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Delaware gubernatorial election, 2016
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September 13, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
John Carney (D) |
Jack Markell (D) |
Governor • Lt. Governor Down Ballot Insurance Commissioner |
Delaware held an election for governor on November 8, 2016, with the primary on September 13, 2016. Democrat John Carney Jr. won a four-year term, retaining Democratic control of the governorship.
| HIGHLIGHTS | |
Overview
Governor Jack Markell (D), who was elected governor in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, was term-limited and thus ineligible to run for re-election. Democratic candidate John C. Carney Jr., a U.S. congressman and former lieutenant governor, was unopposed in the primary election. State Senator Colin Bonini defeated retired state trooper Lacey Lafferty in the race for the Republican nomination. Carney and Bonini competed with Libertarian Sean Goward and Green Party candidate Andrew Groff in the November 8 general election.
Going into the election, Delaware had been under Democratic trifecta control since 2009, though the office of governor of Delaware tended to alternate party control over the previous eight decades. As of the 2016 election, Democrats held the governorship since 1993—the longest period, up to that point, of single-party statehouse rule since the 1936 election of Richard McMullen (D), which ended a 36-year period of Republican governors. Recent general elections for the office were not competitive by margin, even in open races; Markell won election in 2008 by over 35 percentage points.
The race was rated Safe Democrat; Democrats were expected to retain the seat in 2016. Carney won the general election on November 8, 2016.
Candidates and results
Candidates
Sean Goward (Lib.)
Technician, flight engineer
Andrew Groff (Green Party)
Businessman, teacher
Benjamin Hollinger (write-in)
Unknown
| Click show to the right to view candidates who declined to run in this election or who were defeated in the primary elections. | |||
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Results
General election
John Carney defeated Colin Bonini, Andrew Groff, Sean Goward, and Benjamin Hollinger in the Delaware governor election.
| Delaware Governor, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  John Carney |
58.34% | 248,404 | |
| Republican | Colin Bonini | 39.19% | 166,852 | |
| Green | Andrew Groff | 1.40% | 5,951 | |
| Libertarian | Sean Goward | 1.07% | 4,577 | |
| Write-in | Benjamin Hollinger | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 425,784 | |||
| Source: Delaware Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election
Colin Bonini defeated Lacey Lafferty in the Delaware Republican primary for governor.
| Delaware Republican primary for governor, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Colin Bonini |
69.88% | 21,150 |
| Lacey Lafferty | 30.12% | 9,115 |
| Total Votes | 30,265 | |
| Source: Delaware Department of Elections | ||
About the primary
A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Delaware utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.[2][3][4]
Delaware's primary elections took place on September 13, 2016.
Party control
Delaware Party Control: 1992-2025
Seventeen years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Delaware achieved a Democratic trifecta in 2009. The state's electoral votes have gone to the Democratic presidential candidate every year since 1992; the state went to Republicans in 1980, 1984, and 1988.[5] A Republican has not represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate since William Roth left office in 2001.
The office of governor of Delaware has tended to alternate party control over the past eight decades. As of the 2016 election, Democrats held the seat since 1993, the longest period, up to that point, of single-party statehouse rule since the 1936 election of Richard McMullen (D), which ended a 36-year period of Republican governors. Republicans won two statewide elections in 2014, when Republican Thomas Wagner won a seventh term as state auditor and Republican Ken Simpler defeated his Democratic opponent Sean Barney in the race for state treasurer.[6][7]
Recent general elections for the office have not been particularly close, even in open races. Markell won election in 2008 by over 35 percentage points. Ruth Minner (D) won 2000's open election by 20 percentage points. Democrat Thomas Carper won the open election of 1992 by 22 points.[7]
The state has a history of electing sitting or former lieutenant governors to the governor's seat: Democrats Ruth Ann Minner (2001-2009) and Elbert Carvel (1949-1953; 1961-1965), and Republican Michael Castle (1985-1992), all served as lieutenant governor at the time of their elections to the governorship; Sherman Tribbitt (1973-1977) had left the lieutenant governor's office four years prior to his election as governor.
U.S. Congressman and former Lt. Gov. John C. Carney Jr. was the sole Democrat to file for the race, which was rated Safe Democrat; Democrats were expected to retain the seat in 2016.
Race tracking
| Race Ratings: Delaware Governor | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Tracker | Race Ratings | ||||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Safe Democrat | Safe Democrat | |||||||
| Governing | Safe Democrat | Safe Democrat | |||||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Democrat | Safe Democrat | |||||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Safe Democrat | Safe Democrat | |||||||
| Daily Kos Race Ratings | Likely Democrat | Safe Democrat | |||||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season. | |||||||||
Polls
| Do you approve or disapprove of the job US Representative John Carney is doing in Congress? | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Approve | Disapprove | Neither | Don't know | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| Fairleigh Dickinson University July 27, 2016 | 57% | 22% | 7% | 12% | +/-4.1 | 715 | |||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Endorsements
| Key endorsements, primary candidates[8] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Carney | Colin Bonini | Lacey Lafferty | |||||||
| Governor Jack Markell (D) | Former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul (R) | ||||||||
| U.S. Senator and former Governor Tom Carper (D) | Delaware Republican Party | ||||||||
| U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D) | |||||||||
| What is a key endorsement? | |||||||||
Campaign finance
| Click [show] to view full campaign finance details | |||
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Campaign media
Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!
Democrats
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Republicans
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| Sean Goward (Lib.) |   
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Delaware state Governor election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Past elections
- See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state and Election of governors
Per Article III, Section 2 of the state constitution, Delaware elects governors in presidential election years—that is, leap years. In Delaware, 2016, 2020, 2024, and 2028 are all gubernatorial election years. The winner is inaugurated on the third Tuesday in the January following an election.
In the unlikely event that two candidates receive the exact same vote tally, a joint session of the legislature casts ballots to choose one-third of the members of each chamber to make up a special joint committee, which will in turn cast ballots for the governor. In the even more unlikely event that the legislature is similarly tied, the president of the Delaware State Senate shall have the deciding vote (§ 4).
To view the full electoral history for Governor of Delaware, click [show] to expand the full section. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Race background
Candidate field
July 12, 2016 |
September 1, 2016 |
September 13, 2016 |
September 30, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
TBD |
For several months, there was speculation that Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden (Vice President Joe Biden's son) would run for governor. Biden's aspirations were cut short on May 30, 2015, when he passed away at age 46 after battling with brain cancer.[13]
Biden's death temporarily left the Democratic field without a clear frontrunner. On September 16, 2015, U.S. Congressman and former Lieutenant Governor John C. Carney Jr. entered the race. According to Carney, he did so after calling Vice President Biden, who reportedly encouraged him to run. Carney also picked up an early endorsement from his 2008 Democratic rival, incumbent Gov. Markell.[14]
"I had intended to support Beau Biden as our state's next governor and continue my work in Congress," Carney said upon announcing his candidacy. "Beau knew there are big challenges facing our state — and he would have been the man to meet them. Like so many across our state, I wish he'd had that chance."[15]
No other Democrats filed for the office, leaving Carney unopposed in the September 13 primary election. Carney's lack of opposition in the Democratic primary election prompted criticism from some observers of the Democratic Party. Candidates for governor in Delaware often run unopposed in their parties' primary elections, with notable exceptions such as the 2008 heated Democratic primary contest between Carney and incumbent Jack Markell, which Markell ultimately won. Carney had earned the endorsement of incumbent Ruth Ann Minner (D) as well as the Democratic state committee; Markell's candidacy faced opposition from some members of the Democratic Party. Upon Markell's victory, Governor Minner commented that he had "some fences to mend."[15]
"Delawareans deserve an election, not a coronation," said 2016 Republican candidate and state Senator Colin Bonini Colin Bonini, who was endorsed by the state Republican Party. Bonini has stated he would invite Carney to participate in forums leading up to the elections, but expressed doubt that Carney would agree.[15]
Bonini declared his candidacy for governor in November 2014.[16] A retired state trooper, Lacey Lafferty, also declared her intention to run for the Republican nomination for governor.[17] Bonini won the nomination on September 13.
Former U.S. Air Force flight engineer Sean Goward was the sole Libertarian candidate for governor in 2016. Businessman Andrew Groff also filed for the race as a Green Party candidate.
About the offices
Governor
- Main article: Governor of Delaware
The Delaware governor is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch, and the highest office in the state. The governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two terms. The 73rd governor was Jack Markell, a Democrat elected in 2008. He succeeded Ruth Ann Minner (D) on January 20, 2009. Markell won re-election in 2012.
Prior to the November 2016 general elections, Delaware was one of seven Democratic state government trifectas. As a result of the elections, Delaware was one of six Democratic state government trifectas in the 2017 state legislative sessions.
Incumbent
Jack Markell (D) was first elected in 2008, narrowly winning the Democratic nomination for the seat over then-Lieutenant Governor John C. Carney Jr. by less than three percentage points.[18] Markell went on to win the general election in November 2008.[19] He successfully ran for re-election in 2012, garnering over 69 percent of the vote over his Republican challenger, Jeff Cragg.[20] During his tenure, Markell has remained relatively popular in the largely Democratic state of Delaware. In a September 2014 Rasmussen poll, his approval rating was at 64 percent. The poll found that even 49 percent of Republicans approved of Markell's job performance.[21] Markell was ineligible to seek a third term because of Delaware's term limits.
State profile
| Demographic data for Delaware | ||
|---|---|---|
| Delaware | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 944,076 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 1,949 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 69.4% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 21.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 8.7% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 88.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 30% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $60,509 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 13.9% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Delaware. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Delaware
Delaware voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Delaware, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[22] As of May 2017, eight state House districts and five state Senate districts intersected with a Pivot County in Delaware. The state has one at-large congressional district.
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Delaware had one Boomerang Pivot County, 4.00% of all Boomerang Pivot Counties.
More Delaware coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Delaware
- United States congressional delegations from Delaware
- Public policy in Delaware
- Endorsers in Delaware
- Delaware fact checks
- More...
See also
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Delaware government: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Xerxes Wilson, Delaware Online: The News Journal, "Tom Gordon again faces trouble with closest ally," November 7, 2015
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ National Archives and Records Administration, "Historical Elections Results," accessed August 11, 2016
- ↑ Delaware Online," "Candidates emerge for 2016 Delaware governor's race," accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 State of Delaware, "Elections results archive," accessed August 11, 2016
- ↑ Delaware State News, "Delaware Republicans pick national convention delegates," April 30, 2016
- ↑ State of Delaware, "2008 general election results," accessed December 10, 2011
- ↑ State of Delaware, "Delaware 2004 Election Results," accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ State of Delaware, "The Governor's Biography," accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ Delaware Secretary of State, "2000 Election Results: State of Delaware General Election," accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Beau Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s Son, Dies at 46," accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ The News Journal, "Rep. John Carney enters 2016 governor race," accessed Sept. 27, 2015
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 DelawareOnline, "Governor's race shows power of Delaware establishment," May 6, 2016
- ↑ Delaware Online, "Colin Bonini: 'I'm running for governor'," accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ Delaware Online, "Carney leads list of possible Democratic governor candidates" accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ State of Delaware, "Primary Election (Official Results)," accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ State of Delaware, "General Election (Official Results)," accessed Aug .10, 2015
- ↑ State of Delaware, "General Election (Official Results)," accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ Delaware Online, "Markell popular despite economic concerns," accessed Aug. 10, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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