A longtime Republican incumbent has announced her bid for re-election in a state Senate district that has become increasingly blue.
Republican Cathy Cloutier has represented the 5th Senate district— which includes Arden and parts of the Brandywine Hundred Area — for close to two decades.
This week she announced she plans to run for re-election— months after a Democratic challenger announced her own bid.
Registered Democrats have outpaced registered Republican voters in the district for at least the past nine years. But the gap has widened over the past five years, with upwards of four thousand more Democratic voters currently registered in the district than Republicans.
Cloutier started her political career when she won her husband’s seat in the state House in 1999 after he died in office.
Next fall Cloutier will likely face Democratic challenger Kyle Evans Gay, who announced her candidacy in August. Gay is an attorney and activist, and has said she thinks the 5th Senate District is ready to flip Democratic.