Michael Castle

Michael N. Castle
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware's At-large district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Thomas R. Carper
Governor of Delaware
In office January 15, 1985 – December 31, 1992
Preceded by	Pierre S. du Pont, IV
Succeeded by	Dale E. Wolf
20th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
In office January 20, 1981 – January 15, 1985
Preceded by	James D. McGinnis
Succeeded by	Shien Biau Woo
Born	July 2, 1939 (1939-07-02) (age 70) Wilmington, Delaware
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jane DiSabatino
Residence	Wilmington, Delaware
Alma mater	Hamilton College, Georgetown University Law Center
Profession	lawyer
Religion	Catholic

Michael Newbold "Mike" Castle (born July 2, 1939) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Delaware's At-large congressional district since 1993. The district, which is the oldest in the nation, incorporates the entire state of Delaware. He is the longest-serving U.S. Representative in the state's history.^[1]

Prior to his election to Congress, Castle served as a member of the Delaware General Assembly, first in the State House of Representatives (1966-1967) and then in the State Senate (1968-1976). He was the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware from 1981 to 1985, and the 69th Governor of Delaware from 1985 to 1992.

On October 6, 2009, Castle announced his candidacy in the 2010 special election for the seat in the United States Senate currently held by Democrat Ted Kaufman.^[2] Kaufman was appointed by Governor Ruth Ann Minner to fill the vacancy created by Joe Biden, who resigned to become Vice President of the United States; he will not be a candidate in the special election.^[3] The election will determine who will fill the balance of Biden's term, which ends in 2014. Castle is currently seen as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination,^{[4] [5]} and leads his potential Democratic opponents in opinion polling.^{[6] [7]}

Early life and family

Castle, a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin, was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to J. Manderson and Louisa B. Castle.^[8] His father was a patent lawyer for DuPont, a firm so central to the city that it was long known in Wilmington simply as "the company." After graduating from Tower Hill School in 1957, he attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Hamilton in 1961.

In 1964, he earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. He was admitted to both the Delaware Bar and the Washington, D.C. Bar that same year.

He married Jane DiSabatino May 23, 1992; they have no children. They are members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Professional and political career

Following his admission to the bar, Castle returned to Wilmington and joined Connolly, Bove and Lodge, working as an associate (1964-1973) and later partner (1973-1975). A Republican, he served as Deputy Attorney General of Delaware from 1965 to 1966, and was elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in 1966. He served as a state representative for two years before winning a seat in the Delaware Senate, where he remained for eight years. He also served as minority leader from 1975 to 1976.

In 1976, Castle left the state legislature and returned to the full-time practice of law, founding his own firm with Carl Schnee (who was later nominated as U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware by President Bill Clinton in 1999). He returned to politics in 1980, when he was recruited to run for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware by Governor Pete du Pont. He defeated Democratic state senator Thomas B. Sharp, with 59% to 40% of the vote. He served from 1981 to 1985, and headed panels on education and drunken driving.

Governor of Delaware

Lt. Governor Castle (left) with Governor Dick Thornburgh of Pennsylvania (center) and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, July 1982.

As the hand-picked choice of the popular Governor du Pont, he easily won election as Governor of Delaware, defeating former Delaware Supreme Court Justice William T. Quillen. In the campaign, Castle was criticized for being a shadow of his mentor and only promising an extension of du Pont’s program. Delaware voters however elected him to another term in 1988 when he defeated Democrat Jacob Kreshtool by a wide margin. Castle served two terms when he resigned to begin his first term as U.S. Representative.

Castle’s terms marked the full establishment of what Delaware political commentator Celia Cohen has called “the Age of Incumbency.” Following du Pont’s very successful and popular terms as Governor, Delaware politics seemed to have reached a consensus, with leaders of both parties being regularly re-elected, while working closely and quietly together on a conservative fiscal low tax, pro business, and clean government agenda. Prior to du Pont only four men had served eight years as Governor and one of those had two non-consecutive terms. From 1977 until the present there have been four governors, two from each party, each emulating Castle in essentially carrying out the program initiated by Pierre S. du Pont, IV.

United States Representative

In 1992, when Castle retired as Governor due to constitutional term limits. The result was what became known as "the Swap." Castle ran for the seat of U.S. Representative Thomas R. Carper and Carper ran for Governor. Delaware’s political leadership had quietly worked out the arrangement and retained the services of two very popular office holders.

Castle was first elected to the U.S. Representatives in 1992, defeating former Lieutenant Governor Shien Biau Woo. Since then, he has won election by wide margins eight times, defeating Democrats Carol Ann DeSantis in 1994, Dennis E. Williams in 1996 and 1998, Michael C. Miller in 2000 and 2002, Paul Donnelly in 2004, Dennis Spivack in 2006, and Karen Hartley-Nagle in 2008.

Castle is president of the Republican Main Street Partnership and is the co-chair of several Congressional caucuses, including the Diabetes Caucus, the Community College Caucus, the Biomedical Research Caucus and the Passenger Rail Caucus. He is also considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the U.S. House. In the wake of Tom DeLay's indictment in September 2005, liberal columnist E.J. Dionne named Castle as one of four lawmakers capable of leading an anticorruption reform of the Republican Party. Castle is a member of various moderate/liberal Republican Organizations, such as Republicans For Environmental Protection, The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Choice and Christine Todd Whitman's Its My Party Too.

Castle’s cosponsored the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. The bill proposed expanding the number of stem cell lines that are eligible for federally funded research, expecting that this funding would generate more research and ultimately greater progress in addressing many kinds of diseases. Presently only those lines derived before August 9, 2001 are eligible for federal funded research. This legislation removes that date restriction, along with proposing stronger ethical requirements. After successfully passing both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, it received U.S. President George W. Bush’s first presidential veto in July 2006. Despite the production of induced pluripotent stem cell research, Castle is still pushing for the funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Castle suffered two minor strokes during the 2006 campaign, but fully recovered. Considering the general Democratic sweep of other offices, he won the election comfortably, but with a greatly reduced margin over previous years. Oddly enough, despite the increased Democratic sweep of the 2008 election, Castle, unlike many Republicans, managed to increase his margin of victory, winning over Democrat challenger Karen Hartley-Nagle by 23 points.

On November 9th, 2009, Congressman Castle's District was profiled by Stephen Colbert in his segment "Better Know a District."

Committee assignments

• Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness
• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
  • Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. Members of the Delaware General Assembly take office the second Tuesday of January. State Senators have a four year term and State Representatives have a two year term. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor take office the third Tuesday of January and have four year terms. U.S. Representatives take office January 3 and have a two year term.

Notes

1. ^ "Rep. Mike Castle announces run for U.S. Senate". WHYY. 2009-10-06. http://whyy.org/cms/news/government-politics/2009/10/06/rep-mike-castle-announces-run-for-u-s-senate/19300. 
2. ^ "Delaware GOP Congressman to Run for Biden's Former Senate Seat". FOX News. 2009-10-06. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/06/delaware-gop-congressman-run-bidens-senate-seat. 
3. ^ "Longtime Biden aide picked to fill his Senate seat". FOX News. 2008-11-25. http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Nov25/0,4670,BidenSenate,00.html. 
4. ^ "Beau won't run; neither will Kaufman". MSNBC First Read. 2010-01-25. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/25/2184489.aspx. 
5. ^ "Democratic Senate appointees are now looking vulnerable". The Washington Post. 2010-01-26. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012503935.html. 
6. ^ "Election 2010: Delaware Senate". Rasmussen Reports. 2010-01-26. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/delaware/election_2010_delaware_senate. 
7. ^ "Delaware Senate - Castle vs. Biden". RealClearPolitics. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/senate/de/delaware_senate_castle_vs_biden-1068.html. 
8. ^ Barone, Michael; Richard E. Cohen, Grant Ujifusa (2008). The Almanac of American Politics. Washington, D.C.: National Journal Group. pp. 370. ISBN 362-076X. http://www.nationaljournal.com/almanac/2008/about.php. 

References

• Barone, Michael; Richard E. Cohen (2005). Almanac of American Politics. Washington: National Journal Group. ISBN 0-89234-112-2. 
• Boyer, William W. (2000). Governing Delaware. Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press. ISBN 1-892142-23-6. 
• Cohen, Celia (2002). Only in Delaware, Politics and Politicians in the First State. Newark, Delaware: Grapevine Publishing. 
• Hoffecker, Carol E. (2004). Democracy in Delaware. Wilmington, Delaware: Cedar Tree Books. ISBN 1-892142-23-6. 
• Martin, Roger A. (1995). Memoirs of the Senate. Newark, DE: Roger A. Martin. 

Images

• Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
• Delaware’s Governors
• The Political Graveyard
• Congressman Mike Castle
• Committee on Education and the Workforce
• U.S. House Committee on Financial Services
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Contacting the Congress
• News Meat
• Stem Cell Bill Gets Bush's First Veto
• The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act
• Mike Castle for Congress

Places with more information

• Delaware Historical Society; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
• University of Delaware; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965