Another Republican announces a bid for the U.S. Senate.
Eric Hansen announced his campaign in Wilmington Tuesday night, focusing on issues he says every Delawarean, regardless of party, is concerned about.
“It’s the economy, it’s crime, it’s education, those are the issues that cross over across every party," Hansen says. "And so, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a Democrat, or nonaffiliated, or a Republican, you care about fixing those things. And again, the establishment is not going to fix those things, the only way we fix those is a change in leadership.”
Hansen has a management background–spending most of his career at Walmart as Head of Consumable Private Brands; Financial Services, Marketing and Strategy; and Digital Strategy. There, he says he learned how to drive down costs and maximize efficiency, a concept he wants to apply to the federal government.
“In business, you expect the business to get more efficient every single year," Hansen says. "It’s not uncommon to cut spending by three percent a year, just because you are getting better at your job. The government never does that, and so what we need to do is ask, and force the government to become more efficient.”
Hansen adds he is also focused on education, noting his two children attend Delaware public schools, giving him a firsthand look at what he calls a broken system. He proposes national school choice and national testing.
A Republican has not held one of Delaware’s U.S. Senate seats in over 20 years – and a GOP candidate needs to win over New Castle County Democrats to change that. Republican Party Chair Julianne Murray believes they can
“I think that the pitch that you make as a Republican candidate is, we live in a very polarized society right now, let's talk about real life, let’s talk about your pocketbook, your wallet,” Murray says.
Hansen will face Bill Taylor in the GOP primary. Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester is the only Democrat to announce a run for U.S. Senate.
