Will Delaware County Once Again Be Ground Zero?

One of my first political memories goes back to 1979 when Ronald Reagan came to the Folcroft Fire House to rally the Republican troops on his way to defeating President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election.

As the son of a Boeing worker and lifetime Delco resident, I remember the ongoing joke that if you ever wanted anything done in Delaware County, you better make sure you were a registered Republican.

I remember Republican Kingpin Charlie Sexton pulling all the strings when it came to Delaware County politics, and I remember when a former Marcus Hook Mayor by the name of Curt Weldon went on to represent Delaware County in the United States House of Representatives for 10 terms.

But a funny thing started happening in Delaware County in the 1990s that political junkies like myself have no explanation for: While Delco remains mostly Republican and county council and county row offices continue to be won by Republicans, a majority of Delaware County residents vote Democrat when it comes to voting for president.

At first, die-hard Delco Republicans played off this trend in the 1990s when Bill Clinton won the majority of Delco votes on his way to the White House in 1992 and 1996. They claimed that if it wasn’t for Ross Perot in both elections, the Republican would have won Delco and they also point out that President Clinton never received 50 percent of the Delco vote, although he came pretty close in 1996 with 49 percent.

And then along came Al Gore in the infamous 2000 election, and while all eyes were on Florida, Delaware County Republicans were left shaking their heads when the former vice president captured 54.4 percent of the Delaware County vote.

The trend continued in 2004 when John Kerry won 57.1 percent of the Delco vote, and in the last presidential election cycle, President Barack Obama hit the 60-percent mark against John McCain.

So why the history lesson?

Because now that Tuesday’s mid-term elections are over – and yes, Delco Republicans had a very good day, all eyes will now be turned to the 2012 presidential elections.

And if President Obama has any hopes of re-election, he knows that he must win Pennsylvania. And winning Delaware County will go a long way in achieving that goal.

Just this past week President Obama made a stop in Yeadon to not only rally the Democrats in Tuesday’s election, but to also plant the seed for the bigger prize next November.

And on Friday, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will be participating in Media’s 52^nd Annual Veterans Day Parade.

Two visits by the President and Vice President to Delaware County in one week? A coincidence?

I think not.

The Democrats know that winning Delaware County will go a long way in winning Pennsylvania. And for Obama to have any chance of winning next November, he knows winning Pennsylvania is a must.

Back in 2008, Mitch Vidovich, a Republican Marketing campaign Discipline director for Southeastern Pennsylvania had this to say about Delaware County: “This is ground zero. If we do well in Delaware County, we will win this state. If we win this state, Barack Obama can not win the presidential election.”

We all know how that turned out for Republicans. Obama won the county, state and country.

So what’s it all mean for Delaware County voters?

Get ready to be wined and dined over the next 12 months not only by the Obama-Biden ticket, but also whoever winds up at the top of the ticket for the Republicans.

Delaware County will once again be “ground zero.”

And it all started this week.