From The Hotline Latest Edition for Tuesday, May 6,2008

DELAWARE

Lee-ning On A Familiar Shoulder

Tue. May 6, 2008


"He has not said yes and he has not said no," but '00 candidate/'04 nominee/ret. Superior Court Judge Bill Lee (R) -- drafted 5/3 as the GOP's nominee -- did say he would "proceed toward running" for the office. Lee, 72, was in FL vacationing with family when state Senate Min. Leader Charles Copeland (R) nominated him. 80% of the convo delegates -- 250 in all -- "liked the idea, snubbing" '04 candidate/'06 SEN candidate Mike Protack (R), "and completely ignoring" '04 candidate/state employee Dave Graham (R), who had paid the $5.3K filing fee "but had nary a soul to put his name into the mix."

DE GOP chair-elect Tom Ross: "As someone active in the party for over 20 years, I have never seen the amount of excitement about a candidate that we're seeing now. They're excited that a man with Bill's integrity and skills would step up. In terms of resources, volunteers and energy, I think once he starts touching base with folks, he'll quickly realize that he is riding a groundswell of enthusiasm."

"It's late to start a campaign, Lee said, but there are advantages to a shortened campaign, too. They cost less, for one thing, and raising money was the main reason Lee told the GOP in March that he would not run." Lee: "You have to understand how much I dislike asking people to give money to my campaign. It's not like asking for money to help crippled children. But we raised a million (in '04) despite having a candidate who was not a good fundraiser."

Ross: "His heart is definitely in it, he's just being prudent. He will move in his own methodical fashion. And at the end of the day, Bill Lee will be our candidate and Bill Lee will be our governor."

"Protack and Graham both have said they will stay in the race. Graham's public allegation" 5/2 "that Lee is an alcoholic angered many in the party. Lee said he is not an alcoholic and has no idea why Graham believes that." Lee: "It's no secret that I go around and that I drink. But I have never had a problem with that." Lee "said he is in excellent health and passed all the tests at Disney World, where he put in 17-hour days with his daughter, Carrie, her husband and their three children." Lee: "We left at 7 in the morning and we'd go until the last child falls asleep. It was fun and grueling."

Ex-DE Dem chair Richard Bayard: "This is a wonderful way for Bill Lee to get a lot of press. He gets to drag out his courtship for as long as he wants this way, and he loves that attention. ... It's a very small percentage of the Republican party at the convention, all desperately looking for a ticket leader. Maybe with all the press they get out of it, people will think it's a groundswell, but it's not. We're very much enjoying watching this play out" (Miller, Wilmington News-Journal, 5/6).