My Democratic primary opponent Ted Blunt suspended his campaign yesterday, and I wanted to use this space to say something about Ted.  This is not the usual ‘nice stuff you say about your opponent when it doesn’t matter’ routine, nothing I say here is anything I haven’t said about Ted in his presence, in front of audiences, out on the campaign trail.

Ted has had a truly extraordinary life story, growing up in difficult circumstances in public housing in Philadelphia, putting himself through school as a student athlete, and serving for decades as a civic leader and public official.  And yet when he and I had joint appearances during the campaign, the thing about which he was the most animated was his family, and in particular his three daughters.  Ted’s daughter Lisa—a long-time friend of mine—has served in a variety of cabinet posts in Delaware and will undoubtedly run for office some day herself.  Marla has become a seasoned and respected political professional, heading up constitutent services for Senator Biden and doing a great job running her dad’s campaign and helping with Barack Obama’s campaign in Delaware.  And Thea is a successful engineer.  All three of them are dedicated to their own families and respected in their communities.  I said it on the campaign trail and I will say it here: if I could look back forty years from now and talk about the way I raised my kids the same way Ted does today, I would consider myself to have had a successful life no matter what happens in my career or in politics.

Ted is going to be playing a leadership role in our state for a long time, and I look forward to working with him as I have in the past to make this state a better place for our kids.