The News Journal (Wilmington, DE)
November 3, 2004
Denn wins with strong showing in north NCCo and Wilmington
Democratic candidate Matt Denn won a high-spending race for the normally low-profile job of Delaware insurance commissioner Tuesday night over Republican David H. Ennis.
With all voting districts reporting, Denn had 52.8 percent of the vote to Ennis' 47.2 percent. Denn cemented his win in Democrat-dominated northern New Castle County and the city of Wilmington, while Ennis polled well in Republican-leaning Kent and Sussex counties.
Denn said it was his focus on the issues that turned the race.
"I think people tuned in to the issues we were talking about and agreed with me," Denn said.
Denn said he will work with incumbent Insurance Commissioner Donna Lee Williams to ensure a smooth transition, and that he wants to have legislative proposals ready to submit by spring.
Ennis conceded the race at 10:20 p.m. While it was Denn's first election victory, Ennis said,
"It was my unlucky No. 13." Ennis had served two decades in the state House.
"I have every hope of continuing to play an active role in our party," Ennis said, a tear in his eye.
Denn, who formerly served as Gov. Ruth Ann Minner's chief counsel, weathered a divisive primary campaign against fellow Democrat Karen Weldin Stewart before taking on Ennis.
Denn's victory snatches the office from the Republican fold. Williams, has held the office for the last eight years but opted not to seek re-election.
Denn will take on a $93,200-a-year job heading a department with a budget of nearly $20 million and about 75 employees. The commissioner's primary duties are to decide on insurers' rate requests, ensure that insurers doing business in Delaware are on firm financial footing and investigate consumer complaints about insurers.
Denn raised more than $400,000 for his primary and general-election campaigns, while Ennis, who faced no primary opponent, raised about $128,000.
The two men battled it out in radio and newspaper ads in a race that was less acrimonious than the bitter primary race between Denn and Stewart.
In his campaign, Denn stressed a largely regulatory approach to the insurance problems facing Delawareans.
Denn proposed having the General Assembly set up a statewide insurance buying pool so individuals and small-business owners could get better rates.
Denn also proposed tying insurers' medical-malpractice rates to actual losses in Delaware cases; seeking waivers to allow non-Medicaid patients to buy prescriptions at Medicaid prices; and adding dental care to the federal-state partnership that provides health care to the children of uninsured working families.
Ennis eschewed a regulatory approach, stressing his ability to bring together sparring parties to forge a compromise.
Ennis had hoped to use that approach, which he honed during his legislative service, to work with insurers to bring new types of policies to Delaware.
While Denn also stressed regulatory action to bring down auto insurance rates, Ennis said he would work to persuade insurers to more directly link their rates with their actual losses in Delaware.