The 36th District House seat hasn’t been held by a Democrat since 1984, when Republican challenger V. George Carey flipped the seat by just 230 votes and held it until his retirement in 2010.
Bryan Shupe kept the seat in Republican hands in 2018 after serving as mayor of Milford for four years and on Milford’s City Council prior to that.
Shupe owns and operates a few small businesses as well, including three locations of a full-service pet resort, Delaware LIVE News, and a local food market in Milford.
“I think at heart, I'm an innovator, I'm an entrepreneur," Shupe said. "I love to start businesses. I love to work with people. Between all of our businesses, we have over 40 employees that work alongside us every day. So, I love mentoring and helping people get to where their next level is.”
Shupe won his first two General Elections handily over his Democratic opponents. In 2020 he faced his first Republican Primary opponent Patrick Smith, and prevailed easily with almost 70% of the vote and went on to win in the General Election unopposed.
But Smith challenged Shupe to a rematch this year, taking to social media to argue Shupe “votes like a Democrat” and does not uphold conservative values, particularly when it comes to Second Amendment rights.
Shupe ended up beating out Smith by only 12 votes, and while both candidates supported a recount, the Department of Elections said the margin was not slim enough to trigger one.
As a sitting legislator, Shupe requested an audit of the votes, which ultimately confirmed his victory, and pledged to introduce legislation next year to raise the automatic recount threshold.
“I feel like my legacy so far has been transparency in government. I want to continue that even when it involves me as well.”Following his narrow primary election victory, Bryan Shupe highlights the importance of transparency in politics.
“You know, this has kind of been... I feel like my legacy so far has been transparency in government," Shupe said. "I want to continue that even when it involves me as well.”
But Shupe isn’t in the clear yet. He now faces Democratic challenger Rony Baltazar-Lopez.
Baltazar-Lopez currently works as the Director of Legislative Affairs and Communications for the Delaware Department of State.
After a stint as one of Senator Tom Carper’s staff assistants, he served on the Milford School District Board of Education for three years starting in 2019 while simultaneously working on the Attorney General’s communications team.
Baltazar-Lopez says he decided to run because he believes the district needs a representative who can represent all of its residents, not just certain interests or populations, and wants to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to succeed.
“I was born and raised here in Milford, I grew up in the public school systems, and I am a son of immigrants. So, throughout my life, I've overcome challenges, I've had to address those challenges as I've grown up," Baltazar-Lopez said. "So, taking those experiences, as a son of immigrants, has really translated into my professional career in public service.”
Baltazar-Lopez says the affordable housing crisis is something he is affected by personally, noting he cannot afford a home in Sussex County.
The median home price is between $340,000 and $400,000 in Milford, yet the median household income is around $55,000. While affordable housing is an issue across the state, Milford is uniquely positioned in two different counties with a population on the rise, giving it some distinctive challenges.
Among planning issues and development regulations, Baltazar-Lopez wants to focus on support for first-time homebuyers.
“I think at the state level we can expand on either tax credits or low-interest loans and even continuing the down payment assistance from the Delaware State Housing Authority, as some of those funds will be running out," Baltazar-Lopez said. "So, making sure that we continue those investments in the next administration and the next General Assembly too.”
Shupe, on the other hand, says that more government intervention is not necessarily the solution to this problem, arguing that adding more regulations and spending more state money over time has led to the exacerbation of the affordable housing crisis.
In the short term, Shupe would like to see codes written that enable more accessory dwelling units, or secondary living spaces, as well as more mixed-use developments.
“I think at the state level, we can expand on either tax credits or low-interest loans and even continuing the down payment assistance from the Delaware State Housing Authority.”Rony Baltazar-Lopez wants to support first-time homebuyers when in office.
“There also is long-term," Shupe said. "We need to be able to look at strengthening our workforce development and making sure that we give people the tools they need in order to succeed either in the jobs that they are, or to go out into the market and be able to be prepared to get a better job than they have now.”
Perhaps one of the most important questions of this election cycle is how state leaders plan to tackle Delaware’s outdated education funding formula and stagnant student outcomes.
The 2024 statewide student assessment revealed only 40% of Delaware students are reading and writing at or above grade level, while only 33% are proficient in math; figures that are nearly identical to 2023 after proficiency rates began steadily declining following the COVID-19 pandemic.
An independent review of Delaware’s education system is recommending the state invest anywhere from $600 million to $1 billion more in education and convert to a weighted funding formula based on student needs, something Baltazar-Lopez fully supports.
Shupe says, as of now, he’s keeping his mind open.
“I don't know what I don't know. So, there could be a really great idea that I immediately might not think may work, but after discussion and talking with people who have gone through that model, either in Delaware or other states, I may be very surprised [by] the success that they have had," Shupe said. "So, I'm definitely open. What I would like to see, and one thing that I know has to change, is we need to make sure that the majority of the money that's being funded and coming in through taxpayers is in the classroom themselves and reaching the teachers and the kids.”
Affordable healthcare, particularly in Sussex County, has also been an at-large issue for the state.
The General Assembly’s biggest push this year to combat the issue was creating a hospital cost review board, a body in charge of making sure hospitals control their spending and adhere closely to healthcare cost spending benchmarks.
Shupe voted against that bill, known as HB 350. Although the review board ultimately became law, ChristianaCare quickly filed a lawsuit against it, which is currently underway.
Shupe cites the bill as yet another example of unnecessary governmental overreach and the stifling of healthy competition, while Baltazar-Lopez believes it’s the first step of many.
“While House Bill 350 wasn't perfect, it is, I think, a step in the right direction, but the overall issue here is that healthcare isn't healthcare if it's not affordable for people," Baltazar-Lopez said. "So what do we do to help alleviate some of those costs, and how do we make sure that people can have access? One is to make sure that we're attracting and retaining professionals into the area, medical professionals – making sure that we have, you know, some type of tax credits for them or loan forgiveness programs for them to make sure that they come into Sussex County and stay here.”
Shupe feels competition and pricing within health insurance, particularly with state employees’ plans, is something that needs to be analyzed further.
“One of the things that I really disagree with is how we handle our own operations with our health care for our state employees... and it's my understanding that we don't often enough kind of disrupt that model.”Bryan Shupe believes competition and pricing within health insurance need to be closely examined.
“One of the things that I really disagree with is how we handle our own operations with our health care for our state employees," Shupe said. "We use a third party to look at the rates that people are paying and to say, ‘yes, we're going to pay that,’ or ‘no, we want to pay a lower fee,' and it's my understanding that we don't often enough kind of disrupt that model.”
When it comes to support for small businesses, Shupe wants to continue efforts to eliminate gross receipts tax and taxes on overtime pay, although he notes tax reform policies have not been very popular within the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
“Unfortunately, I haven't been too successful on tax policy," Shupe said. "I think the reason is most people in the legislature now believe that the more that the government taxes, the more money that they have, and the more programs we’ll be able to give to residents of the state of Delaware. Unfortunately, they overlook that statistics show that the more money of their own that people have in their pocket, actually the more money they spend in the economy, and tax revenues go up as well.”
Baltazar-Lopez’s focus is on enhancing Delaware’s EDGE grant program, a competitive funding opportunity for small businesses to use on viability and sustainability.
“I would definitely look into making sure that we're expanding those EDGE grant credits, because... in particular in the Hispanic community," Baltazar-Lopez said. "There's even been organizations that are devoted just to help Hispanic small business owners because we're just thriving and growing in the U.S. For example, as a nation, there's a statistic that one in four new businesses are Latino owned, and I think that can correlate really well into Delaware.”
Milford is one of the fastest-growing cities in Delaware with a population increase of almost 20% from 2020 to 2023. Both candidates agree boosting Milford’s infrastructure and support services will be key in the coming years.
In addition to policy, Shupe is asking voters to consider why the makeup of the General Assembly is important in the years to come.
Democrats hold a supermajority in the Senate and are just two seats away from holding the same in the House.
With Democrats poised to flip Republican State Rep. Mike Ramone’s seat as he runs for Governor, District 36 could be the deciding factor in Democrats gaining unyielding power in both chambers.
“I think regardless of what party you are, if you're registered Republican, Democrat, or Independent, you should take some time to think about that," Shupe said. "Unchecked power on any level and in any party will lead to, in my opinion, more political ideology becoming law than what's good for residents.”
Baltazar-Lopez argues he doesn’t stand for a party or an ideology and instead stands for the district, and he believes he can deliver more for constituents.
“I've gotten support from those who are from the far right to all those in the far left. People are more concerned about how we can improve real issues in our district... They're not concerned about super majorities or what that means for them.”Despite running as a Democrat, Rony Baltazar-Lopez says he doesn’t stand for a party or an ideology.
“I've gotten support from those who are from the far right to all those in the far left," Baltazar-Lopez said. "People are more concerned about how we can improve real issues in our district, whether it's protecting our environment, making sure that we're holding developers accountable, making sure that we're expanding affordable access to healthcare, and making sure that we're making investments in education. They're not concerned about super majorities or what that means for them.”
While about 30% of registered voters in District 36 are either Independents or non-affiliated, the remaining split between Republicans and Democrats is razor thin, with Republicans having only 154 more registered voters as of Oct. 1.
Campaign donations have also become a point of contention. For the General Election fundraising period, as of Oct. 7, Shupe has raised just over $13,500, while Baltazar-Lopez has accumulated $19,500.
The Fannin family, a group of prominent Sussex County homebuilders, backed the aforementioned Smith in both recent GOP Primary Elections, but following his loss this year, they have now thrown their support behind Baltazar-Lopez.
Three members of the family maxed out the individual donor contribution of $600 each toward the Democratic candidate. However, in a recent interview, Baltazar-Lopez told Spotlight Delaware he made it very clear to the developers he cannot be bought.
Shupe made comments worrying Baltazar-Lopez doesn’t realize this money has strings attached to it, which Baltazar-Lopez denied.
Shupe adds he understands why the Fannins don’t back him. He has previously shown support for residents who have expressed concerns with the quality of the Fannins’ work, which he believes has led to a personal vendetta against him.
As of Oct. 7, Baltazar-Lopez had roughly $2,700 more on hand to spend than Shupe leading up to the Nov. 5 General Election.
