasis - on moving forward and moving past this.”
Townsend echoed her sentiment, though he acknowledged that McGuiness has shown no indication that she is willing to back down. "There was a time when the auditor herself had indicated that the judge reaching this type of decision would mean that she’d reached the end of the road," he said. "But over the past few weeks, it appears that she’s dug into this parallel reality in which she did nothing wrong regardless of what a judge and jury say.”
Though House Democrats stand by Carney's decision not to remove McGuiness from office until she is sentenced, House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst and House Majority Whip Larry Mitchell wrote on Tuesday that they joined calls for McGuiness to step down when she first faced allegations of corruption. "Today, we reiterate our call for her resignation," they added.
York has the state party’s backing in the primary. And as of August, York’s campaign had raised nearly twice the amount raised by McGuiness.
