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With Barack Obama's victory last night, America's questions have finally been answered as to who will be sitting in the Oval Office come January. Rather than tirelessly campaigning, the duo can finally have time to rest and America can take a break from election madness.
For Delaware, however, there are still some unanswered questions. With Vice President-elect Joe Biden measuring the drapes of the White House, the question becomes who will take his Senate seat, which he has occupied for the past 36 years.
Joseph Pika, a political science professor at the university, said the decision will be left up to Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, whose term will end in January.
"The governor has the authority to name a replacement who would serve until 2010, when there would be an election for a permanent member of the Senate who would serve out the final four years of the Senate term," Pika said.
As for the replacement, Delawareans began to question who would take the seat as soon as Obama announced Biden as his running mate in August.
"I think a lot of the speculation focuses on if Governor Minner would appoint someone who's interested in simply serving for two years and then not running in 2010, or if the governor would appoint someone who would run in two years," Pika said.
While numerous names have been thrown around, Pika mentioned Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron Steele and Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor as possible appointees to the role, both of whom would fit into the "only serving for two years" category.
Most of the buzz, however, is around Lt. Gov. John Carney, a Democrat who lost in the gubernatorial primary race to newly elected Gov. Jack Markell, and Joe Biden's son, Attorney General Beau Biden, who is currently serving in the National Guard.
There is also a scenario in which Minner could serve the duration of her term without making a decision, leaving the decision up to governor-elect Jack Markell in January, Pika said.
"I don't think that Minner will wait," said Gary May, a history professor at the university. "There's a powerful prerogative that a governor has and she'll want to use it."
Obama and Biden's victory marks the first time that a ticket with two sitting senators was elected since 1960, in which John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson were victorious.
May said the controversy that ensued in Massachusetts over Kennedy's senate seat resulted in Kennedy's senate seat being replaced by Benjamin Smith II.
"Basically, he was holding the seat for Ted Kennedy, who wasn't 30 yet, which is the minimum age for the Senate," May said.
Ted Kennedy ran in 1962 and was elected over George Lodge, despite thoughts that his victory had much to do with his family legacy.
"It was bitter because Kennedy had a very thin resume and Lodge said that if his name was Edward Moore instead of Edward Moore Kennedy, it would be ridiculous," May said.
The question remains if Minner's appointment will cause similar controversy, especially if she chooses Beau to take the seat.
"We don't have a whole lot of precedents," Pika said. "I think the expectation is that the governor will replace Biden with a member of his own party."
If that is the case, the decision will likely come down to Beau Biden and Carney. However, the appointment has not always stayed consistent with the party. Johnson was elected as vice president in 1960, leaving his seat up for grabs.
"In Johnson's case, there was a special election and Rep. John Tower, a Republican, was elected," May said. "So there was a change there."
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