11th State Senate district race takes shape as
republican challenger files, new poll shows trouble for democrats
Newark, DE, June 19, 2012:
The Delaware Republican Party is
mounting a challenge to Democrat Senate President Pro-Tempore Tony DeLuca. Christiana area resident and former U.S.
Marine Evan Queitsch will file as the Republican challenger in the 11th
district on Friday June 22nd at the Carvel Building in Wilmington. Evan has been actively promoting free market,
limited government solutions to Delaware’s challenges for the last 4 years and
has decided to take action. “Senator
DeLuca embodies all that is wrong with politics and government today. He holds two taxpayer funded positions, is at
the center of a number of scandals and has authored and promoted numerous bills
that have been bad for Delaware and especially the residents of the 11th
Senate District. I’ll bring common sense
and clarity to Dover and push for limited government, free market solutions
that have been proven time and again to work.” Evan says.
And the numbers show that the 11th District
agrees with Evan. In December, an early
poll showed Senator DeLuca in a dead heat with Mr. Queitsch with more than 80%
of the respondents unsure of who they would choose. A brand new poll taken this month of more
than 1000 registered voters in the 11th district shows the race
beginning to shake out. While 52% of the
district is still undecided, Mr. Queitsch now holds an 8 point lead over
Senator DeLuca. The poll shows Evan
carrying independent voters 3-1 over the sitting Senate leader and even
claiming 14% of registered Democrat support.
In response to the poll, Mr. Queitsch said, “This poll shows that the
residents of the 11th District are tired of the status quo, more of
the same politics that have been going on for decades in Dover. They want someone who will work to restore
fiscal responsibility, fix our education system, enable job creation in the private
sector and demand open and transparent government. These are values that spread across party
lines and this poll shows that people are ready for a fresh start and a new
approach after more than a decade of one party rule in Dover. The policies of the elites, taxing and
spending at will have led to more than 30,000 Delawareans out of work, failing
schools and corrupt cronyism in our state government. It’s time to clean up Dover, starting with
Senator DeLuca.”
The poll also shows that the perceived partisan divide is shrinking among the
electorate. 45% of those polled
indicated that they would vote for the candidate with the best ideas over party
affiliation. It also showed that the
race for President is far from over in the 11th District as
well. While Barack Obama enjoys a
47%-31% lead over Mitt Romney, 22% of voters are still undecided. In a district where Democrats enjoy a more
than 2-1 registration advantage over Republicans, it would be expected that the
incumbent Democrat President and Delaware’s own Joe Biden as VP would safely
carry the district. However, it appears
that even Democrat voters are questioning reelecting President Obama as the
recession lingers and many see White House policies as the reason for the
prolonged economic downturn.
-End-
Poll conducted by Voice Broadcasting Corporation
Margin of Error +/- 3%
Sampling size: 2200
Party
Affiliation
Response Metrics:
52%
- Democrat
27% - Republican
21% - Independent
Registration Metrics:
55%
- Democrat
21% - Republican
24% - Independent
Voting Habits (order randomized during sampling for accuracy)
When voting,
which of the following are you more likely to vote for: Press 1 for The
Democrat, Press 2 for The Republican, Press 3 for The candidate with the best
ideas regardless of party.
Response Metrics:
39%
- Democrat
16% - Republican
45% - Candidate with the best ideas regardless of party
Nearly half of
registered voters say that they would vote based on candidate ideas not party
line.
State Senate Race
(order
randomized during sampling for accuracy)
For the State
senate in District 11, if Evan Queitsch is the Republican and Tony DeLuca is
the Democrat, for whom are you likely to vote? Press 1 for Evan Queitsch, Press
2 for Tony DeLuca or Press 3 for Not Sure.
Response Metrics:
52%
- Undecided
28% - Evan Queitsch
20% - Tony DeLuca
Breakdown:
14% of
registered Democrats would vote for Republican Evan Queitsch over Democrat Tony
DeLuca
49% of registered Democrats are still undecided
Senator DeLuca has only 39% support among his own party
Evan Queitsch is winning independents 3-1 over Tony DeLuca
11% of those who say that they would vote for Obama also say that they would
vote for Evan Queitsch over Tony DeLuca
Senator DeLuca has less than 1% support among Republicans
Presidential
Race (order
randomized during sampling for accuracy)
In the
Presidential race, for whom do you plan to vote? Press 1 for Mitt Romney, Press
2 for Barack Obama or Press 3 for Undecided.
Response Metrics:
22%
- Undecided
47% - Barack Obama
31% - Mitt Romney
Breakdown:
Obama receives 11%
support among Republicans
Obama carries Independents 40% - 30% over Romney with 30% undecided
19% of Democrats are still undecided
Obama carries 75% of Democrats while Romney carries 72% of Republicans
