DOVER, Del.—Delaware’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention got a seating upgrade after their home-state senator, Joe Biden, was named Barack Obama’s running mate.
“It’s our day in the sunshine,” state party chairman John Daniello said Sunday after the delegates were moved to the front row on the floor of the Pepsi Center in Denver, where the convention opens Monday.
They’ll sit next to the contingent from Illinois, Obama’s home state, just to the left of the podium as viewed from the floor.
Party officials couldn’t immediately say where Delaware had been seated.
Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner had said earlier that the choice of Biden might improve the delegation’s vantage point.
“It looks as though it will give us a little more prominence than we would have had,” she said Saturday.
“Everybody in this country is going to know where Delaware is. … I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of people saying ‘Dela-Where?'” Minner said, to the applause of a Democratic gathering near Rehoboth Beach.
Delaware Lt. Gov. John Carney said the state’s delegates are suddenly getting more attention in Denver. “It’s been fun just walking around the city,” Daniello said.
One thing that hasn’t changed: The Delaware delegation’s hotel is still about 45 minutes from the convention site.
