by James Oliphant
Delaware has been the Land of Biden for more than 35 years. And it appears poised to stay that way.
Monday, the governor of the state, Ruth Minner, named Ted Kaufman, a longtime aide to Joe Biden, now the vice-president elect, to fill Biden's vacated Senate seat.
Kaufman served as Biden's chief of staff in the Senate for almost 20 years and after moving on the private sector has continued to be a counselor and confidant to Biden, a six-term senator who twice ran for president. He is the co-chairman of Biden's vice presidential transition team.
"I have known Ted Kaufman for over 30 years," Biden said Monday in a statement. "He is a man of first-rate qualifications, unquestioned integrity and a long-time commitment to public service."
Kaufman, however, is widely believed to be keeping the seat warm for Biden's son, Beau, the Delaware attorney general. A captain in the state National Guard, Beau Biden was deployed to Iraq last month. A special election for the Senate seat will be held in 2010.
Joe Biden has yet to formally resign his Senate seat, but that's simply a matter of time. Minner's office said that Kaufman is likely to take his seat in early or mid-January.
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