A Big Deal For Little Delaware

Senator Joseph R. Biden is the first Delawarean to appear on a major-party presidential slate although several residents of the tiny state have run for president under (very) minor party banners.

Delaware's representation in the upper reaches of national government also is on the thin side: One state senator became Senate president pro tem and another secretary of state, but that's about it.

Biden, who is running for a seventh term, is expected to remain on the November ballot. If Barack Obama wins, he will resign his Senate seat. Democratic Governor Ruth Ann Minner would then appoint a replacement to serve until the next general election in 2010.

Biden's son, Beau, who is state attorney general, is widely considered to be interested in succeeding his father, but his Delaware National Guard unit is being deployed to Iraq and it is unclear whether he could named while serving overseas.