Democratic Party primaries in Delaware, 2022

2024 → ← 2020

Democratic Party primaries, 2022

Primary Date

September 13, 2022

Federal elections

Democratic primaries for U.S. House

State party

Democratic Party of Delaware

State political party revenue

This page focuses on the Democratic primaries that took place in Delaware on September 13, 2022.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to 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.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Federal elections

U.S. House

See also: United States House election in Delaware, 2022 (September 13 Democratic primary)

The U.S. House of Representatives election in Delaware were on November 8, 2022. Voters elected one candidate to serve in the U.S. House from the state's one at-large U.S. House district. To see a full list of candidates in the primary in each district, click "Show more" below.

Show more

At-large District

 Democratic primary candidates

This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:

• Lisa Blunt Rochester (Incumbent) ✔

State elections

State Senate

See also: Delaware State Senate elections, 2022

The Delaware State Senate was one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2022. There are 99 chambers throughout the country. In 2020, 86 out of 99 legislative chambers held elections. To see a full list of state Senate candidates in the Democratic primaries, click "Show more" below.

Show more

Delaware State Senate elections, 2022
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. * = The primary was canceled and the candidate advanced.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
District 1	Sarah McBride* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 2	Darius Brown* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 3	S. Elizabeth Lockman* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 4	Laura Sturgeon* (i)	Ted Kittila*
District 5	Kyle Evans Gay* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 6	John Bucchioni   Russ Huxtable Did not make the ballot: Ryan Peters	Stephen Smyk*
District 7	Spiros Mantzavinos* (i)	M. Sherm Porter*
District 8	David Sokola* (i)	Victor J. Setting II*
District 9	Jack Walsh* (i)	Brenda Mennella*
District 10	Stephanie Hansen* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 11	Bryan Townsend* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 12	Nicole Poore* (i) Did not make the ballot: James Welsh	Bill Alexander*
District 13	Marie Pinkney* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 14	Michael Hill-Shaner Kyra Hoffner   Kevin Musto Sam Noel Robert Sebastiano   Did not make the ballot: Christopher A. Gore	Mark Pugh*
District 15	The Democratic primary was canceled.	David G. Lawson* (i)
District 16	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Colin Bonini (i) Eric Buckson Kim Petters
District 17	Trey Charles Paradee* (i)	Ed Ruyter*
District 18	Billy DeVary*	David Wilson* (i)
District 19	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Brian Pettyjohn* (i)
District 20	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Gerald Hocker* (i)
District 21	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Bryant Richardson* (i)

House of Representatives

See also: Delaware House of Representatives elections, 2022

The Delaware House of Representatives was one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2022. There are 99 chambers throughout the country. In 2020, 86 out of 99 legislative chambers held elections. To see a full list of state House candidates in the Democratic primaries, click "Show more" below.

Show more

Delaware House of Representatives elections, 2022
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. * = The primary was canceled and the candidate advanced.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
District 1	Nnamdi Chukwuocha (i) Shane' Darby	Mark Gardner*
District 2	Stephanie Bolden (i) James Taylor	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 3	Sherry Dorsey Walker* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 4	Keegan Worley*	Jeff Hilovsky Bradley Layfield
District 5	Kendra Johnson* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 6	Debra Heffernan (i) Becca Cotto	Michael Krawczuk*
District 7	Larry Lambert* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 8	Sherae'a Moore* (i)	David Thomas*
District 9	Terrell Williams*	Kevin Hensley* (i)
District 10	Sean Matthews* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 11	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Jeffrey Spiegelman* (i)
District 12	Krista Griffith* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 13	John Mitchell Jr. (i) DeShanna Neal	Carlucci Coelho*
District 14	Peter Schwartzkopf* (i)	Carl Phelps*
District 15	Valerie Longhurst* (i)	Michael Higgin*
District 16	Franklin Cooke Jr.* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 17	Melissa Minor-Brown* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 18	Sophie Phillips   Martin Willis	Gloria Payne*
District 19	Kimberly Williams* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 20	Stell Selby*	Dallas Wingate*
District 21	Frank Burns*	Michael Ramone* (i)
District 22	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Michael Smith* (i)
District 23	Paul Baumbach* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 24	Edward S. Osienski* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 25	Edward Klima Cyndie Romer	Lynn Mey*
District 26	Madinah Wilson-Anton (i) Kelly Williams Maresca	Timothy Conrad*
District 27	Eric Morrison (i) Michael Hertzfeld	John Marino*
District 28	William Carson Jr.* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled.
District 29	William Bush* (i)	Marc Wienner*
District 30	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Shannon Morris* (i)
District 31	Sean Lynn* (i)	The Republican primary was canceled. Did not make the ballot: Richard Harpster
District 32	Kerri Evelyn Harris LaVaughn McCutchen Phil McGinnis Lamont Pierce	Cheryl Precourt*
District 33	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Charles Postles* (i)
District 34	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Lyndon Dean Yearick* (i)
District 35	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Jesse Vanderwende* (i)
District 36	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Bryan Shupe (i) Patrick Smith
District 37	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Ruth Briggs King* (i)
District 38	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Ronald Gray* (i)
District 39	Susan Clifford*	Daniel Short* (i)
District 40	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Timothy Dukes* (i)
District 41	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Richard Collins* (i)

State executive offices

See also: Delaware state executive official elections, 2022

Three state executive offices were up for election in Delaware in 2022:

Attorney General
Treasurer
Auditor

To see a full list of candidates in the Democratic primaries, click "Show more" below.

Show more

Attorney General

 Democratic primary candidates

This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:

• Kathy Jennings (Incumbent) ✔

Treasurer

 Democratic primary candidates

This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:

• Colleen Davis (Incumbent) ✔ 

---

= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

Auditor

 Democratic primary candidates

• Kathy McGuiness (Incumbent)
• Lydia York ✔

Primary election competitiveness

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2022

This section contains information about the primary election competitiveness of election in Delaware. For more information about this data, click here.

U.S. House competitiveness

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Delaware in 2022. Information below was calculated on August 30, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Two candidates filed to run for Delaware's At-Large U.S. House district, one Democrat and one Republican.

The two candidates who ran this year were one fewer than the three candidates who ran in 2020 and 2018, and five fewer than the seven who ran in 2016, when the seat was last open. Two candidates ran in 2014 and three did in 2012.

Because it only had one U.S. House seat, Delaware did not need to redistrict after the 2020 census.

Incumbent Lisa Blunt Rochester (D), first elected in 2016, ran for re-election. Lee Murphy (R) was the only Republican candidate who filed to run. Blunt Rochester and Murphy were the Democratic and Republican nominees in 2020 as well.

Since the two candidates who filed were from different parties, there were no contested primaries this year. The Republican primary was contested in 2020, 2018, and 2012, while the Democratic primary was contested in 2016. There were no contested primaries in 2014.

State legislative competitiveness

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in Delaware in 2022. Information below was calculated on Sept. 2, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Delaware had 14 contested state legislative primaries in 2022, an 8% increase from 2020.

While the number of contested primaries increased, the rate of contested primaries decreased from 13% to 11%. Since more seats were up for election in 2022, the number of possible primaries similarly increased.

Of the 14 contested primaries, there were 11 for Democrats and three for Republicans. For Democrats, this was down from 12 in 2020, an 8% decrease. For Republicans, the number was up 67% from one in 2020.

Eight incumbents faced primary challenges, representing 15% of all incumbents running for re-election. This was lower than in 2020 and 2014, but higher than the 2018 and 2016 election cycles.

Of the eight incumbents in contested primaries, six were Democrats and two were Republicans.

Overall, 108 major party candidates—62 Democrats and 46 Republicans—filed to run. All 41 House and 21 Senate seats were up for election.

Seven of those seats were open, meaning no incumbents filed. This guaranteed that at least 11% of the legislature would be represented by newcomers in 2023, the second-largest such percentage compared to the four preceding election cycles behind 2018, when 21% of seats were guaranteed to newcomers.

Context of the 2022 elections

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

State party overview

Democratic Party of Delaware

See also: Democratic Party of Delaware

State political party revenue

See also: State political party revenue and State political party revenue per capita

State political parties typically deposit revenue in separate state and federal accounts in order to comply with state and federal campaign finance laws.

The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following map displays total state political party revenue per capita for the Democratic state party affiliates.

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to 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.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Poll times

In Delaware, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Delaware, an individual must meet the following requirements:

• The individual must be a United States citizen.
• The individual must be a resident of Delaware.
• The individual must be 18 years of age by Election Day.
• The individual must be mentally competent.
• The individual must not be under a felony sentence or convicted of a disqualifying felony.

According to the Delaware Department of Elections, "The voter registration deadline is the 4th Saturday before a Primary and General Election. Voter registration applications submitted via the voter portal, ivote.de.gov, by the deadline, or received by mail by the Department and postmarked by the deadline, will be considered to be submitted by the deadline."

Automatic registration

Delaware practices automatic voter registration through Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) locations and website. Individuals that complete an in-person or online application for a drivers license, learners permit, or identification card, or completes an in-person or online application to change their name or address on these documents, are atumatically registerd to vote. An individual whose eligibility and citizenship status have been confirmed by the DMV is also automatically registered.

According to the Department of Election's website, voters that are automatically registered are mailed a "“Notice of Automatic Voter Registration”, which includes a “Response to Automatic Voter Registration” form. AVR voters may use the form to update their voter registration, choose a party affiliation, or cancel their voter registration."

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Delaware has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Delaware does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Delaware, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Delaware does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, "if you register to vote even though you know you are not eligible, you can be fined between $50.00 - $200.00 or imprisoned for 30 days to two years, or both."

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The state's voter portal allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Delaware requires voters to present non-photo identification while voting.

As of July 2024, the state website said:

“

When arriving at a polling place, a poll worker will ask you for proof of identity. A photo ID is not required. Examples of acceptable IDs: Delaware Driver’s License Delaware Identification Card U.S. Passport Signed Polling Place card Signed Social Security card Signed vehicle registration Signed credit card with photo ... When arriving at an Early Voting Site, a poll worker will ask you for proof of identity. A photo ID is not required. Permitted forms of identification include current: Valid Photo ID Copy of utility bill Bank statement Government check, paycheck, or other government document that displays your address

”

Voters who do not present proof of identity can "sign an affidavit of affirmation that the voter is the person listed on the election district record," according to Delaware Code.

Early voting

Delaware permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

On June 28, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court struck down a ruling from the Delaware Superior Court and reinstated early voting in the state. In a 5-0 decision, the court ruled that plaintiffs failed to prove that they would be harmed by laws permitting early voting, and therefore had no standing to sue. The decision, therefore, did not rule on the lower court's determination that early voting was prohibited by the Delaware Constitution. The court agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis to provide clarity to voters and election administrators before the November election. To read more about this case, see here.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.

Absentee voting

The deadline for eligible voters to request an absentee/mail-in ballot is no later than four days before an election.

According to the state's absentee/mail-in ballot application, an individual is eligible for any of the following reasons:

“

I am in public service of the United States (U.S.) or the State of Delaware, or I am a citizen of the U.S. temporarily residing outside the territorial limits of the U.S. and the District of Columbia, or such person’s spouse or dependent when residing with or accompanying such person, or absent from this State because of illness or injury while serving the armed forces of the U.S. I am in the armed forces of the U.S. or the merchant marine of the US., or attached to and serving with the armed forces of the U.S. in the American Red Cross or United Service Organizations. Due to the nature of my business or occupation. This reason includes: the business or occupaton of providing care to my parent, spouse, or child who is living at home and requires constant care due to illness, disability, or injury; students; and otherwise eligible persons who are incarcerated. I am sick or physically disabled (temporarily or permanently). I am absent from the district while on vacation. I am unable to vote at a certain Ɵme or on a certain day due to the tenets or teachings of my religion. I am otherwise authorized pursuant to the Federal Uniformed and Overseas Citzens Absentee Voting Act to vote by absentee ballot. I am otherwise authorized by federal law to vote by absentee ballot.

”

Certain of these voters are eligible for a permanent absentee/mail-in voting status and may request to be added to the permanent list on their ballot application.

On October 7, 2022, the Delaware Supreme Court struck down a state law allowing any registered voter to vote by absentee/mail-in ballot.

On eligibility, Article V, Section 4A, of the Delaware Constitution reads:

“

The General Assembly shall enact general laws providing that any qualified elector of this State, duly registered, who shall be unable to appear to cast his or her ballot at any general election at the regular polling place of the election district in which he or she is registered, either because of being in the public service of the United States or of this State, or his or her spouse or dependents when residing with or accompanying him or her because of the nature of his or her business or occupation, because of his or her sickness or physical disability, because of his or her absence from the district while on vacation, or because of the tenets or teachings of his or her religion, may cast a ballot at such general election to be counted in such election district.

”

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

One of three Delaware counties—33.33 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Kent County, Delaware	4.87%	4.94%	9.81%

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Delaware with 53.4 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 41.9 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Delaware voted Republican 53.33 percent of the time and Democratic 46.67 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Delaware voted Democratic all five times.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Delaware. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 28 out of 41 state House districts in Delaware with an average margin of victory of 35.2 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 27 out of 41 state House districts in Delaware with an average margin of victory of 31.7 points. Clinton won three districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.

In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 13 out of 41 state House districts in Delaware with an average margin of victory of 12.8 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 14 out of 41 state House districts in Delaware with an average margin of victory of 22.3 points. Trump won one district controlled by a Democrat heading into the 2018 elections.

2016 presidential results by state House district
District	Obama	Romney	2012 Margin	Clinton	Trump	2016 Margin	Party Control
1	90.63%	8.63%	D+82	87.34%	9.62%	D+77.7	D
2	92.21%	7.06%	D+85.1	88.72%	8.32%	D+80.4	D
3	88.46%	10.52%	D+77.9	84.86%	12.35%	D+72.5	D
4	59.01%	39.33%	D+19.7	62.94%	31.39%	D+31.6	D
5	83.11%	15.90%	D+67.2	78.51%	18.23%	D+60.3	D
6	60.77%	37.50%	D+23.3	60.56%	34.04%	D+26.5	D
7	64.21%	34.08%	D+30.1	61.76%	32.89%	D+28.9	D
8	60.00%	38.72%	D+21.3	54.75%	40.34%	D+14.4	D
9	51.62%	47.03%	D+4.6	46.45%	48.21%	R+1.8	R
10	60.49%	37.91%	D+22.6	58.39%	36.45%	D+21.9	D
11	44.38%	53.62%	R+9.2	34.07%	60.29%	R+26.2	R
12	48.50%	50.01%	R+1.5	53.04%	41.44%	D+11.6	R
13	69.88%	28.51%	D+41.4	59.74%	34.95%	D+24.8	D
14	50.16%	48.86%	D+1.3	50.08%	46.81%	D+3.3	D
15	66.88%	31.72%	D+35.2	61.89%	33.61%	D+28.3	D
16	86.44%	12.71%	D+73.7	79.69%	17.08%	D+62.6	D
17	75.35%	23.44%	D+51.9	67.45%	28.15%	D+39.3	D
18	73.77%	24.71%	D+49.1	66.80%	28.17%	D+38.6	D
19	63.86%	34.20%	D+29.7	54.36%	40.20%	D+14.2	D
20	46.68%	52.12%	R+5.4	42.84%	52.98%	R+10.1	R
21	58.87%	39.52%	D+19.3	53.84%	40.20%	D+13.6	R
22	50.65%	47.97%	D+2.7	51.53%	43.26%	D+8.3	R
23	59.53%	38.25%	D+21.3	59.93%	33.33%	D+26.6	D
24	67.87%	30.39%	D+37.5	59.76%	34.09%	D+25.7	D
25	63.13%	34.55%	D+28.6	59.44%	34.18%	D+25.3	D
26	73.18%	25.66%	D+47.5	67.83%	27.17%	D+40.7	D
27	61.16%	37.36%	D+23.8	56.68%	38.07%	D+18.6	D
28	61.47%	37.05%	D+24.4	52.86%	42.09%	D+10.8	D
29	52.73%	46.05%	D+6.7	47.38%	48.10%	R+0.7	D
30	38.81%	59.30%	R+20.5	28.57%	66.67%	R+38.1	R
31	63.67%	35.03%	D+28.6	61.48%	32.66%	D+28.8	D
32	63.41%	35.03%	D+28.4	57.28%	36.72%	D+20.6	D
33	45.67%	53.08%	R+7.4	37.57%	57.12%	R+19.5	R
34	46.85%	51.75%	R+4.9	42.61%	51.87%	R+9.3	R
35	39.90%	58.62%	R+18.7	32.25%	64.32%	R+32.1	R
36	43.06%	55.73%	R+12.7	36.10%	59.53%	R+23.4	R
37	46.44%	52.42%	R+6	37.67%	59.00%	R+21.3	R
38	36.85%	62.07%	R+25.2	32.78%	64.18%	R+31.4	R
39	41.34%	57.27%	R+15.9	34.48%	61.33%	R+26.9	R
40	37.36%	61.31%	R+23.9	26.76%	69.12%	R+42.4	R
41	42.12%	56.63%	R+14.5	33.75%	62.59%	R+28.8	R
Total	58.61%	39.98%	D+18.6	53.35%	41.92%	D+11.4	-
Source: Daily Kos

See also

2022 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic