And The Winner Is...

For those who don't know, the Delaware Republican Party has reorganized following the redistricting after the census.  The party structure has condensed in New Castle County from 5 regions down to 3 and so the old Newark Region has merged with the majority of the old Christiana/Millcreek region to form the new "Western New Castle Region".  Last night, January 30th was the first meeting of the newly structured region and officers were elected.  Dave Gilefski is the new Chairman, Ken James the new Vice Chairman and Robin Broomall is the new Treasurer.  Future meetings were set on the last Monday of every month to accommodate a wide range of schedules.  There were also many candidates at the event from U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Wade, Gubernatorial candidate Jeff Cragg, Lt. Gov. candidate Sher Valenzuela, Jim VanHoutten running for Insurance Commissioner, myself (running for State Senate in the 11th District) and a couple of candidates vying for County Executive.  There were also a number of current elected officials at the event.  Finally, there was a Presidential Straw Poll taken...and the winner is...Rick Santorum!  Santorum's win came signals a shift in the thinking within Newark area Republicans.  Previously the poll would have been dominated by Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich but as we go into 2012, this is a clear sign that Newark area voters value conservative principles now more than ever.  This was no eek out win either, here is the break down:

Rick Santorum - 21 - 43%
Mitt Romney - 15 - 31%
Newt Gingrich - 10 - 20%
Ron Paul - 2 - 4%

Congratulations to Rick Santorum for providing a message that Republican voters can appreciate.  Congratulations to the new officers of the Western New Castle Region.
Good luck to all of the Republican candidates, especially those who come from the Western New Castle Region.

Our next meeting is on Monday, February 27th and we urge all area Republicans to attend.