Delaware Democrats look to solidify hold on state government in midterm elections

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Delaware Democrats were looking to solidify their hold on state government as voters cast their ballots on Tuesday.

Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly, the governor’s office, and all other statewide elective offices, including three at the top of this year’s ballot: attorney general, state auditor and treasurer.

Even before polls opened Tuesday, tens of thousands of Delaware residents already had made their choices. Election officials reported that about 56,200 people, roughly half of them Democrats, had taken advantage of early voting. Elections officials also had received about 22,600 absentee votes as of Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, officials reported that more than 170,720 voters had cast their ballots at local polling precincts as of 4 p.m. Tuesday. That total included about 76,350 Democrats, roughly 61,300 Republicans.

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Pierino Vicere, 62, a registered Republican from Camden, said he voted a straight GOP ticket.

"I don’t usually do that. I did it this year because of the way Democrats have screwed everything up the past two years," he said.

Vicere lamented the price of food, noting that he and his wife, Tamara, recently spent $375 for a week’s worth of groceries.

"And we didn’t buy any steak," he said.

Gregory Fisher, 46, of Dover voted a straight Democratic ticket, saying Democrats are doing "a very good job."

"I’m part of the Democratic family," Fisher said. "It’s always been that way."

In the attorney general’s race, incumbent Kathleen Jennings faces Republican challenger Julianne Murray. Murray, a Georgetown lawyer, is making her second bid for public office, having lost the 2020 governor’s race to incumbent Gov. John Carney.

Democrats in Delaware are looking to solidify their hold on the state government on election day. (Fox News)

Murray recently bested Jennings in an election-related lawsuit when Delaware’s Supreme Court, which has a 3-2 Democratic majority, ruled that a new vote-by-mail law passed by Democrats earlier this year violates the state constitution. Murray represented plaintiffs challenging the law, which Jennings’ office defended. The court also struck down a new same-day registration law passed by Democrats. After the ruling, Jennings said "extremists are celebrating."

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In the campaign, however, Jennings, had the advantage over Murray. Delaware remains a deeply blue state, with roughly 363,000 registered Democrats almost equaling the combined total of roughly 210,000 registered Republicans and 171,000 unaffiliated voters. Jennings won election in 2018 with 61% of the vote.

This year, Jennings has raised more than $390,000 for her reelection campaign, finishing the reporting period that ended Oct. 9 with a balance of more than $300,000. Murray reported raising about $101,000, ending the reporting period with about $54,000 on hand.

The auditor’s race features two political newcomers, with Democrat Lydia York facing Republican Janice Lorrah. York, an attorney with an accounting background, won a Democratic primary in September against incumbent Kathy McGuiness. McGuiness was convicted in July on misdemeanor counts of conflict of interest and official misconduct related to the hiring of her daughter as a part-time employee in the auditor’s office.

Lorrah, who has a law degree, sued Carney in February after he extended a school mask mandate that had been imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Shortly after the start of a court hearing to determine whether a judge should issue a preliminary injunction, state officials announced that mask requirements would be terminated.

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The other statewide race pits first-term incumbent treasurer Colleen Davis against Republican challenger Greg Coverdale. Coverdale is a financial planner and former state school board member who lost a bid for a state House seat in 2014.

In other races, all 62 legislative seats, 21 in the Senate and 41 in the House, are on the ballot. Six Senate Democrats and six House Democrats are guaranteed reelection, however, because they have no opponents. On the Republican side, four incumbent senators and eight House members have no challengers.

Democrats currently have a 14-7 advantage in the Senate and a 26-15 advantage in the House.