NEW CASTLE, Del. — When Chris Coons was asked last week about a new television commercial in which his rival in this state’s Senate race, Christine O’Donnell, assured voters that she was not a witch, his smile was controlled and very, very brief.

“That’s got to be one of the more memorable ways to introduce oneself,” Mr. Coons said. Then he quickly steered the discussion toward the economy.

The definition of insanity is to keep supporting the same candidate and hope that they will change. Career politicians who never said a word about financial responsibility when the last administration ran up a record debt are now all of a sudden financial conservatives. They tell us that all we have to do is elect them again and everything will be OK.

I have had the good fortune to have met Chris Coons, who is running for U.S. Senate. I am impressed with his credentials as a Yale University graduate with both a law and divinity degree concentrating in ethics. He is a family man who dedicated his life to public service.

When I read the local papers and hear about the rise in crime in Rehoboth and Frankford, I think about how Chris Coons began the Safe Streets Partnership in New Castle, to remove parole violators from those streets. When I read about the safety needs of Millville, I think of Chris’s starting a new paramedic unit and station in New Castle, while also lowering wasteful spending by the county. Chris knows how to address the needs of his county residents in an effective, yet fiscally responsible way.

Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Chris Coons proposed a lifetime ban for members of the Senate who try return to Washington as lobbyist. Coons said senior staff should also be restricted to a five-year ban on lobbying Congress.