Delaware voters could make historic picks for U.S. Senate, House

Delaware voters could make history as they pick the next occupant of the state's lone seat in the U.S. House and one of its two U.S. Senate seats.

Voters in the First State will also pick a new governor and a presidential candidate during the Nov. 5, 2024, election.

Lisa Blunt Rochester could make history with a victory in Delaware's US Senate race

The U.S. Senate race in Delaware carries the potential of a historic first for residents and their congressional delegation in Washington.

U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat, faces Republican Eric Hansen and independent Michael Katz in Tuesday’s Senate contest.

Should Blunt Rochester win, she would become the first woman and first Black person to represent Delaware in the Senate. Only three other Black women have served in the Senate, two of whom were elected and one who was appointed.

Blunt Rochester is the presumptive favorite in the Senate race, given her name recognition and voter registration numbers that favor Democrats in solid-blue Delaware, which last sent a Republican to Washington in 2008. Her campaign coffers also dwarf Hansen's. Blunt Rochester reported raising more than $9 million for her Senate campaign as of mid-October, while Hansen reported receipts of slightly more than $1 million, including more than $800,000 in loans he made to his campaign.

Katz, a physician who served one term in the Delaware state Senate, has refused to accept outside campaign donations.

The candidates are vying to fill the seat left vacant by Democrat Tom Carper. Carper, who was elected to the Senate in 2000, encouraged and endorsed Blunt Rochester to be his successor when he announced his retirement last year. Blunt Rochester interned for Carper when he was in the House and also served in his cabinet when he was governor.

Blunt Rochester has served four terms as Delaware’s lone representative in the House. According to the Congressional Record, she has sponsored 90 bills and seven resolutions during her tenure, many aimed at improving or expanding access to health care, especially for women and minorities. The only measure sponsored by Blunt Rochester to become law is a resolution naming a Wilmington post office in honor of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a 19th-century anti-slavery activist and publisher.

Blunt Rochester began her political career as a case worker for Carper and served in appointed positions as Delaware’s labor secretary, state personnel director and deputy secretary of Delaware’s Department of Health and Social Services. She also has served as CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League.

Hansen, a political newcomer, is a former Wal-Mart executive and self-described “nonpolitician.” He has said his goals as a senator include balancing the budget and gradually reducing the size of government through attrition and improved efficiency. Hansen also has called for term limits in Congress.

McBride and Whalen's US House race sets the stage for a potentially historic outcome

Democrat state Sen. Sarah McBride would become the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress should she defeat Republican businessman John Whalen III on Tuesday.

With significant advantages in party registration numbers and campaign contributions, McBride is considered the favorite in the House race. Whalen is a construction company owner and retired state trooper who has little name recognition and is making his first bid for public office. As of mid-October, he reported raising less than $7,000 in campaign contributions.

McBride, meanwhile, has established a national profile as an LGBTQ activist and raised more than $3.5 million in campaign contributions from around the country. She achieved national recognition at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in the United States.

After scoring an easy Democrat primary win in September, McBride said she was not running for Congress to make history, but instead “to make historic progress for Delawareans.”

As a state senator, McBride has earned a reputation for working on health care issues, including successfully sponsoring legislation to create a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance program. She also sponsored legislation regarding Medicaid reimbursement rates for home health care services and expanded access to dental care for low-income Delawareans. Another bill she sponsored imposed a 3.58% tax on net revenue of Delaware hospitals to leverage additional federal Medicaid funds. All of those bills became law.

Whalen declined to appear with McBride for a debate last month at the University of Delaware. His campaign platform centers on stopping illegal immigration at the U.S. southern border, reducing government spending and balancing the federal budget.

Democrats have held Delaware’s U.S. House seat since 2011. This year's race opened up last year after Blunt Rochester said she would finish this term and run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Tom Carper.

Democrat Matt Meyer and Republican Michael Ramone square off in Delaware's gubernatorial contest

Democrats are hoping to extend their decades-long hold on the Delaware governor’s office in Tuesday’s election, while the Republican candidate is hoping for an upset that would offset Democratic control of the state Legislature by putting a member of the opposite party in the state's top executive office.

The contest pits Democrat Matt Meyer against the GOP’s Michael Ramone.

Meyer currently serves as chief executive of New Castle County, Delaware’s most populous county. Ramone is a businessman and entrepreneur who currently serves as House minority leader in the General Assembly.

Democrats control both chambers of the Legislature and have held the governor’s office since 1989.

Ramone has argued that Delawareans would be better served by restoring political balance to state government. Known for his willingness to work across party lines, he has won reelection several times in a district where Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans. His reputation for bipartisanship could help him appeal to moderate Democrats and unaffiliated voters, but he faces an uphill battle in solid-blue Delaware, where voter registration numbers favor Democrats.

Both Meyer and Ramone focused heavily on education during the gubernatorial campaign. Meyer, a former middle school math teacher, says his priorities include increased funding for public schools, particularly for low-income students, students with disabilities and English language learners. He also has called for universal prekindergarten and higher salaries for public school teachers.

Ramone supports performance-based incentives for Delaware teachers, expanded access to voucher programs and more money flowing to classrooms instead of school administration.

Ramone, who was elected to the state House in 2008, became the GOP gubernatorial nominee after winning 72% of the vote in a three-way GOP primary.

Meyer advanced to the general election contest against Ramone after defeating Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and former state Environmental Secretary Collin O’Mara in a Democratic primary. Meyer, who took 47% of the vote, led all candidates in fundraising, but he also was helped by a scandal involving Hall-Long’s campaign finances and reports about her office staff being used for non-government work.

Outgoing Democratic Gov. John Carney, who is prohibited by law from seeking a third term, appeared poised to become mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city, after winning a September Democratic primary.

When are polls open?

Delaware voters also will cast votes for who will replace native Democratic President Joe Biden in the White House.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.