Delaware Primary 2024
Follow Delaware Public Media's coverage of what's happening throughout the day on Delaware Primary day - Sept. 10, including results as they come on once the polls close.
More on the fallout from the Democratic Primary for Gov.
A spokesperson the Matt Meyer campaign says Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long did call the New Castle County executive following his win in the Democratic primary for Governor.
The Meyer campiagn spokesperson says Hall-Long congratulated Meyer and said we’ll sit down soon. Meyer thanked Hall-Lon for her service, adding he looks forward to working together.
The third place finisher in the race former DNREC Sec. Collin O'Mara said of his loss:
"While it’s never easy to run as an outsider, we are incredibly proud that we ran an entirely positive, issue-based campaign during the most
viciously negative primary in Delaware history. We are deeply grateful to the hundreds of Delawareans who joined the campaign and believe in a better future. I am committed to continuing our work on critical issues of education equity, affordability, climate, and rebuilding our economy to make Delaware the First State of the 21st Century."
With most of the votes counted...
Most of the votes have been counted in Delaware's 2024 Primary election and here’s what we know:
New Castle County executive Matt Meyer has defeated Lt. Gov Bethany Hall-Long and former DNREC Sec. Collin O’Mara in the Democratic primary for Gov, securing 47% of the vote. He’ll face Republican State Rep. Mike Ramone in November. Ramone won the GOP primary with nearly 73% of the vote.
In the primaries for Delaware’s lone US House seat, Democrat Sarah McBride has won the Democratic primary, but the Republican Party endorsed candidate Donyale Hall lost to John Whalen in the GOP Primary. So, it will be McBride vs. Whalen in November as McBride seeks to become the first openly transgender member of Congress.
In the Democratic primary for mayor of Wilmington, Gov. John Carney appears to have defeated Velda Jones Potter with 54 percent of the vote.
In the Democratic Primary for Lt Gov., Kyle Evans Gay is the winner with 48% of the vote in a 3 person race.
In the Democratic Primary for Insurance Commissioner, Trinidad Navarro topped Kayode Abegunde with 74% of the vote.
In other races – it appears there has been a huge upset in the General Assembly. House Speaker Valerie Longhurst appears to have lost her Democratic primary to Kamela Smth in the 15th House District by a 53-47% margin.
In the 14th House District Democratic primary, Claire Snyder-Hall wins a three person race - defeating Marty Rendon and former State Auditor Kathy McGuiness.
Marcus Henry wins the Democratic primary for New Castle County Executive, while Monique Johns appears to have narrowly won the Democratic primary for New Castle County Council.
In Sussex County, County Council is losing two incumbent. Mike Vincent has lost his GOP primary to Matt Lloyd and Cynthia Green lost her GOP primary to Steve McCarron.
And in Kent County, Democrat George “Jody” Sweeney wins his primary for 5th District seat on Kent County Levy Court, defeating Susan Lanyon.
Meyer looks forward to November race against Ramone
Matt Meyer - winner of the Democratic Primary for Gov - says he looks forward to a contest with GOP nominee State Rep. Mike Ramone.
"I look forward to a vibrant debate. I have no doubt that our vision for a Delaware future, a new future for Delaware is not only one that Delawareans believe in, but based on my eight years of experience running our state’s largest local government, something they know that we are able to truly deliver on," told DPM's Sarah Petrowich.
Meyer is winning the Democratic primary with 47% of the vote. Ramone is winning the GOP primary with 72% of the vote.
Carney lead in Wilm. mayor's race expands
Gov. John Carney appears on his way to winning the Democratic primary for Wilmington Mayor.
Carney holds a 55-45% lead with over 3/4 of the vote counted, but Carney;s campaign told me he likely won't declare victory until most of the votes are counted.
Associated Press calls Democratic Gov. race for Matt Meyer
The AP is calling the Democratic Primary for Gov for new Castle County Executive Matt Meyer.
Meyer defeats Lt. Gov Bethany Hall-Long and former DNREC Sec. Collin O'Mara.
It appears he will face Republican State Rep. Mike Ramone in November.
Sarah McBride declares victory in Democratic primary for US House
State Sen. Sarah McBride takes another step toward becoming the first openly transgender member of Congress.
McBride has declared victory in the Democratic Primary for US House, defeating Earl Cooper and Elias Weir. With 136 of 530 districts reporting, McBride is receiving a commading 81% of the vote.
But who she faces in November could be a suprise. The GOP party's endorse candidate Donyale Hall is trailing John Whalen early in the ballot count.
Working Families Party seeks to continue to have influence
The Working Families Party’s (WFP) watch party has begun in Newark — a minor progressive political party who’s values align closest with Democrats.
State Rep. Sophie Phillips (D-Bear) of District 18 is not on the ballot for the primary election, but she says she spent her day at the Union United Methodist Church, a polling location in Bear.
“It was pretty slow turnout in the morning, then it got more steady. It picked up a little bit — I was at the polling place in my district that usually has the most people, so it was kind of sad to see it so slow honestly. But it was really nice to be able to see my constituents and be able to talk to them about the issues they are still facing that they needed help with.”
Phillips is endorsed by WFP, and while she won’t face an opponent until the November General Election, several WFP-endorsed candidates are on the ballot this primary.
Some of the most watched races with WFP candidates include incumbent Eric Morrison (D-Glasgow) facing Margie Lopez Waite for state representative in the 27th district, Kamela Smith challenging current Speaker of the House Valerie Longhurst (D-Bear) for state representative in the 15th district, Frank Burns facing Michael Smith to fill District 21's at-large state representative seat and Val Gould facing three other candidates for New Castle County President of County Council.
Collin O’Mara is also the WFP-backed candidate for governor — he’s expected at the watch party later this evening.
Phillips says WFP’s goal is making sure the current Democratic Party sees that there are a lot of progressive policies WFP wants to pass.
“We can’t even call them progressive policies, like affordable housing, environmental justice, economic justice. So I think honestly having WFP even running in these elections, regardless of whether they win or not — it’s showing my colleagues that there are a lot of these issues that people care about, and it’s time to start focusing on them and helping us pass them.”
Jones-Potter arrives at results watch party
Wilmington mayoral candidate Velda Jones-Potter has arrived at her results watch party. She was greeted by a jubilant crows and expressed high confidence about her chances.
Early results of some early voting and absentee ballots had Gov. Carney with a 44 vote lead
More indications of low turnout as polls close
At the Sherry Dorsey-Walker campaign's results watch party venue in Wilmington, Anita White, Dorsey-Walker's sister, arrived after spending the day at the polls. White said turnout seemed low and slow except for the P.S. DuPont polling location, which White said was busier than other spots.
White said she thinks part of the reason is many people don’t know about the primaries, and suggested there should be more efforts, like commercials, to inform constituents.
Low turnout
Throughout the day, we've seen signs of low turnout at many polling places, and that may be true.
A Democratic official told me in the last hour that they're seeing "markedly low turnout so far" especially in Sussex County. That official noted people are pointing to the negative tone in the Democratic Gov. race as a deterrent to voting.
Some late turnout in Wilmington
With about an hour left before the polls close, seeing some brisk turnout at Unity Lutheran Church in Wilmington. Asking voters/volunteers about animating issues in the Mayor's race, and the most common response is affordable housing availability.
Karimah Jackson, a volunteer for Chris Johnson at the Woodlawn Library said the next mayor should push to ensure that all of Wilmington – not just downtown – sees new housing construction, with a focus on subsidized affordable units. Jackson says that concentrating low-income housing in low-income neighborhoods limits possibilities for residents.
Aretha Barrett, a voter at Unity Lutheran Church, says that prioritizing affordable housing construction could cut back the waitlist for housing vouchers.
Polls are open for 3 more hours
Voters can cast their ballots until 8 p.m. across the state.
There is often a spike in turnout when the typical workday ends at 5 p. m.
For a look at what our reporters have seen at polling places so far today, check out our story here.
Has this election gone to the dogs?
At the Cheswold Volunteer Fire Company polling place, Teddy the dog is out stumping for State Rep. Bill Bush. Bush and his opponent Monica Shockley Porter also recently stopped by this polling place making a final plea to voters in House District 29.
First-time voter casts a ballot at Nellie Stokes Elementary School in Kent County
Caesar Rodney High School senior Temperance cast her first ever ballot today at Nellie Stokes Elementary School.
“[To be] completely honest, I didn’t know this was happening today until mom was like, ‘Hey, are you voting?’ And then she sat down and was like, ’All right, we’re running through all of the candidates today.’”
Temperance says she hasn’t paid much attention to local government, but as someone who plans to go to college next fall, she is starting to realize how local elections can affect here, noting college loan debt has been weighing particularly heavy on her mind.
Her mother, Nancy, stresses the importance of educating young people on the voting process, particularly when living in a rural area like Camden.“
I think our core values do not match a lot of the upstate candidates. Wilmington is usually what carries the elections, and I don’t feel that here in Kent, and then down in Sussex, that we’re very fairly represented,” she said. “So that makes it even more important that we get out here and vote for what we see in our own communities.”
Nancy also finds the lack of publicity for this election “unsettling,” saying she believes candidates have not been as vocal about their platforms as they have in years prior.
City of Wilmington voting at lunchtime
There was a fair amount of activity at P.S. DuPont Middle School in Wilmington during the lunch hour. Wilmington City Council candidates Alex Hackett and Coby Owens were there greeting voters. Owens said Gov. John Carney was there earlier seeking votes in his run for Wilmington mayor.
DPM contributor Paul Kiefer recently looked at that mayoral race between Carney and Velda Jones Potter.
Voting in Dover area
The polling place at Delaware Tech's Terry campus in Dover saw a handful of voters as the noon hour got underway.
This polling place includes the Democratic primary between State Rep. Bill Bush and Monica Shockley Porter. A campaign worker with Bush's campaign at the site called three cars pullng up at the same time the "lunch rush."
One couple - Elroy & Vivian Hendricks - were among the lunchtime voters. Vivian based her vote for Shockley Porter on her views on gun control, child care and health care for the elderly.
“It’s our choice. For me, I feel like if you don’t vote or don’t have a selection and know what’s going on in your district, then how can you complain? If you want to make sure your voice is being heard, it’s good to vote,” she said.
You can find my reporting on the race between Bush and Shockley Porter here.
Some votes are already in...
Most Primary voters in Delaware will heads to the polls today throughout the state. But some votes have already been cast.
The state reports 30,363 people have already voted in the primary through early voting or absentee.
There have been 18,510 early voters total - 7,029 in New Castle County, 2,788 in Kent County and 8,693 in Sussex County.
There have been 11,853 absentee voters - 5,931 in New Castle County, 1,793 in Kent County and 4,129 in Sussex County.
While those are already in, they will not be counted until the polls close today at 8 p.m.
Polls are open, but how many will vote?
Polls across Delaware have been open for about 2 hours now. How busy will they be?
Historically, Primary election turnout is much lower than for the General election.
In 2022, the only statewide primary on the ballot was a Democratic primary for State Auditor. Turnout was 16%.
In 2020, when there were contested primaries for US House, US Senate, Governor, and Insurance Commissioner on the ballot, turnout was 32% - matching the highest turnout of any year since 2000. 32% of Republicans also showed up to vote in the 2010 Primary when Christine O'Donnell stunned Congressman Mike Castle - ending his bid for U.S. Senate.
There was also 28% turnout among Democrats n 2008 when Jack Markell defeated John Carney in a hotly-contested primary for Gov.
Since 2000, turnout has often landed in the high single digits to mid-teens, though since 2016 the range has skewed more toward the mid-teens to low 20s.
With multiple high profile races this year, there's a chance turnout could again land on the higher end for a primary.
Delaware Primary day is here....
Voters head to the polls for Delaware's 2024 Primary election Tuesday.
There are bevy of contested statewide races on the ballot. DPM's Joe Irizarry highlights a few of them here.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
And our reporters will be checking in here throughout Election Day with more on what's happening across the statewide. We'll also have updates on the results once the polls close.