Legislative Update - Election Wrap-Up Report
Election 2020
U.S. Presidency
On Saturday, Joe Biden passed the 270 electoral votes required to be president-elect. As of this writing, the Electoral College vote totals are 279 for Biden and 214 for Trump. Georgia and Arizona are not yet called. Biden currently leads in Georgia 0.2% and in Arizona by 0.5%.
Nationally, based on the votes tallied as of this writing, President-Elect Biden won the popular vote 50.6% (75,674,958) to 47.6% (71,259,164).
In Delaware, President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris garnered 58.8% of the vote (295,420) to President Trump’s and Vice President Pence’s 39.78% (199,859). The remaining 1.41% went to third party candidates.
Outcome in Congress (so far)
Based on the races decided so far, the United States Senate is currently comprised of 49 Republicans – 48 Democrats, with two races yet to be decided in a run-off election in Georgia. There is not yet a clear majority. In the House, of the races decided so far, there are 215 Democrats and 200 Republicans. The Republicans added five seats so far as a result of the 2020 election.
Statewide races
- In the U.S. Senate race, Chris Coons (D) won handily with 59.45% (291,004) of the vote to Republican challenge Lauren Witzke’s 37.89% (185,444). The remaining 2.66% went to third party candidates.
- Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester won her race versus Republican challenger Lee Murphy with 57.65% (280,636) versus Murphy’s 40.21%. The remaining 2.66% went to third party candidates.
- Governor John Carney won a second term with 59.47% (292,161) to Republican challenger Julianne E. Murray’s 38.62% (196,739). The remaining 1.91% went to third party candidates.
- Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long won a second term with 59.15% (284,903) of the vote to Republican challenger Donyale Hall’s 40.85% (196,739).
- In the Insurance Commissioner’s race, incumbent Trinidad Navarro won reelection with 59.49% (285,983) of the vote to Republican challenger Julia Pillsbury’s 40.51% (194,731).
The 2020 election and the leadership contest that followed brought significant change to the Delaware State Senate. During the September primary election, then Senate President Pro Tem David McBride (D-Hawks Nest) lost his race to Democratic candidate Marie Pinkney. That opened the senior slot in Senate leadership. Last evening, the Senate Democratic Caucus held their leadership vote and elected David Sokola (D-North Star) president pro tem, Bryan Townsend (D-Newark) as majority leader, and Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman (D-Wilmington) as the majority whip. Sokola is the most senior member of the Senate, having been elected in 1990. Townsend has been a member since 2012 and Lockman came to the Senate in 2018. There is no definitive word yet as of this writing concerning who the minority leader and whip will be.
Democrats picked up two seats in the State Senate, bringing their majority to 14-7. In the 5th Senate District, Kyle Evans Gay (D-Heather Woods), defeated Senate Minority Whip and veteran legislator Cathy Cloutier (R-Heather Woods) with 52.31%. Senator-Elect Evans Gay is a corporate law attorney with the firm Connolly Gallagher, LLP.
In the 7th Senate District Spiros Mantzavinos (D) successfully challenged Senator Anthony Delcollo (R-Marshallton), receiving 51.36% of the vote. Both candidates carried out a vigorous and expensive campaign.
In another notable development, in the 1st Senate District, Sarah McBride (D) was elected to replace Senator Harris B. McDowell, III who retired this year after 44 years in the Senate. Senator-elect McBride will be the first transgender state senator in U.S. history. She defeated her opponent, Steven Washington, with 73.3% of the vote.
In the State House of Representatives, majority leadership remains the same. Pete Schwartzkopf (D-Rehoboth Beach) will remain speaker; Valerie Longhurst (D-Delaware City) will continue as majority leader; and Larry Mitchell (D-Elsmere) will once again be majority whip. There is no definitive word yet as of this writing concerning who the minority leader and whip will be.
The composition of the House will remain 26 Democrats and 15 Republicans. In a development which surprised many observers, all three New Castle County House Republican seats remained after the count. In the 9th Representative District, Kevin Hensley (R-Middletown) defeated his Democratic challenger Debbie Harrington with 54.8% of the vote. In the 21st Representative District, Michael Ramone (R-Limestone Hills) won his race against returning challenger Stephanie Barry with 52.56%. Representative Ramone is the most recent recipient of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce Free Enterprise Award. In the 22nd Representative District, Chamber alumnus Michael Smith (R-Pike Creek) made an exceptionally strong showing versus his Democratic opponent Luann D’Agostino, with 63.31% of the vote.
The three new Democratic faces in the House are Sher’ae Moore in the 8th District (Middletown area), Eric Morrison in the 27th District (Bear area), Larry Lambert in the 7th District (Brandywine Hundred Area) and Madinah Wilson-Anton in the 26th District (Bear-Newark Area). Representative-Elect Wilson-Anton will be the first person of the Muslim faith elected to the Delaware General Assembly.
New Castle County Government
County Executive Matt Meyer was reelected. He ran unopposed in the general election. County Council President Karen Hartley-Nagle defeated third party (Independent Party of Delaware) challenger Brian Whitaker with 84.12% of the vote.
Among the six New Castle County Council district seats on the ballot, there were no challengers to the following incumbents:
George Smiley (D) Council District 7
John Cartier (D) Council District 8
Timothy Sheldon (D) Council District 9
Jea Street (D) Council District 10
David Tackett (D) Council District 11
William Bell (D) Council District 12
Every two years, one half of the Council districts are on the ballot. There are rarely challengers. A notable exception occurred in 2018 when Dee Durham (D-Council District 2) defeated incumbent Councilman Robert Weiner.
City of Wilmington
Mayor Mike Purzycki (D) ran unopposed in the general election. Trippi Congo (D) was elected as City Council President, also without opposition. There were unsuccessful third party (Independent Party of Delaware) challenges in the 5th and 7th Council Districts. Democrats prevailed in both races. The slate of at-large members of Wilmington City Council members will be as follows:
Maria Cabrera (D)
Rysheema Dixon (D)
Loretta Walsh (D)
James Spadola (D)
There are 13 members of Wilmington City Council, including the president.
New Castle County Chamber of Commerce 