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2004 General Election Victory

Rep. Castle cruises to seventh term

By HIRAN RATNAYAKE / The News Journal

11/03/2004

Republican incumbent Mike Castle easily won his bid for re-election to Delaware's lone U.S. House seat Tuesday.

Unofficial returns showed him leading Smyrna Democrat Paul Donnelly 69 percent to 30 percent.

"I'd like to thank the citizens," Castle said. "Election days are very overwhelming experiences. You realize what a wonderful state this is and you feel like you're part of a real democracy here."

Castle took the lead shortly after polls closed Tuesday night. He praised Donnelly for his dedication and dignity throughout the campaign.

"I thought he was very gentlemanly," said Castle, 65. "I always run very scared to be honest. I have never gone into a campaign thinking it's easy."

Castle, who has served in the state Senate and House of Representatives and as lieutenant governor and governor, is widely considered among the most moderate of Republicans in the U.S. House. He said he would continue to support measures to improve the economy and homeland security and back Bush administration policies he believes are helpful, such as the war in Iraq and No Child Left Behind.

Donnelly conceded the election just before 9 p.m. "Mike Castle ran an excellent campaign and I wish him luck," he said. "I was hoping I'd do a little better. I never thought I'd win, I just didn't want him to run unopposed."

Janice Garrett of Newark was one of many Delawareans who voted for John Kerry but crossed party lines to select Castle in the vote for the U.S. House seat.

"From past history, he's been good and I never heard anything about the other guy," she said.

Castle said he would focus on many issues during the next two years.

"I want to focus on health care research and stem cell research, which I think is a strong area," he said. "I will continue to support education and my work with No Child Left Behind. I will continue to work on immigration issues, which are very important in this country."

During the past year, Castle voted in favor of a $25 billion military appropriation for Iraq and Afghanistan. He also sponsored legislation that would give some states administrative authority over Head Start programs. He said research he has examined shows the learning of Head Start children regresses by the time they reach third grade.

The Head Start issue propelled Donnelly to run against Castle. Donnelly took a leave of absence from his family services job with Head Start to campaign. He said Head Start is a success. He also opposes the war in Iraq.

The other candidates in the race were Independent Maurice Barros who received 0.7 percent of the vote and Libertarian Bill Morris who received 0.5 percent.

Contact Hiran Ratnayake at 324-2547 or hratnayake@delawareonline.com