2024 Delaware elections

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2024 Delaware elections
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A general election was held in the U.S. state of Delaware on November 5, 2024, concurrently with other nationwide elections, including for President of the United States.[1][2] Half of Delaware's executive officers were up for election, including the Governorship. Additionally, federal elections for the state's Class 2 seat in the United States Senate seat and Delaware's at-large congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.[3] Primary elections were held on September 10, 2024.[4]

Democrats, who historically dominate the state politically, won all statewide elections and did well in down ballot races.[5] Several candidates ran unopposed, including most running for the Delaware Senate and Governor John Carney in the Wilmington mayoral race. The election had a turnout rate of 65.74% of registered voters casting ballots across 533 precincts.[6]

Background

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The Delaware Democratic Party dominates the politics of Delaware. The party holds a supermajority in both chambers of the State Legislature and holds all statewide seats. The most recent time Republicans won statewide elections in Delaware was in 2014, when the elections for Delaware Auditor of Accounts and Delaware State Treasurer were won by Tom Wagner and Ken Simpler respectively.[7][8] In 2018, Wagner did not seek reelection while Simpler was defeated by a Democratic challenger.[9][10]

Federal elections

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President

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Main article: 2024 United States presidential election in Delaware

Incumbent President Joe Biden was the only Democrat to qualify for the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primary in Delaware. After Nikki Haley suspended her primary campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump became the presumptive nominee. However, Haley dropped out too late to remove her name from the primary ballot, so the Delaware Legislature voted to cancel the Presidential primaries as a cost saving measure.[11]

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris won Delaware with 56.6 percent of the popular vote, winning all three of the state's electoral votes. Despite her win in Delaware, Harris lost the presidential election to Trump.[5][12]

2024 United States presidential election in Delaware[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kamala Harris 289,758 56.6
Republican Donald Trump 214,351 41.9
Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 4,636 0.9
Libertarian Chase Oliver 2,038 0.4
Conservative Vermin Supreme 914 0.2
Total votes 511,697 100.00
Democratic win

Senate

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Main article: 2024 United States Senate election in Delaware

In May 2023, incumbent Democratic Senator Tom Carper revealed that he would not be seeking reelection. Carper endorsed Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware's at-large congressional district to succeed him.[13] Rochester won the election with 56.6 percent of the vote.[3] She became Delaware's first female and first black senator.[14]

2024 United States Senate election in Delaware[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lisa Blunt Rochester 283,298 56.6
Republican Eric Hansen 197,753 39.5
Independent Party Michael Katz 19,555 3.9
Total votes 490,935 100.00
Democratic hold

House of Representatives

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Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware

Lisa Blunt Rochester, the incumbent Representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district decided not to seek re-election opting to run for United States Senate.[15] State Senator Sarah McBride decided to run to replace her, becoming the first openly transgender person to run for Congress.[16] McBride won the election with 57.9 percent of the vote.[3] With her victory, she became the first openly transgender person elected to the United States Congress.[17] After the election, McBride resigned from her State Senate seat.[18]

2024 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sarah McBride 287,830 57.9
Republican John Whalen 209,606 42.1
Total votes 497,436 100.00
Democratic hold

State elections

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Governor

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Main article: 2024 Delaware gubernatorial election

Incumbent Governor John Carney was unable to seek a third term due to term limits.[19] Democratic New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer ran for the seat against Republican House Minority Leader Mike Ramone.[20][21] Meyer defeated Ramone with 56.1% of the vote.[3]

2024 Delaware gubernatorial election[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Matt Meyer 279,585 56.1
Republican Mike Ramone 219,050 43.9
Total votes 498,635 100.00
Democratic hold

Lieutenant governor

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Main article: 2024 Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election

Democratic State Senator Kyle Evans Gay and former Republican State Representative Ruth Briggs King ran for the open seat left by Bethany Hall-Long.[22][23] Gay won the race, receiving around 55 percent of the vote. Following her victory, Gay resigned from her State Senate seat.[18][22]

2024 Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kyle Evans Gay 272,828 55.22
Republican Ruth Briggs King 221,256 44.78
Total votes 494,084 100.00
Democratic hold

Insurance Commissioner

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Incumbent Democratic Trinidad Navarro won a third term as Insurance Commissioner of Delaware against Republican challenger Ralph Taylor.[24] Navarro won with almost 60 percent of the vote.[3][25]

2024 Delaware Insurance Commissioner election[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Trinidad Navarro (incumbent) 286,743 59.48
Republican Julia M. Pillsbury 195,305 40.52
Total votes 482,048 100.00
Democratic hold

General Assembly

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Main articles: 2024 Delaware Senate election and 2024 Delaware House of Representatives election

The Democratic Party defended its majorities in both the Delaware Senate and the Delaware House. All incumbent state senators up for reelection won. The majority of Senate candidates ran unopposed, with only Democrats Russell Huxtable and Darius J. Brown facing challengers.[3]

All incumbent State Representatives running for reelection won. Democrats expanded their majority, flipping the seat previously held by Republican House Minority Leader Mike Ramone,[3][26] who decided against running for reelection in favor of a gubernatorial bid.[20]

Local

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New Castle County Executive

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Main article: 2024 New Castle County Executive election

Incumbent New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer opted against a reelection bid to run for Governor instead. Marcus Henry and New Castle County Council President Karen Hartley-Nagle ran for the Democratic nomination for New Castle County Executive.[27] On the day of the primary, Henry defeated Hartley-Nagle by a 21-point margin.[4] Republican Carter Hill filed to run but withdrew his candidacy before the election. Henry won the general election unopposed.[27]

2024 New Castle County Executive election[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Marcus Henry 204,846 100.00%
Total votes 204,846 100.00%
Democratic hold

Kent County Levy Court

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All three of the Kent County Levy Court seats up were won by Democrats; all three of them ran unopposed.[28] Democrats successfully defended their 5-2 majority over Republicans.[29][30][28]

Kent County Levy Court[29][30][28]
Party Before After Change
Democratic 5 5 Steady
Republican 2 2 Steady
Total 7 7

New Castle County Council

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All six of the New Castle County Council seats up were won by Democrats. All candidates, with the exception of John Cartier in district eight, ran unopposed.[28] The Republican party did not flip any seats and Democrats maintained their supermajority.[29][30] Democrat Monique Johns was elected President of the New Castle County Council.[27]

New Castle County Council[29][30][28]
Party Before After Change
Democratic 11 11 Steady
Republican 1 1 Steady
Total 12 12

Sussex County Council

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Of the three Sussex County Council seats up, two of them were won by Republicans, both of them ran unopposed.[28] Democrat Jane Gruenebaum flipped Council District three, ousting incumbent Mark G. Schaeffer. Gruenebaum's victory made her the sole Democrat on the council, reducing the Republican majority from five seats to four.[29][30]

Sussex County Council
Sussex County Council[29][30][28]
Party Before After Change
Democratic 0 1 Increase 1
Republican 5 4 Decrease 1
Total 5 5

Wilmington mayor

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Main article: 2024 Wilmington mayoral election

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Mike Purzycki had considered running for reelection. However, on October 3, 2023, Purzycki revealed that he would not be seeking a third term citing his age and a desire to spend time with his family. Incumbent Governor of Delaware John Carney, who was unable to seek reelection due to term limits, decided to enter the race.[31][32] Due to the Delaware Democratic Party's dominance over both the state and Wilmington, the Republican State Committee of Delaware did not run a candidate.[33] Since no other candidates ran in the general election, Carney won the election unopposed.[19]

Wilmington mayoral election, 2024[34]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John Carney 24,191 100.00%
Total votes 24,191 100.00%

References

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  1. ^ "2024 Delaware Election Results". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  2. ^ "2024 Presidential election calendar: Key dates and events". CNN. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Delaware Election Results". The New York Times. December 5, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Primary Election". Delaware Department of Elections. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  5. ^ a b "Delaware President Election 2024 Live Results: Harris Wins". NBC News. November 5, 2024. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  6. ^ "Department of Elections - State of Delaware". Delaware Department of Elections. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  7. ^ O’Malley, Shana (November 5, 2014). "Delaware GOP ends "20-year drought"". WHYY-TV. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  8. ^ Barrish, Cris (November 8, 2024). "Delaware GOP, shut out again in statewide races, grapples for ways to regain relevance". WHYY-TV. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
  9. ^ "Election results: Delaware statewide races". The News Journal. November 6, 2018. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  10. ^ Lauria, Maddy. "Sussex Democrat ends Republican control of Auditor's office". The News Journal. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  11. ^ Mueller, Sarah (March 19, 2024). "Delaware eliminates presidential primaries, saving $1.5 million". WHYY-FM. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  12. ^ Pratz, Megan (2024-11-10). "Donald Trump wins Arizona". NPR. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  13. ^ Concepcion, Summer (2023-05-22). "Democratic Sen. Tom Carper says he won't seek re-election in 2024". NBC News. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  14. ^ Perez-Gonzalez, Johny (November 6, 2024). "Blunt Rochester makes history as Delaware's first women, and first Black U.S Senator". WHYY-FM. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  15. ^ Powers, Kelly. "Lisa Blunt Rochester sweeps US Senate race as the first Black Delawarean to do it". The News Journal. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  16. ^ Yurcaba, Jo (2024-09-28). "Sarah McBride's historic run for Congress was decades in the making". NBC News. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  17. ^ Amiri, Farnoush (2024-11-21). "First transgender woman elected to Congress is banned from using women's Capitol Hill restrooms". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  18. ^ a b Johnson, Anitra. "Democrats win Delaware Senate seats in Saturday's special elections". The News Journal. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  19. ^ a b Hassan, Adeel Hassan (October 31, 2024). "Why a Governor Is Stepping Down, and Running for Mayor". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 10, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Metzner, Mallory (2024-05-03). "House Minority Leader Mike Ramone to join Delaware governor race". WRDE-LD. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  21. ^ Chase, Randall (2024-11-06). "'I feel good': Democrat Matt Meyer defeats Republican Michael Ramone in Delaware governor's race". WCAU. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  22. ^ a b "Delaware Lieutenant Governor Results: Kyle Gay wins". NBC News. November 5, 2024. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  23. ^ Fries, Amanda. "Former GOP lawmaker Ruth Briggs King considers run for Delaware lieutenant governor". The News Journal. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
  24. ^ Montes, Olivia. "Trinidad Navarro re-elected to Delaware Insurance Commissioner for a third term". The News Journal. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  25. ^ "Delaware Insurance Commissioner All Parties General Election | DDHQ". Decision Desk HQ. April 30, 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  26. ^ a b c "Delaware Election Results". The New York Times. December 1, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  27. ^ a b c McVety, Molly. "Delaware election 2024: Results of New Castle County executive, council races". The News Journal. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g "2024 General Election Report". Delaware Department of Elections. November 12, 2024. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  29. ^ a b c d e f "2020 General Election Report". Delaware Department of Elections. November 11, 2020. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  30. ^ a b c d e f "2022 General Election Report". Delaware Department of Elections. November 11, 2022. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  31. ^ Fries, Amanda; Newman, Meredith (October 4, 2023). "Carney expresses interest in Wilmington mayor after Purzycki announces he won't run in 2024". The News Journal. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  32. ^ Barrish, Cris (October 4, 2023). "Delaware Gov. Carney says he's 'seriously considering' running for mayor of Wilmington". WHYY-FM. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
  33. ^ Barrish, Cris (November 8, 2024). "Delaware GOP, shut out again in statewide races, grapples for ways to regain relevance". WHYY-FM. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
  34. ^ "2024 General Election Report". Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.