Governor of Delaware
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, cutting the second one slightly short 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.
Read more about this topic: Michael Castle
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