Whether it’s his sense of nostalgia or calculated political maneuvering, Vice President-elect and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden has not said when he plans to resign the seat he’s held for 35 years.

    President-elect Barack Obama gave the people of Illinois his resignation Nov. 16, and his running mate’s political foot-dragging has pundits and party insiders buzzing from Dover to Wilmington with talk of who will be appointed to fill Biden’s well-worn seat.
  
  Speculation ranges from Biden’s son, Delaware Attorney General Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III, to Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor, a long-time adviser to Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.
 
   Minner could appoint herself, or more accurately, she could resign and be appointed by her successor, but she’s stated several times that she’ll retire in January.
 
   The short odds are on lame duck Lt. Gov. John Carney, who suffered a crushing loss to Governor-elect Jack Markell in the state’s Democratic primary.
 
   Some say Carney is looking for a little redemption and a head start on the 2010 election to serving out the remainder of Biden’s term.
 
   It’s all a matter of timing for the senior senator, who could conceivably retain his seat until the moment of his inauguration as vice president. In fact, that’s what he said he’d do in an Oct. 27 interview with KYTV in Springfield, Mo.
 
   This, however, is an unlikely scenario that would work against Delaware’s position in the Senate, said Dr. Tony Armstrong, a political science professor at Wesley College.
 
   “The rules of seniority apply here and waiting until the last minute would not be good for the state or the incoming senator — to be the 100th in seniority,” he said.
 
   The Senate’s pecking order is especially important when considering things like committee assignments and choosing a desk close to the front of the chamber.
 
   But more importantly, should Biden choose to wait until Inauguration Day he could place the appointment in the hands of Delaware’s new governor.
 
   The presidential inauguration takes place at noon Tuesday, Jan. 20, but in Delaware there are no rules about what time the new governor gets sworn in.
 
   If Markell is inaugurated with his morning coffee, he could appoint a new U.S. Senator around lunchtime.

    But Biden knows the stakes and he’ll likely avoid an Inauguration Day nail-biter, said University of Delaware political science professor Dr. Joe Pika.

    “It’s a matter of hours, and that makes it very unlikely that he’ll wait that long,” he said. “There’s an advantage for him to resign and for someone to replace him.”
 
   However, he might hold on to the bitter end if it means securing the seat for son Beau.
  
  Carney said in an interview Nov. 17 that since the election he’s spoken with Minner and Biden and told them of his interest in the appointment.
 
   “I thought it was important to let [Minner] know I was interested in the seat and if appointed I would obviously serve,” Carney said. “I did speak to Sen. Biden in a similar vein. I know he obviously has a compelling interest in the seat and in the successor.”
 
   Carney also said that if chosen, he certainly would run to keep the seat in 2010.
 
   Prevailing thought on the subject reasons that Markell, Carney’s primary election rival and a Democratic party outsider, would be less likely than Minner to appoint the outgoing lieutenant
governor to fill Biden’s seat.
 
   If that’s true, then it’s conceivable that Markell might appoint a caretaker, someone who has no designs on retaining the seat come 2010.
 
   Harriet Smith Windsor would make a fine caretaker, some say, and so would Chief Justice Myron Steele. Neither would comment on their possible selection.
 
   With a caretaker in place, no one, including Carney, could get a head start on the election and be able to run as a de facto incumbent.

    This scenario leaves the door wide open for Beau Biden, whom both Pika and Armstrong think wouldn’t want to ascend to his father’s seat as an appointee, in no small part because it would require his being recalled from active duty with the National Guard.

    In 2006, Beau Biden was elected to his current post following a caretaker term filled by Carl C. Danberg, who was appointed attorney general when M. Jane Brady left for a superior court judgeship.

    Armstrong said Beau would look for a similar situation to play out if he indeed has his eyes on the Senate.

    “With everything I know about Beau Biden from past history, he wouldn’t be interested in being nominated at this point,” Armstrong said. “If he was going to do it he would want to run on his own.”
 
   And Pika thinks that’s just what Joe Biden might want for his son.

    “From what I remember when Beau was running, Joe had a lot of doubts about this, the dynasty thing was kind of weighing on his mind,” Pika said. “He wouldn’t want Beau to be [appointed], he would want him to run on his own steam.”

    The Dover Post contacted Sen. Biden’s staff for his comments, but none were provided.

    But even if Carney is appointed, he could again find himself locked in a blustery primary election, this time against Beau Biden.
 
   That’s something Carney said he wants to avoid at all costs.

    “I’ve been through just recently a difficult and contentious Democratic primary. I really didn’t enjoy it,” he said. “Obviously I think to be successful it would be helpful to try to avoid that, I have no interest in that kind of contentious primary.”

Email Doug Denison at doug.denison@doverpost.com.