PAC money continues to flow into Cape Region campaigns

Political action committee money continues to make an impact on Cape Region races, primarily in the form of mailings that are inundating household mailboxes.

In particular, Preserve Sussex has paid for several oversized postcard ads in support of incumbent candidate Mark Schaeffer, Republican for Sussex County Council District 3.

Two of the mailers include the Cape Gazette logo with a quote underneath, although no permission was given for the logo to be used in a political ad. The quoted text came from a commentary and also a letter to the editor, not from staff-written stories.

“We were as surprised as many of our readers when our logo began appearing in campaign mailers,” said Cape Gazette Publisher Chris Rausch. “Since trust in the Cape Gazette brand and the accuracy of what we report is ultimately our currency, we feel it would have been appropriate for those quotes to be attributed to the original authors as they were submitted opinion pieces that appeared in our Viewpoints section and not authored by any Cape Gazette staffer."

A Preserve Sussex Advertisement report, required by the Department of Elections for third-party advertisers, shows about $67,000 so far received from the Preserve Sussex political action committee with about $43,000 paid to a Mississippi public affairs company for Mark Schaeffer advertising.

When reached for comment, Preserve Sussex provided the Cape Gazette with an exclusive statement.

“Preserve Sussex is a nonpartisan organization supported by local small business owners. It is funded by restaurant owners, electricians, plumbers, Realtors, and many other small business owners. These small businesses are an economic engine for all of Sussex County.  The owners of these businesses take risks and work with their hands to partake of the American dream. These people benefit from and don't apologize for the opportunities created by growth in Sussex County. 

“These same local, small businesses want to see solutions to the same infrastructure problems. 

“Preserve Sussex doesn't support emulating policies from the surrounding states that are as responsible for the challenges facing Sussex County as any Sussex County or Delaware official. There is no sense in making the same destructive decisions in Sussex that have created the exodus to Sussex. 

“Preserve Sussex believes that there are solutions to the issues that face Sussex County which allow for growth while preserving the quality of life at the Delaware beaches. 

“Preserve Sussex has supported Republican and Democratic candidates that are willing to find a commonsense path forward to benefit everyone.” 

Scott Dailey is listed as treasurer for both Preserve Sussex and Preserve Sussex Advertisement. He previously served four terms as recorder of deeds for Sussex County. Preserve Sussex PAC’s registration information on the Delaware Department of Elections website lists Republican under party affiliation. 

Dailey declined to comment for this story because he said he fears for his safety and that of his family. Dailey did confirm that he has been targeted for personal harassment for political reasons, and has been forced to file multiple complaints with the Delaware State Police against individuals who have targeted him. 

Before the primary election, the Preserve Sussex PAC had a reported balance of about $75,000. Contributors in 2024 included Rob Tunnell III with $2,500 and developer Stonemark Ventures with $15,000. 

It now has an ending balance of about $70,000, and no new contributions listed.

In 2023, contributors included Alex Pires with $2,000; Elmer Fannin, Stonemark Ventures and Stafford Street Capital with $10,000 each; and $25,000 contributed by Robert Hudson, for a total of $68,000. 

Though no contributions to the PAC have been reported by him so far in 2024, Fannin, a Milford developer, has been brought up repeatedly in the race for the District 36 seat held by Rep. Bryan Shupe, R-Milford. Shupe first mentioned a connection between Fannin and the Preserve Sussex PAC during the Republican primary race, in which Fannin backed Shupe’s opponent, Patrick Smith.

In a Sept. 6 letter to the editor that ran in the Cape Gazette, Fannin wrote that he donated to Shupe's primary opponent out of a spirit of civic engagement “with the belief that a healthy republic thrives on robust political debate and representatives who stand by the principles of the people in their district.” 

For the upcoming General Election, the Fannin family has donated to Shupe’s challenger, Democrat Rony Baltazar-Lopez. Elmer Fannin, Brent Fannin and Michael Fannin each contributed $600 to Baltazar-Lopez’s campaign, according to Baltazar-Lopez’s 30-day financial report. 

The Fannin family could not be reached for comment.

In the Sussex County Council race, Schaeffer’s opponent, Democrat Jane Gruenebaum, has raised a tad more in contributions, with about $57,000 compared to Schaeffer’s $53,000, according to the 30-day report filed with the Department of Elections.

Other groups have sent out their own campaign mailings. The Delaware Senate Majority Caucus Campaign Committee recently sent out a brochure touting Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, and his fight against overdevelopment, using his Republican opponent, Kim Hoey Stevenson, and her record on Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission as fodder. Recent records show Friends for Russ Huxtable has a balance of more than $95,000 to Hoey Stevenson’s roughly $61,000.

In the House of Representatives District 14 race for former Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf’s seat, Friends for Claire Snyder-Hall for Delaware has raised about $23,000 for the Democrat candidate in a recent report, compared to about $14,000 by Friends of Mike Simpler for the Republican.

For House District 20, incumbent Democrat Stell Parker Selby raised about $25,000 by the 30-day report deadline, while Republican challenger Nikki Miller raised nearly $25,000, but expended all but $4,000 by Oct. 7. 

Three of Eastern Sussex County’s Democratic candidates had mailers paid for by Delaware State Education Association Advocacy Fund for Children and Public Education. The group contributed $11,800 toward Huxtable’s advertising, nearly $8,000 for Snyder-Hall’s mailers and about $7,500 to bolster Parker Selby’s campaign through direct mailings.

Huxtable also received support in the form of mailers from Delaware Association of Realtors DEL-PAC, which has more than $200,000 in its reserves. However, that contribution is not yet captured in the PAC’s campaign finance reports. Similarly, mailers for Huxtable’s opponent Kim Hoey Stevenson were paid for by First State First PAC, but most recent campaign filings do not contain information about it yet. First State First PAC Third-Party Advertiser expended $8,200 Oct. 21, to a P.O. Box in Dallas, Texas, for “majority strategies” and “issue advocacy,” but it is not associated with any specific candidate. 

Miller recently had mailers sent out that were paid for by Delaware Blue Gold PAC. Like others, that contribution is not reflected in most recent financial reports for the PAC or Miller’s campaign. 

Campaigns and PACs are required to file another report eight days before Election Day, which will be Monday, Oct. 28. 

Campaign finance reports for candidates and PACs can be found at cfrs.elections.delaware.gov.