Former Delaware governor, U.S. Representative and numismatic superstar Michael Castle passed away on August 14 at the age of 86.
A true giant in Delaware politics for many years, Castle made a name for himself as a bipartisan deal maker and coalition builder.
A moderate Republican in the vein of Nelson Rockefeller, William Scranton, and his Delaware colleagues Pete du Pont and William Roth, Castle went from being in the mainstream of his party to becoming one of the last of a dying breed during his 40-plus years in electoral politics. For instance, he was pro-choice and voted for gun control measures. He also bucked his party to support expanding stem cell research and was one of only a handful of Republicans to vote to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Meanwhile, on fiscal issues, he was a conservative and deficit hawk who came up with several unconventional ways to generate revenue for the federal government without raising taxes.
One of those avenues was coin collecting. Castle authored several important laws that pertained to numismatics, including one that created the successful and highly acclaimed State Quarters program. As a result of this and several other Castle-sponsored and inspired programs, he was able to achieve rockstar status in numismatic circles. Known as “The Coinage Congressman,” Castle even had his own line of commemorative coins.
Castle’s last act as a politician, unfortunately for him, marked the ignominious end of his long and distinguished career in public service. Seemingly a shoo-in to win Joe Biden’s old Senate seat in 2010, Castle’s ascension seemed so preordained that the Democrats didn’t even bother running their strongest candidates. Indeed, polls showed that Castle would have won the general election easily.
But first, he had to win the GOP nomination, and this is where Castle first realized just how far the ground under his feet had shifted. Tea Party-backed conservative firebrand Christine O’Donnell stunned the political establishment in Delaware, which had long been used to overseeing collegial, friendly elections, by waging a nasty, negative campaign. Her tactics, combined with the changing political winds, allowed her to win in a stunning upset.
Castle was so aggrieved and upset by some of her tactics that he refused to endorse her after the primary. Not like it would have helped much. O’Donnell was a disaster as a general election candidate and lost handily (four words: “I’m not a witch”).
The years since have only confirmed that Castle’s version of the GOP died long before he did — especially once Donald Trump took over the party.
I spoke to Castle shortly after he joined DLA Piper in 2011. I was working on a story for The American Lawyer about how he was planning to balance his law firm responsibilities with his quest to steer his party away from Tea Party control — at least in his home state. He was very gracious and friendly and I really enjoyed interviewing him. (The story got killed, much to my dismay.)
“What happened to me is a very intense of group of individuals much more conservative than the GOP has been in this state has become a major factor in this party,” he told me.
He added that he supported a lot of what the Tea Party advocated, especially regarding government spending. But he maintained that their limited appeal and outspoken extremism meant they couldn’t win general elections in Delaware.
“It’s not possible for Republicans to get elected in Delaware without Democratic or independent support,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with the conservative agenda, but extreme ideological people aren’t electable here.”
He told me he planned to use his influence and stature behind the scenes to recruit strong, moderate candidates with general election appeal. He did concede that the GOP was moving strongly to the right and understood he had his work cut out for him.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that, win or lose, he would stay loyal to the Republican Party. Five years after we spoke, he demonstrated that when he backed Trump in 2016 despite having misgivings about him. “Donald Trump has emerged as the victor, and I think as Republicans we have the responsibility to support him,” Castle said in an interview at the time.
He didn’t endorse Trump in 2020 — staying publicly neutral, presumably out of deference to Biden, his longtime friend. Or maybe he was living by his mantra of staying loyal to his party — or least doing no harm to it by keeping any disagreements or grievances to himself.
Kind of strange, considering how today’s GOP no longer bears much resemblance to the one Castle served for so many years. Looks like party affiliation is harder to get rid of than one-cent coins.
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