In a major setback for Democratic chances in 2010, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, a son of Vice President Joe Biden, has announced that he will not run in this November’s special election for his father’s former Senate seat.
In his official statement, Beau Biden cited the importance of his current work on a high-profile child abuse case in Delaware. Sources close to Vice President Biden suggested to TPMDC that Beau did not want to walk away from such a high-profile case.
“However, my first responsibilities are here in Delaware. I have a duty to fulfill as Attorney General — and the immediate need to focus on a case of great consequence,” Beau Biden writes. “And that is what I must do. Therefore I cannot and will not run for the United States Senate in 2010. I will run for reelection as Attorney General.”
Delaware has been a strongly Democratic state in recent elections. But with the widespread feeling that this is going to be a tough year — and the concrete evidence of that from the Republican victory in the Massachusetts special Senate election — yet another Dem seat is going to be very hard to retain.
Republicans already have a strong candidate in the race, Rep. Mike Castle, who has held the state’s only House seat since 1992, and was governor for eight years before that. With a strong Republican in the race and currently no Democrat, this race has to be seen as a likely GOP takeover for now.
Polls had previously shown a close race between Castle and Beau Biden, with one poll showing Castle ahead and another poll having Biden ahead.
Late Update: National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Colin Reed released this statement:
“Clearly, Beau Biden’s decision not to run for the United States Senate represents a major recruiting setback for national Democrats, who have been counting on his candidacy to keep the Vice President’s former seat in Democrat control. As we saw in Massachusetts last week, voters clearly stated that these seats belong to the people – not to either political party or dynasty. Voters want independent-minded leaders who will put their interests first and not simply serve as a rubberstamp for the out-of-control spending and big government agenda that we’ve witnessed in Washington under the Democrats’ control. Congressman Mike Castle has a proven record of independence and bipartisanship that puts him in a strong position to win this seat in November.”
