(This letter, slightly edited, ran in the Delaware State News on September 12, 2020.)

Roughly half of eligible Delawareans vote.  What about the other half that doesn’t bother to vote?  My sense is that many people don’t feel they have much of a stake in the outcome.  They assume, correctly, that most Delaware officials, regardless of party, will be loyal servants of big business.  They believe that even the most obvious needs, such as universal access to health care, won’t be seriously on the agenda regardless of who wins.  Few politicians better personify this “Delaware Way” approach than Senator Chris Coons. 

But now Coons has a for-real primary election opponent in Jessica Scarane.  Scarane impresses me as real progressive who “gets it” and means what she says.  In a recent post she said:  “Every single day, I talk to Delawareans who are drowning in student loan debt, can’t afford to see a doctor, and are working 2-3 jobs just to keep a roof over their heads. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can guarantee every single person health care, housing, clean air and water, and living wages. As Senator, I’ll fight for Medicare for All, housing as a right, a Green New Deal, student loan forgiveness, and a living wage of at least $15/hour tied to cost of living.” See a lot more at https://www.jessfordelaware.com/issues? Scarane is, of course, up against a big-money Coons campaign and the national “Corporate Democratic” establishment.

Scarane would make a difference in the Senate.  She deserves the vote of every open-minded registered Democrat. 

Polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on September 15th.  (Only registered Democrats can vote in this primary).

Alan Muller
Green Delaware

Note: The results: Coons 73%, Scarane 27%. Coons’ Republican opponent in the general election was the crank Lauren Witzke, “conservative activist and proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory.” Coons beat Witzke 59% to 38%. Coons and Carper subsequently were one of a few “Democrats” to vote agains a $15/hour minimum wage bill.