DE, Behold The Future
A source familiar with DE Dem politics agrees with the CW that Joe Biden son/AG Beau Biden (D) might eventually serve in his father’s SEN seat should Sen. Biden be elected VP… but perhaps not right away. The source notes that B. Biden turned down an offer to be appointed AG in ‘05, choosing instead to run in his own right in ’06. Moreover, B. Biden is in the DE Nat’l Guard JAG, and is headed to Iraq, which it might be difficult for him to serve in ’09.
If J. Biden is elected VP, it seems likely he would resign before 1/3/09, since a later resignation would mean hobbling his replacement with less seniority than other senators in the freshman class. Since DE’s new gov will take office 1/20/09, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (D) would almost certainly be the one making the appointment under any timetable. If B. Biden is unavailable or unwilling to take such an appointment, she might well appoint a placeholder for the seat, allowing B. Biden to run in the 11/10 special election. The Wilmington News-Journal this a.m. floats the name of GOV candidates, LG John Carney (D) and Treas. Jack Markell (D) and Minner herself as possibilities. The Dem source notes, however, that Minner has endorsed Carney to replace her, and an appointment of Markell in any event seems unlikely. Should Carney lose the 9/9 primary, Minner might well consider him as a SEN possibility, but it’s unknown if he would be willing to serve as placeholder for only two years.
When B. Biden ran for AG, GOPers made little headway with the argument that he was simply biding his time for a SEN seat to open up, and they might well revive these arguments for an 11/10 special, should Biden run. But for the most part, GOPers are essentially a non-factor in this discussion, since J. Biden is expected to win SEN re-election easily over '06 candidate/activist/pol. commentator Christine O'Donnell (R) this fall (as DE law allows him to run for both offices) and either Markell or Carney is likely to retain the governorship for Dems on the Election Day.
(QUINN MCCORD)
