Walter Wolfkiel Bacon was an American politician and accountant from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party who served three terms as Mayor of Wilmington and two terms as Governor of Delaware. He is the only mayor of a Delaware city to have been elected Governor of Delaware.
Richard Cann McMullen was an American manufacturer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as Governor of Delaware.
The 1972 United States Senate election in Delaware was held November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Senator J. Caleb Boggs ran for a third term in the United States Senate. Boggs faced off against Democrat Joe Biden, a New Castle County Councilman. Though Boggs was expected to easily win a third term, Biden narrowly defeated the incumbent on election day, even while fellow Democrat George McGovern lost Delaware by 20.4% in the concurrent presidential election. Biden's victory margin of 3,162 votes made this the closest U.S. Senate election of the year.
The 2020 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Governor of Delaware, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Governor John Carney was re-elected to a second term, defeating Republican Julianne Murray in a landslide.
The 1960 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1960.
The 1956 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1956.
The 1948 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1948.
The 1944 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1944.
The 1886 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1886. Incumbent Democratic Governor Charles C. Stockley was barred from seeing a second consecutive term in office. Former Congressman Benjamin T. Biggs won the Democratic nomination to succeed Stockley. The Republican Party, which was weak and practically nonexistent in the state at the time, did not run a candidate for Governor. As a result, the Temperance Reform Party briefly supplanted the Republican Party as the primary opposition to the Democratic Party. Former State Representative and Smyrna Town Treasurer John H. Hoffecker, a former Democrat, emerged as the Temperance Reform nominee. However, the Democratic Party remained strong in the state; with no Republican opponent and only weak opposition, Biggs won in a landslide.
The 1896 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1896. Shortly after his victory in the 1894 gubernatorial election, Republican Governor Joshua H. Marvil died. State Senate Speaker William T. Watson, a Democrat, became Governor and a new election for a full four-year term was scheduled in 1896. Though Watson was considered a potential candidate for re-election, the Democratic convention instead nominated Ebe W. Tunnell, the 1894 nominee for Governor; despite his protests that he would decline the nomination, Tunnell ultimately accepted it.
The 1900 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1900. Though Governor Ebe W. Tunnell was eligible for re-election under the newly adopted 1897 constitution, the state convention ended up nominating Peter J. Ford, a prominent businessman.
The 1904 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1904. Though incumbent Republican Governor John Hunn was eligible to run for re-election, he declined to do so. Instead, as the intra-party battle in the Republican Party between the Addicks and anti-Addicks factions continued, Hunn stepped aside to avoid additional conflict. The Addicks, or Union Republicans, nominated Henry C. Conrad for Governor, while the anti-Addicks, or Regular Republicans, held out with their own ticket and nominated Joseph H. Chandler for Governor. On October 12, 1904, the two factions united and agreed to jointly nominate industrialist Preston Lea, a favorite of the Regular Republicans.
The 1912 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1912. Though Republican Governor Simeon S. Pennewill was eligible for re-election, State Senator Charles R. Miller was nominated by the state Republican convention. With the nationwide rise of the Progressive Party, Delaware Republicans were keen to not lose the race due to a strong showing by a Progressive candidate; Miller was seen as amenable to all factions of the Republican Party and to Progressives. In the general election, Miller faced Democratic nominee Thomas M. Monaghan, who had been elected as State Senate President in a majority-Republican chamber as the result of a coalition agreement with Progressives, and Progressive nominee George B. Hynson.
The 1916 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1916. Incumbent Republican Governor Charles R. Miller declined to run for re-election. At the time, the Republican Party was in the middle of a schism that had first developed during the 1912 presidential election. However, the schism did not affect the gubernatorial nomination; though there were rumors that the state party convention might seek to nominate Governor Miller for a second term, former State Representative John G. Townsend Jr. was seen as the frontrunner heading into the convention. He received the nomination without much difficulty and the Republican Party solidified around him its gubernatorial nominee. The Democratic Party nominated former Secretary of State James H. Hughes, and both Townsend and Hughes advanced to the general election.
The 1920 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1920. Incumbent Republican Governor John G. Townsend Jr. declined to seek re-election. At the Republican convention, former State Representative William D. Denney, the frontrunner for the nomination, received the Party's endorsement for Governor without difficulty—though some opposition to his candidacy arose before the convention.
The 1924 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1924. Republican Governor William D. Denney declined to seek re-election, and the Republican state convention unanimously named banker Robert P. Robinson as its nominee; Robinson emerged as a compromise selection.
The 1928 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1928. Republican Governor Robert P. Robinson declined to seek a second term so C. Douglass Buck, the Chief Engineer of the State Highway Department, was seen as the likely frontrunner heading into the Republican convention. At the convention, Buck's primary opponent was State Senator I. Dolphus Short, whom he defeated by a wide margin, receiving 104 votes to Short's 54.
The 1932 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1932. Incumbent Republican Governor C. Douglass Buck ran for re-election to a second term. He unanimously won renomination at the Republican state convention. In the general election, Buck faced the Democratic nominee, Landreth L. Layton, the scion of a prominent family in Delaware politics. Despite the nationwide Democratic landslide, Republicans performed well in Delaware; Herbert Hoover narrowly won Delaware over Franklin D. Roosevelt. Accordingly, Buck was able to win re-election, and significantly outpaced Hoover's slim margin; he received 54% of the vote to Layton's 45%.
The 1936 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1936. Incumbent Republican Governor C. Douglass Buck was barred from seeking re-election to a third term, creating an open race. A challenging contest developed on the Republican side to succeed Buck, with Harry L. Cannon, former State Senator I. Dolphus Short and Assistant Motor Vehicle Commissioner George S. Williams all emerging as frontrunners. Cannon, a longtime figure in state politics who served as a member of the State Board of Agriculture and on the University of Delaware Board of Trustees, ultimately won the nomination. Short walked out of the convention, however, and shortly thereafter organized a slate of statewide candidates as Independent Republicans, dividing the party.
United States gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024, in 11 states and two territories. The previous gubernatorial elections for this group of states took place in 2020, except in New Hampshire and Vermont where governors only serve two-year terms and elected their governors in 2022. In addition to state gubernatorial elections, the territories of American Samoa and Puerto Rico will also hold elections for their governors.
