Description
About the Signer
Michael Newbold Castle (born July 2, 1939) is an American attorney and politician who was governor of Delaware (1985–92) and the U.S. Representative for Delaware’s at-large congressional district (1993–2011). He is a member of the Republican Party.
The district includes the entire state of Delaware and is the oldest intact surviving district in the nation. He was the longest-serving U.S. Representative in the state’s history. Before his election to Congress, Castle served as a member of the Delaware General Assembly, starting in the State House of Representatives (1966–67) and then in the State Senate (1968–76). He was the 20th lieutenant governor of Delaware from 1981 to 1985, and the 69th governor of Delaware from 1985 to 1992.
On October 6, 2009, Castle announced his candidacy in the 2010 special election for the seat in the United States Senate held by Democrat Ted Kaufman. Kaufman, appointed by Governor Ruth Ann Minner to fill the vacancy created by Joe Biden (who resigned to become Vice President of the United States), was not a candidate in the election. The election determined who would fill the balance of Biden’s term, which ended on January 3, 2015. In one of the most surprising election results of 2010, Castle lost the Republican primary to Christine O’Donnell. He would have been heavily favored in the general election against Democrat Chris Coons, who defeated O’Donnell by 17 percentage points.
Castle has acknowledged drafting the bill which became law and created the trillion-dollar coin controversy by apparently authorizing the United States Department of Treasury to mint platinum coinage in any denomination. He is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.
Early life and education
Castle was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Louisa Johnston (née Bache) and James Manderson Castle, Jr. One of his maternal great-great-grandfathers was Virginia Senator John W. Johnston, and Castle’s fifth great-grandfathers were founding fathers Benjamin Franklin and Daniel Carroll. Castle’s father was a patent lawyer for DuPont, a firm so central to the city that it was long known in Wilmington simply as “the company.” After graduating from Tower Hill School in 1957, he attended Hamilton College in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Hamilton in 1961. While at Hamilton, Castle was a brother of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
In 1964, he earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. He was admitted to both the Delaware Bar and the Washington, D.C. Bar that same year.
Family
Michael Castle and Jane DiSabatino married on May 23, 1992; they have no children. Both are Roman Catholics.
Professional and political career
Following his admission to the bar, Castle returned to Wilmington and joined Connolly, Bove and Lodge, working as an associate (1964–1973) and later partner (1973–1975). A Republican, he served as Deputy Attorney General of Delaware from 1965 to 1966, and was elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in 1966. He served as a state representative for two years before winning a seat in the Delaware Senate, where he remained for eight years. He also served as minority leader from 1975 to 1976.
In 1976, Castle left the state legislature and returned to the full-time practice of law, founding his own firm with Carl Schnee (who was later nominated as U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware by President Bill Clinton in 1999). He returned to politics in 1980, when he was recruited to run for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware by Governor Pete du Pont. He defeated Democratic state senator Thomas B. Sharp, with 59% to 40% of the vote. He served from 1981 to 1985, and headed panels on education and drunk driving.
