Within the Margin

The First State offers a dearth of state or federal electoral competition these days, with Democrats dominating to a greater extent than presidential results would lead one to assume. The state GOP is moribund, seemingly unable to recruit competitively. They lost their last two statewide offices, Treasurer and Auditor, in the 2018 Democratic wave. In 2022, Democrats tended to struggle in much bluer strongholds (like California and New York, while performing quite well in purple states) but the races in Delaware for Attorney General, Treasurer and Auditor all yielded solid eight-point Democratic wins, while the lone federal race on the ballot was a twelve-point Democratic victory. Further downballot, Republicans lost another seat in the state senate: where once they were tied 10-10 with a shot to flip the chamber in an early 2017 special election, they’re now reduced to a super-minority at 15-6. The situation in the other state legislative chamber is similar, with a 26-15 Democratic majority. Dems have held the Delaware Senate since 1974 and the Delaware House since 2008.