To avert a complete Democratic supermajority in the General Assembly, the GOP needs to protect the seats it holds as it works to flip some others.
The 36th District House seat is considered a Republican stronghold. Republican challenger V. George Carey famously flipped the seat by a narrow 230 vote margin in 1984 and it’s been GOP territory ever since.
But current registration numbers in the 36th District - which includes Lincoln, Slaughter Beach, Ellendale, and the district's most populous city – Milford, only slightly favor Republicans. And more than a third of voters are neither Republicans nor Democrats.
This is one reason why, incumbent Bryan Shupe says, his party needs a candidate capable of keeping this seat firmly in the GOP’s control.
“The party affiliation for Republicans used to be way ahead in the 36th District when Harvey Kenton, which was the gentleman that was a representative before me, ran.” he said.
Shupe has held the seat since 2018. He says he has a proven track record of defeating Democrats and casts doubt his opponent, Patrick Smith, could do the same in November.
“I think it would be very foolish to assume that someone who hasn’t been in the community could just take this seat blindly. The demographics have changed over the years- not only party affiliation but the demographics in our community have changed widely." said Shupe. "There’s almost a three way split between Republicans, Democrats, and independents. So to win the 36th district, you can’t just be a Republican. You have to know the community and you have to know the people and you have to have support from independents and democrats as well”
But Patrick Smith disagrees, and that’s why he’s running against Shupe for a third time after losing the 2024 election by only 12 votes.
“Overall, Brian has run against very lackluster Democratic candidates, beat them pretty handedly both times, so I don’t think that’s something I would really hang my hat on. If I were Brian, I would probably be more worried about working on issues and going out and speaking to constituents. For me, that’s really the big thing I’ve been focusing on.” he said.
Smith feels he connects to most demographics in the district, specifically moderate Democrats, and those he refers to as “old school Democrats” who are second-amendment supporters.
“I don’t think that every Democrat in our district is far left thinking that there should be all these crazy ideologies out there. So, for me, I’m not afraid to speak to Democrats and I think a lot of us want the same things. We want safe communities, we want to be able to protect our families, we want to be able to pay low taxes and not have the government take all of our money. I think these are a lot of things that both parties share.”
Polls show affordability and cost of living are top of mind for voters this year. In Milford, housing costs continue to rise. But both Shupe and Smith are hesitant to seek state help to address the issue, although for different reasons.
Shupe believes the state is artificially inflating the home market by pumping too much money into it. But, he’s not against state aid programs.
“There is something that other states use which I’ve talked with state officials about called a shared risk loan pool. Where the state actually takes over a small portion of the risk, say 5%, with local community banks and allows the state to invest in more people across the state- getting them into homes. And it doesn’t actually artificially inflate the market.” he said.
The Delaware State Housing Authority’s most recent report, from 2024, shows investments approaching $300 million total, but not all of it is state money. Some, DSHA says, is private investment leveraged through programs like Downtown Development Districts.
Smith, on the other hand, thinks the State should stay out of housing entirely. He says while he’s not against growth in concept, he is against its effects on the district.
“I typically believe that we should leave the land use to the local government. Trying to create laws to manipulate capitalism- I think that is probably not the best approach either. I think that’s more of a socialist approach. I am not as much labeled as someone that’s against capitalism and growth, [but I am] someone who believes that growth has caused issues with our infrastructure, public safety, our education, our healthcare.” he said.
Another cost concern for Delawareans is energy bills. And the possibility of AI data center development locally holds the potential to drive those costs even higher, based on their reputation for high electricity use.
Some restrictions have already been placed on data centers at the state level while counties and municipalities also grapple with the issue.
Shupe argues Delaware's energy issues stem from a lack of local energy production, and so he opposes adding data centers under those conditions.
“Our electric grid is already behind the times because the State of Delaware does not have enough electric generation here on the peninsula and we’ve seen the outpouring of that with the increase in electric rates over the last two years because customers have paid for delivery fees that are just increasing exponentially- so that’s another concern of mine. I would like to look into how to get the benefit of a data center without actually having them located here.” he said.
Smith largely agrees, though he also believes they take up too much space with minimal benefit.
“My stance on them is: we better solve our energy crisis before we start building AI facilities. Water crisis, same exact way. For me: AI facilities aren’t a big employer, they take up a lot of space [and] a lot of water [and] a lot of energy. And, I don’t think that Sussex County has that right now. I think that, on paper it looks good like everything else we build down in Sussex, but I don’t think that would be a worthwhile move for Sussex County at this time.” he said.
As for ways to combat that energy crisis, both Shupe and Smith think that hydrogen power is a good investment, but are against other green energy initiatives in the state, especially around solar power.
For Shupe, it’s mostly financial. He believes the green energy requirements in Delaware have resulted in fewer energy companies operating here.
“So, they generated our electricity in other states that were more favorable for it and now customers are paying for those legislative decisions. I think that we always need a diverse portfolio for our energy, but generation is key – to have it right here in Delaware.” he said.
Smith also supports the idea of Delaware energy independence, and shares Shupe’s wariness of solar power, but more so for scientific reasons than financial ones. He is also unsure about the short term feasibility of hydrogen power as a solution.
“Scientifically I do not think that, and I do not believe that solar power is our answer. And I do believe that those new sciences -hydrogen- are definitely something that we could look at as an alternative for power. But, again, I’m looking at pipe dreams- how long out is hydrogen power? People are paying $800 power bills now. To shut off a coal power plant and not have any backup plan was foolish to me. So now the citizens are the ones that are paying the price because the democratic agenda and the Governor wanted to make a point and push their green energy agenda, and we’re all stuck paying higher energy bills.” he said.
Smith adds that while he knows the state of Delaware is currently investing in hydrogen power, it still feels too far away to rely on in the short term.
He thinks Small Modular Nuclear Reactors would be a better solution. But the state’s Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force determines pursuing them in Delaware would take a minimum of 7-9 years.
It’s also worth noting that some estimates place the average Delawareans energy bill at $210 per month, and Delmarva Power says they bill homes an average of $157 a month.
Beyond the issues, both candidates made changes to their campaign strategies following Shupe’s razor thin win in 2024.
Shupe says this time, he’s strengthened his messaging to ensure his positions are clear to voters and built himself as someone who will inform them about everything rather than just the bills he wants to introduce.
“Last time I heard at the door that people liked what I was doing, but I just felt like there were a lot of things told by my opponent that were just not correct about my voting record and how I felt. And it was easy for them to go to the door and say things. So this time I really got in front of people -whether it was social media or through email or on the street- and just told them what was going on.” he said. “And I’ve seen the results at the door. The biggest comment that I get when I’m at the door now is ‘we love that you keep us so informed throughout the year.’ That is a change in the feeling, I think, in our district- people say that they follow me on Facebook just so they know what’s going [on] up in Dover. So I’ve changed my strategy to not only telling them what bills I’m creating and running but to talk about the bills in general that are going on that could be impactful for them.”
Smith says he’s focused on his own campaign, rather than drawing contrasts with Shupe; he’s adopted this strategy based on advice he received about his approach in 2024 and a push for agriculture issues is part of that, although not part of his main platform on his campaign website.
“I have really focused on what I can provide to District 36 and not really what my opponent, Brian Shupe, does or doesn’t do. I think that was the advice I was given between ‘24 and now, and that’s just what I’m doing. I’m pushing ahead with trying to find some solutions for some agricultural situations we have, for example: deer crop damage is big in Sussex County right now.” he said. “So, I’m just trying to find solutions, push ahead with those, offer my support to the first responders and let them know that I’ll be a voice for them in Dover. That’s really what I’m focused on is what I can provide and not really what Brian Shupe does or doesn’t do. I’m really trying to be as transparent with voters as possible that there is a primary, there’s two people running: myself, Patrick Smith, [and] Bryan Shupe. Same race, same party, you get to choose. And that’s a great thing for the constituents: they get to choose.”
The winner of this race will face Democrat Andy Gorlich in November’s General election. Gorlich does not have a primary opponent.
