Sen. Tom Carper and Kerri Harris are calling in some heavy hitters to help reach voters as the final push toward next month’s U.S. Senate primary election begins.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is weighing in on the Democratic primary on behalf of Sen. Tom Carper. He’s recording a robocall for the incumbent that’s set to reach voters next week.
"If there's someone who knows me and knows Delaware, it's Joe," Carper said. "Together we've served the First State and fought to improve the lives of countless Delawareans.
Challenger Kerri Harris’ campaign has events scheduled in Newark and Wilmington next Friday featuring popular New York Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.
Harris’s campaign manager Drew Serres said he believes Carper is moving to the left on issues because he’s worried about Harris’ challenge.
“For the first time in history, Carper cosponsored a marijuana bill," he said. "That’s the first time, he’s been one of the most opposed to marijuana legalization and that’s a big shift so him doing that this week, trying to get Biden shows that this is a really competitive race now.”
Carper is cosponsoring legislation that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level while allowing states to regulate it. A spokeswoman for Carper confirms that this is the first time in 17 years in the Senate that he has supported a cannabis reform bill.
But Carper said he's always had progressive ideas. He said as governor he raised the minimum wage ahead of the rest of the country, incentivized people to work and expanded Medicaid ahead of other states.
The two candidates square off for the first time Monday night when they debate in Wilmington. Serres said she looks forward to contrasting her policy views with Carper’s face to face.
“For example Medicare for all, health care as a human right," he said. "It shouldn’t just be about having access to health care if it’s not affordable. Like it should be free and available, it’s a human right.”
The 7 p.m. event will take place at Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington. Republican candidate Gene Truono will take the stage first. His primary opponent, Rob Arlett, is unable to attend, citing a scheduling conflict. The Democrats will debate starting at 7:30 p.m.
