Delaware 2012 legislative election results

The tabs below contain analysis of election results in the 2012 legislative elections for Delaware.

• Senate
• House
• National Partisan Trends

2012 Legislative Election Results
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Other 2012 Election information
State legislative elections • State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2012 • State Senate elections • State House elections

Delaware State Senate Election Results

This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Delaware State Senate 2012 elections. For results in individual contests see our Delaware State Senate elections, 2012 page. The following is a breakdown of the state senate before and after the election:

Delaware State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	14	13
	Republican Party	7	8
Total		21	21

What You'll See on This Page

This page will display the following lists of candidates

• Incumbents running on November 6
• Defeated incumbents
• Challengers who defeated an incumbent
• Newly elected senators
• List of all winners
• Unopposed candidates
• Third party candidates

State Senate Overview:

• A total of 21 of the state's Senate seats were up for election in 2012.

Incumbents

Incumbents running in November 6

The following is a list of all of the incumbents running on the November 6 general election ballot:

1. Bethany Hall-Long
2. Brian Bushweller
3. Bruce Ennis
4. Catherine Cloutier
5. Colin Bonini
6. David G. Lawson
7. David McBride
8. David Sokola
9. Dorinda Connor
10. Gary Simpson
11. Harris McDowell
12. Karen Peterson (Delaware)
13. Margaret Rose Henry
14. Michael Katz
15. Patricia Blevins
16. Robert Marshall
17. Robert Venables

Incumbents defeated

The followings is a list of incumbents defeated in 2012:

General election

Candidate	Party	District
Dorinda Connor	Republican	Delaware State Senate District 12
Michael Katz	Democratic	Delaware State Senate District 4

Primary election

Candidate	Party	District
Anthony DeLuca, Delaware Senator	Democratic	Delaware State Senate District 11
Joseph Booth	Republican	Delaware State Senate District 19

Challengers who beat an incumbent

The following is a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent in 2012:

General election

Candidate	Party	District
Brian Pettyjohn	Republican	Delaware State Senate District 19
Bryan Townsend	Democratic	Delaware State Senate District 11
Ernesto Lopez	Republican	Delaware State Senate District 6
Gregory Lavelle	Republican	Delaware State Senate District 4
Nicole Poore	Democratic	Delaware State Senate District 12

Primary election

Results will display after the election on November 6.

New State Senators and General Election Winners

Newly elected senators

The following list will display the newly-elected members of the Delaware State Senate:

Democratic

1. Bryan Townsend
2. Nicole Poore

Republican

1. Brian Pettyjohn
2. Ernesto Lopez
3. Gerald Hocker
4. Gregory Lavelle

Open Seat Winners

The following will display a list of candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:

Democratic

Results will display after the election on November 6.

Republican

1. Gerald Hocker

Candidates who won election

The following will be a list of all candidates elected to the Delaware State Senate:

Democratic

1. Bethany Hall-Long
2. Brian Bushweller
3. Bruce Ennis
4. Bryan Townsend
5. David McBride
6. David Sokola
7. Harris McDowell
8. Karen Peterson (Delaware)
9. Margaret Rose Henry
10. Nicole Poore
11. Patricia Blevins
12. Robert Marshall
13. Robert Venables

Republican

1. Brian Pettyjohn
2. Catherine Cloutier
3. Colin Bonini
4. David G. Lawson
5. Ernesto Lopez
6. Gary Simpson
7. Gerald Hocker
8. Gregory Lavelle

Competitiveness

Unopposed candidates in general election

The following candidates will not face major party competition:

Democratic

1. Bethany Hall-Long
2. Brian Bushweller
3. David McBride
4. Harris McDowell
5. Karen Peterson (Delaware)
6. Margaret Rose Henry
7. Patricia Blevins
8. Robert Marshall

Republican

1. Colin Bonini
2. David G. Lawson

Ballot Access

Third party candidates

The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who are running in 2012:

1. Brad Thomas
2. Bryan Lintz
3. Catherine Samardza
4. Gwendolyn Jones
5. James Christina
6. John Potter (Delaware)
7. Marcia Groff
8. Michael Tedesco
9. Robert Clark

2012 Legislative Election Results
State-by-State Analysis
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Other 2012 Election information
State legislative elections • State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2012 • State Senate elections • State House elections

Delaware State House Election Results

This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Delaware House of Representatives elections in 2012. For results in individual contests, see our Delaware House of Representatives elections, 2012. The following is a breakdown of the state house before and after the election:

Delaware House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	26	27
	Republican Party	15	14
Total		41	41

What You'll See on This Page

This page will display the following lists of candidates

• Incumbents running on November 6
• Defeated incumbents
• Challengers who defeated an incumbent
• Newly elected representatives
• List of all winners
• Unopposed candidates
• Third party candidates

State House Overview

• All 41 of the state's House seats were up for election in 2012.

Incumbency Analysis

Incumbents who ran on November 6

The following is a list of all of the incumbents who are running on the November 6 general election ballot:

1. Bryon Short
2. Daniel Short
3. Darryl Scott
4. David Wilson
5. Deborah Hudson
6. Debra Heffernan
7. Dennis E. Williams
8. Donald Blakey
9. Earl Jaques, Jr.
10. Edward Osienski
11. Gerald Brady
12. Harold Peterman
13. Harvey Kenton
14. Helene Keeley
15. James Johnson (Delaware)
16. John Atkins
17. John Kowalko
18. John Mitchell, Jr.
19. John Viola
20. Joseph Miro
21. Lincoln D. Willis
22. Melanie George Smith
23. Michael Barbieri
24. Michael Mulrooney
25. Michael Ramone
26. Peter Schwartzkopf
27. Rebecca Walker
28. Ruth Briggs King
29. S. Quinton Johnson
30. Stephanie Bolden
31. Valerie Longhurst
32. William Carson
33. William Outten

Incumbents defeated

The followings will display a a list of incumbents defeated in 2012:

General election

Candidate	Party	District
Lincoln D. Willis	Republican	Delaware House of Representatives District 29

Primary election

Candidate	Party	District
Nick Manolakos	Republican	Delaware House of Representatives District 20

Challengers who beat an incumbent

The following will display a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent in 2012:

General election

Candidate	Party	District
Andria Bennett	Democratic	Delaware House of Representatives District 32
Charles Potter	Democratic	Delaware House of Representatives District 1
Jeffrey Spiegelman	Republican	Delaware House of Representatives District 11
Kimberly Williams	Democratic	Delaware House of Representatives District 19
Paul Baumbach	Democratic	Delaware House of Representatives District 23
Ronald Gray	Republican	Delaware House of Representatives District 38
Stephen Smyk	Republican	Delaware House of Representatives District 20
Timothy Dukes	Republican	Delaware House of Representatives District 40
W. Charles Paradee	Democratic	Delaware House of Representatives District 29

Primary election

No candidates have been added to this category yet.

New Representatives and General Election Winners

Newly elected representatives

The following will list the newly-elected members of the Delaware House of Representatives:

Democratic

1. Andria Bennett
2. Charles Potter
3. Kimberly Williams
4. Paul Baumbach
5. W. Charles Paradee

Republican

1. Jeffrey Spiegelman
2. Ronald Gray
3. Stephen Smyk
4. Timothy Dukes

Open Seat Winners

The following will list candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:

Democratic

Results will display after the election on November 6.

Republican

Results will display after the election on November 6.

Candidates who won election

The following will list all candidates elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in 2012:

Democratic

1. Andria Bennett
2. Bryon Short
3. Charles Potter
4. Darryl Scott
5. Debra Heffernan
6. Dennis E. Williams
7. Earl Jaques, Jr.
8. Edward Osienski
9. Gerald Brady
10. Helene Keeley
11. James Johnson (Delaware)
12. John Atkins
13. John Kowalko
14. John Mitchell, Jr.
15. John Viola
16. Kimberly Williams
17. Melanie George Smith
18. Michael Barbieri
19. Michael Mulrooney
20. Paul Baumbach
21. Peter Schwartzkopf
22. Rebecca Walker
23. S. Quinton Johnson
24. Stephanie Bolden
25. Valerie Longhurst
26. W. Charles Paradee
27. William Carson

Republican

1. Daniel Short
2. David Wilson
3. Deborah Hudson
4. Donald Blakey
5. Harold Peterman
6. Harvey Kenton
7. Jeffrey Spiegelman
8. Joseph Miro
9. Michael Ramone
10. Ronald Gray
11. Ruth Briggs King
12. Stephen Smyk
13. Timothy Dukes
14. William Outten

Competitiveness

Unopposed candidates in general election

The following candidates will not face major party competition:

Democratic

1. Charles Potter
2. Earl Jaques, Jr.
3. Edward Osienski
4. Gerald Brady
5. Helene Keeley
6. James Johnson (Delaware)
7. John Kowalko
8. John Mitchell, Jr.
9. John Viola
10. Melanie George Smith
11. Michael Barbieri
12. Rebecca Walker
13. Stephanie Bolden

Republican

1. Daniel Short
2. David Wilson
3. Deborah Hudson
4. Harvey Kenton
5. Michael Ramone

Ballot Access

Third party candidates

The following is a list of third party and independent candidates running in 2012:

1. Amy Merlino
2. Douglas Beatty
3. Gordon Smith
4. John Machurek
5. Margaret McKeown
6. Margaret Melson
7. Robert Wilson (Delaware)
8. Ronnie L. Fitzgerald, Jr.
9. Valerie Valeska

2012 Legislative Election Results
State-by-State Analysis
Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Maine Massachusetts • Michigan• Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Other 2012 Election information
State legislative elections • State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2012 • State Senate elections • State House elections

National Partisan Trends

The following tables will detail the partisan breakdown of national election results.

Incumbents who were defeated in the general election

In the 44 states with elections, there were 4,534 incumbents who ran in the general election. The following is a breakdown of incumbent defeats in the 2012 general election:

Incumbents defeated in 2012 legislative general election
Party	Senate	House	Total
Democratic	21	49	70
Republican	37	182	219
Third Party	2	3	5
TOTALS	60	234	294

Total new legislators elected

In total, 1,707 (28.4%) new legislators were elected in 2012. Of these 1,707, 849 (50.0%) were Republicans and 854 (50.0%) were Democrats.

The following is the breakdown of new legislators.

New Legislators after the 2012 legislative elections
Party	Senate	House	Total
Democratic	165	684	849
Republican	202	652	854
Independent	0	4	4
TOTALS	367	1,340	1,707

Winners of Open Seats

Open seats contests made up 705 (11.7%) of the 6,015 seats in 2012. Of these 705 open seats, Republicans won 401 (56.9%) while Democrats won 304 (43.1%). Going into the election, the number of open seats formerly held by each party was quite similar. Estimates prior to the election suggested that approximately 52% of the open seats were previously held by Republicans and 48% were held by Democrats.

The following is the breakdown of open seat winners.

Open Seat Winners in 2012 legislative elections
Party	Senate	House	Total
Democratic	82	220	302
Republican	105	296	401
Third Party	0	0	0
TOTALS	187	516	703

Impact on legislative majorities

See also: Partisan balance of state legislatures

Partisan Balance of Chambers with 2012 Elections
	Pre-election				Post-election
Legislative chamber
State senates	17	24	1	1	18	24	0	1
State houses	15	27	1	0	19	24	0	0
Totals:	32	51	2	1	37	48	0	1

Partisan Balance of All 99 Chambers Before and After 2012 Elections
	Pre-election				Post-election
Legislative chamber
State senates	19	28	2	1	20	28	1	1
State houses	17	31	1	0	21	28	0	0
Totals:	35	60	3	1	41	56	1	1