why has delaware become virtually a solid democrat state (from the presidential level on down).
it used to be a swing, or even a lean-republican state. what has changed?
i understand it does have a high black population. but it had a high black population when the state was voting republican.
Two-thirds of Delaware's counties, Sussex and Kent (which contains the state capital, Dover) have been reliably Republican as of late, both of which went Democratic only once in the last six elections, in 1996. New Castle County contains Delaware's largest city, Wilmington, the suburbs of Wilmington as well as some suburbs of Philadelphia, the DuPont chemical plant (a huge employer), and the college town of Newark (home of the University of Delaware). These suburbs, like many of the surburbs of Philadelphia, are trending Democratic, adding to the already-Democratic-leaning town of Newark. With the greatest concentration of population, New Castle County simply outvotes Sussex and Kent counties in state, congressional, and presidential elections.
Hope that helped...
I have relatives in Northern Delaware that live right over the PA border, first exit off I-95 (Naamans Road). Yep, you got it right, it's suburban Philly. Specter and Castle-like Republicans could win in Delaware, but they are few and far between anymore. If the 5 counties of Southeastern PA became a state, only Arlen Specter could win as a Republican, however Chaka Fattah would probably lose as well. My picks for a theoretical seat would be Joe Hoeffel and Marjorie Margoles-Mezvinsky.
