Casting himself as a political outsider and a fiscal conservative, Hockessin businessman Fred Cullis threw his hat into the race for Delaware’s lone Congressional seat, criticizing spending that he says has run amok in Washington, D.C.
Cullis believes he can be the next Republican after U.S. Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), to occupy the seat for a heavily blue state. He announced his candidacy at a press conference Wednesday, Nov. 11 at the Christiana Hilton.
Castle is running for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Vice President Joe Biden. Cullis believes Diamond State Republicans have an opportunity to capture both a Senate and House seat, to help the nation get away from big government.
Cullis criticized Congress for passing a $787 billion spending bill, the largest in history, passed to keep unemployment below 8 percent. It is 10.2 percent today, he said.
“I watched while our Congress bailed out Wall Street and sold out Main Street,” he said. “Companies that deserved to fail for making risky and unwise business decisions were propped up with borrowed taxpayer money and I have had enough.”
Cullis joins what is becoming a crowded list of Congressional candidates.
Democrat Scott Spencer, a rail transit consultant, was the first to announce his candidacy back in March. Former Lt. Gov. John Carney, a Wilmington Democrat who was unsuccessful in his bid for governor, announced his candidacy in April.
|
About Cullis Name: Fred Cullis |
Delawareans vote intelligently, not just along party lines, Cullis said. For instance, Castle has won in a state that is majority Democrat because of his independent voice and common sense decisions.
But Cullis acknowledged that recent successes of Republican gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia did play a part in motivating him to seek office.
“There is a feeling across the country that government is not doing the job that it should be doing,” he said. “If you look at the polls, there’s as much as 70 percent disapproval for the Congress now.”
When asked about his own political leanings, Cullis said that while he is fiscally conservative, each problem has a specific solution.
“I hate to be pigeon holed that way,” he said. “But, obviously, running as a Republican, I’m not a far left liberal.”
With regard to specific legislation, Cullis agreed with Castle’s vote against the healthcare reform proposal.
“It does very little, if anything, to reduce the cost of healthcare,” he said. “That’s what needs to be done. The lack of TORT reform costs us between $60 billion and $100 billion a year in terms of malpractice insurance premiums, defensive medicine practiced by doctors worried about being sued.”
Cullis believes voters will respond to someone who’s been in business and knows what it takes to help businesses thrive.
Cullis, the first in his family to graduate from college, said he recently began to think his children would not have the chance to be as successful as he, and pledged to go to Washington carrying the mandate of the people he would work for.
Republican Party of Delaware Chairman Tom Ross was in Dover for a meeting Wednesday and could not be reached for comment about who the party would endorse for Congress.
