United States Senate election in Delaware, 2024 (September 10 Republican primary)

2026 → ← 2020
U.S. Senate, Delaware
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: July 9, 2024
Primary: September 10, 2024 General: November 5, 2024 Pre-election incumbent: Tom Carper (Democratic)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Delaware
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic DDHQ and The Hill: Safe Democratic Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
U.S. Senate, Delaware U.S. Senate • At-large Delaware elections, 2024 U.S. Congress elections, 2024 U.S. Senate elections, 2024 U.S. House elections, 2024 Arizona U.S. Senate raceCalifornia U.S. Senate raceConnecticut U.S. Senate raceDelaware U.S. Senate raceFlorida U.S. Senate raceHawaii U.S. Senate raceIndiana U.S. Senate raceMaine U.S. Senate raceMaryland U.S. Senate raceMassachusetts U.S. Senate raceMichigan U.S. Senate raceMinnesota U.S. Senate raceMississippi U.S. Senate raceMissouri U.S. Senate raceMontana U.S. Senate raceNebraska U.S. Senate raceNevada U.S. Senate raceNew Jersey U.S. Senate raceNew Mexico U.S. Senate raceNew York U.S. Senate raceNorth Dakota U.S. Senate raceOhio U.S. Senate racePennsylvania U.S. Senate raceRhode Island U.S. Senate raceTennessee U.S. Senate raceTexas U.S. Senate raceUtah U.S. Senate raceVermont U.S. Senate raceVirginia U.S. Senate raceWashington U.S. Senate raceWest Virginia U.S. Senate raceWisconsin U.S. Senate raceWyoming U.S. Senate raceSubmit

A Republican Party primary took place on September 10, 2024, in Delaware to determine which Republican candidate would run in the state's general election on November 5, 2024.

Eric Hansen advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Delaware.

Thirty-four of 100 seats in the U.S. Senate were up for election in 2024, including one special election. At the time of the election, Democrats had a 51-49 majority. Of the seats up for election in 2024, Democrats held 19, Republicans held 11, and independents held four. As of May 2024, eight members of the U.S. Senate had announced they were not running for re-election.

Candidate filing deadline	Primary election	General election
July 9, 2024	September 10, 2024	November 5, 2024

Heading into the election, the incumbent was Tom Carper (Democrat), who was first elected in 2000.

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.

This page focuses on Delaware's United States Senate Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

• United States Senate election in Delaware, 2024 (September 10 Democratic primary)
• United States Senate election in Delaware, 2024

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Eric Hansen advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Delaware.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• William Taylor (R)

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Eric Hansen

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Eric Hansen (self-described reasonable Republican) is running for US Senate, to represent Delaware. He will have no primary after winning the unanimous endorsement of all 351 state delegates. He is on the ballot on the general election on Nov 5, 2024. Delaware, historically blue, has become a more competitive state since President Joe Biden, with his long connection to Delaware, dropped from the ballot and with increasing frustration among the electorate. Eric grew up mostly in Florida with a family, like many, too often struggling to make ends meet. At the age of 12, he started going to church on his own and has remained faithful since. Despite the hardships he saw that more was possible. Driven to do more, he worked his way through college with summer jobs and student loans. He ultimately earned his master’s degree from Yale School of Management. With perseverance and some luck, he got the education that allowed him to live the American Dream. Eric has been in business his entire career. He spent the bulk of his career as an executive at Walmart – the uniquely American company that is built on lowering prices so people can live better. At Walmart, he ran a business with brands like Equate, Parent’s Choice, and others. His job was to make them just as good as the national brands, but half the price. Because of his work at Walmart, Eric saved U.S. shoppers over $25 billion."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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I am running for Senate because government is broken and both parties in DC have failed our families and our nation. I'm running to offer an alternative: I am a reasonable Republican who is running to get results. I am a businessman, and a proud political outsider. I spent many years at Walmart learning how to manage complexity, get collaboration from people that don’t agree, and drive down prices for consumers. My team and I were able to save the country over 25 billion dollars. I’m running because everything before Walmart and after Walmart seemed unsatisfying - because while I was at Walmart I wasn’t just managing a business, I was helping people save money and live better - exactly what I'll do in the US Senate.

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Hansen’s top priorities include: - Lower the cost of living. Create an inflation tax credit that helps those on fixed incomes and tight budgets defray higher costs. Reduce wasteful government spending so we can spend on programs that work for you. - Secure the border. Legal immigration with strong vetting is good for the nation, illegal immigration must end. - End violent crime. Bring in a federal task force to prosecute repeat violent criminals. Create a path back to the community for non-violent criminals.

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In DC, politicians care more about getting re-elected than serving the people that elected them. "I am running to change that. I commit, on the record, to running for a single term so that I can be free to do what’s right for you - and NOT what will get me re-elected. Only if the majority of Delawareans think I did a great job would I run for a second term and no more. That will allow me to serve you in a way no career politician can."

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Delaware in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Delaware

Election information in Delaware: Sep. 10, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Aug. 17, 2024
• By mail: Postmarked by Aug. 17, 2024
• Online: Aug. 17, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: Sep. 9, 2024
• By mail: Received by Sep. 6, 2024
• Online: Sep. 6, 2024

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Sep. 10, 2024
• By mail: Received by Sep. 10, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

N/A

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Aug. 28, 2024 to Sep. 8, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (EST)

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Eric Hansen	Republican Party	$1,015,951	$1,015,951	$0	As of December 31, 2024
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Delaware in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Delaware, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
Delaware	U.S. Senate	Ballot-qualified party	N/A	N/A	$10,440	Fixed number	7/9/2024	Source
Delaware	U.S. Senate	Unaffiliated	7,124	1% of all eligible voters	N/A	N/A	9/3/2024	Source

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
• Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
• State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
• Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

• Presidential elections
• Statewide elections
• State partisanship
• Demographics

See also: Presidential voting trends in Delaware and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Delaware, 2024
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Delaware's At-Large	Open (Lisa Blunt Rochester)	Democratic	D+7

2020 presidential results by 2024 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2024 district lines, Delaware
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Delaware's At-Large	58.8%	39.8%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 57.7% of Delawareans lived in New Castle County, the state's one Solid Democratic county, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 24.0% lived in Sussex County, the state's one Solid Republican county. Overall, Delaware was Solid Democratic, having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, and Joe Biden (D) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Delaware following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Delaware county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Democratic	1	57.7%
Solid Republican	1	24.0%
Battleground Democratic	1	18.4%
Total voted Democratic	2	76.0%
Total voted Republican	1	24.0%

Historical voting trends

Delaware presidential election results (1900-2020)

• 15 Democratic wins
• 16 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Delaware

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Delaware.

U.S. Senate election results in Delaware
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	59.4%	37.9%
2018	60.0%	37.8%
2014	55.8%	42.4%
2012	66.4%	29.0%
2010	56.6%	40.0%
Average	59.6	37.4

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Delaware

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Delaware.

Gubernatorial election results in Delaware
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	59.5%	38.6%
2016	58.3%	39.2%
2012	69.3%	28.6%
2008	67.5%	32.1%
2004	50.9%	45.8%
Average	61.1	36.9

See also: Party control of Delaware state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Delaware's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Delaware
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	1	3
Republican	0	0	0
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	1	3

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Delaware's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in Delaware, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	John Carney Jr.
Lieutenant Governor	Bethany Hall-Long
Secretary of State	Jeffrey W. Bullock
Attorney General	Kathy Jennings

State legislature

Delaware State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	15
	Republican Party	6
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		21

Delaware House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	26
	Republican Party	15
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		41

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Delaware Party Control: 1992-2024
Sixteen 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
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
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
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

The table below details demographic data in Delaware and compares it to the broader United States as of 2022.

Demographic Data for Delaware
	Delaware	United States
Population	989,948	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	1,948	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	63.8%	65.9%
Black/African American	22%	12.5%
Asian	4.1%	5.8%
Native American	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0%	0.2%
Other (single race)	3.3%	6%
Multiple	6.5%	8.8%
Hispanic/Latino	9.9%	18.7%
Education
High school graduation rate	91.2%	89.1%
College graduation rate	34.5%	34.3%
Income
Median household income	$79,325	$75,149
Persons below poverty level	7.5%	8.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022).
**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.

See also

• United States Senate election in Delaware, 2024 (September 10 Democratic primary)
• United States Senate election in Delaware, 2024
• United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2024
• United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2024
• United States Senate elections, 2024
• U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2024

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Delaware's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Lisa Blunt Rochester (D)

Chris Coons (D)

Representatives

Sarah McBride (D)

Democratic Party (3)

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