Political party strength in Delaware

Delaware is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. ^[1] The Government of Delaware is composed of the executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch. ^[2] Delaware's executive branch has five elected offices, they are Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Auditor of Accounts, and Insurance Commissioner. ^[3] The state legislature is made of the Delaware House of Representatives and Delaware Senate. ^[4] From 1776 to 1792, the position of Governor was known as President. ^[5]

Additionally, the state sends two senators and one representative to the United States Congress. ^[3] All three seats are elected at-large. ^{[6] [7]} As of the 2024 House of Representatives election, the state's representative is Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. ^[8]

In the 1960s and 1970s the state's politics were dominated by the Republican party. ^[9] In the 1980s the state began to shift towards the Democratic party. ^[10] Writing for The News Journal, William B. Golin credited the shift towards the Democratic party to the upset victory of then-County Councilman Joe Biden in the 1972 United States Senate election. ^[9]

1777–1900

Year	Executive offices				General Assembly		United States Congress			Electoral votes [a]
	Governor	Attorney General	Treasurer	Auditor	State Senate	State House	U.S. Senator (Class I)	U.S. Senator (Class II)	U.S. House
1777	John McKinly (NP/F) [b] [c]	—								no elections held
	Thomas McKean (NP/DR) [b] [d]
	George Read (NP/F) [b] [e]
1778		Gunning Bedford Jr. (F) [11] [12]
	Caesar Rodney (NP/DR) [b]
1779
1780
1781
	John Dickinson (NP/F) [b] [f]
1782
	John Cook (NP/F) [b] [e]
1783
	Nicholas Van Dyke (NP/DR) [b]
1784
1785
1786			Joshua Clayton (NP/F)
	Thomas Collins (NP/F) [b] [g]
1787
1788
1789							George Read (PA) [h]	Richard Bassett (AA)	John Vining (PA)	Washington/ Adams (I)Y
	Jehu Davis (NP/F) [b] [i]
	Joshua Clayton (NP/F) [b]
1790		Nicholas Ridgely
1791								Richard Bassett (PA)
1792
1793	Joshua Clayton (F)							John Vining (PA) [h]	John Patten (AA)
1794							vacant		Henry Latimer (PA) [j]
1795							Henry Latimer (PA)
							Henry Latimer (F) [h]	John Vining (F)	John Patten (DR)
1796	Gunning Bedford Sr. (F) [g]									Adams/ Pinckney (F)Y
1797					F majority	14F, 7DR			James A. Bayard (F)
	Daniel Rogers (F) [i]
1798					F majority	F majority		Joshua Clayton (F) [g]
1799	Richard Bassett (F) [k]				F majority	F majority		William H. Wells (F) [h]
1800					F majority	14F, 7DR				Adams/ Pinckney (F)N
1801		Nicholas Van Dyke (F)			6F, 3DR		Samuel White (F) [g]
	James Sykes (F) [e]
1802	David Hall (DR)
1803									Caesar Augustus Rodney (DR)
1804										Pinckney/ King (F)N
1805	Nathaniel Mitchell (F)							James A. Bayard (F) [h]	James M. Broom (F) [h]
1806		Outerbridge Horsey (F)
1807									vacant
1808	George Truitt (F)		Henry Molleston (F)						Nicholas Van Dyke (F)
1809
1810		Thomas Clayton (F)					Outerbridge Horsey (F)
1811	Joseph Haslet (DR)								Henry M. Ridgely (F)
1812										Clinton/ Ingersoll (F)N
1813								William H. Wells (F)	2F
1814	Daniel Rodney (F)
1815		James Rogers
1816					7F, 2DR					King/ Howard (F)N
1817	John Clark (F)							Nicholas Van Dyke (F)	1F, 1DR
1818					6F, 3DR
1819
1820	Henry Molleston (F) [l]									Monroe/ Tompkins (DR)Y
	Jacob Stout (F) [m]
1821	John Collins (DR) [g]						vacant [n]
1822					5DR, 4F	11DR, 10F	Cesar Augustus Rodney (DR) [h]		2F
	Caleb Rodney (F) [i]
1823	Joseph Haslet (DR) [g]				5DR, 4F	13DR, 8F	vacant	vacant [n]	Louis McLane (F)
	Charles Thomas (DR) [i]
1824	Samuel Paynter (F)				5F, 4DR	14F, 7DR	Thomas Clayton (F)	Nicholas Van Dyke (F)		Jackson/ Calhoun (DR)N
1825						13F, 8DR	Thomas Clayton (NR)	Nicholas Van Dyke (NR) [g]	Louis McLane (J) [h]
1826						14DR, 7F		Daniel Rodney (NR) [h]
1827	Charles Polk Jr. (F)				5DR, 4F	13F, 8DR	Louis McLane (J) [h]	Henry M. Ridgely (J)	vacant
1828					5A-J, 3J, 1?	11A-J, 10J			Kensey Johns Jr. (NR)	Adams/ Rush (NR)N
1829					5NR, 4D	14NR, 7D	vacant	John M. Clayton (NR) [h]
1830	David Hazzard (NR)	Robert Frame					Arnold Naudain (NR) [h]
1831					7NR, 2D	16NR, 5D			John J. Milligan (NR)
1832						14NR, 7D				Clay/ Sergeant (NR)N
1833	Caleb P. Bennett (D) [g]
1834
1835		James Rogers			6W, 3D	14W, 7D
1836										Harrison/ Granger (W)N
	Charles Polk Jr. (W) [i]						Richard H. Bayard (NR)	Thomas Clayton (NR)
1837	Cornelius P. Comegys (W)						Richard H. Bayard (W) [h]	Thomas Clayton (W)	John J. Milligan (W)
1838
1839					6D, 3W	13D, 8W			Thomas Robinson Jr. (D)
1840		Edward W. Gilpin					vacant			Harrison/ Tyler (W)Y
1841	William B. Cooper (W)				5D, 4W	21W	Richard H. Bayard (W)		George B. Rodney (W)
1842
1843					7W, 2D	14W, 7D
1844										Clay/ Frelinghuysen (W)N
1845	Thomas Stockton (W) [g]					6W, 3D	John M. Clayton (W) [o]		John W. Houston (W)
1846
	Joseph Maull (W) [g] [i]
	William Temple (W) [i]
1847	William Tharp (D)				5W, 4D	11W, 10D		Presley Spruance (W)
1848										Taylor/ Fillmore (W)Y
1849					6W, 3D	13W, 7D, 1?	John Wales (W)
1850		Willard Saulsbury Sr. (D)
1851	William H. H. Ross (D)				5D, 4W	14D, 7W	James A. Bayard Jr. (D)		George R. Riddle (D)
1852										Pierce/ King (D)Y
1853						13W, 8D		John M. Clayton (W)
1854
1855	Peter F. Causey (KN)	George P. Fisher (R)			6KN, 2D, 1W	19KN, 2D			Elisha D. Cullen (KN)
1856										Buchanan/ Breckinridge (D)Y
1857					5D, 4O	21D		Joseph P. Comegys (W)	William G. Whiteley (D)
1858
1859	William Burton (D)				7D, 2O	14D, 7O		Willard Saulsbury Sr. (D)
1860		Alfred Wooten								Breckinridge/ Lane (SD)N
1861					5D, 4R	11R, 10D			George P. Fisher (U)
1862
1863	William Cannon (R) [g]					14D, 7R			William Temple (D) [g]
1864		Jacob Moore (R)					George R. Riddle (D)		Nathaniel B. Smithers (R)	McClellan/ Pendleton (D)N
1865					6D, 3R				John A. Nicholson (D)
	Gove Saulsbury (D) [p]
1866
1867						15D, 6R	James A. Bayard Jr. (D)
1868										Seymour/ Blair (D)N
1869		Charles B. Lore (D)			9D	21D	Thomas F. Bayard (D) [o]		Benjamin T. Biggs (D)
1870
1871	James Ponder (D)							Eli Saulsbury (D)
1872										Grant/ Wilson (R)Y
1873					8D, 1R				James R. Lofland (R)
1874		John B. Penington (D)
1875	John P. Cochran (D)								James Williams (D)
1876										Tilden/ Hendricks (D)N
1877					9D
1878
1879	John W. Hall (D)	George Gray (D)							Edward L. Martin (D)
1880										Hancock/ English (D)N
1881					8D, 1R	14D, 7R
1882
1883	Charles C. Stockley (D)				7D, 2R	21D			Charles B. Lore (D)
1884										Cleveland/ Hendricks (D)Y
1885		John H. Paynter			9D		George Gray (D)
1886
1887	Benjamin T. Biggs (D)	John Biggs							John B. Penington (D)
1888										Cleveland/ Thurman (D)N
1889					5R, 4D	14R, 7D		Anthony Higgins (R)
1890
1891	Robert J. Reynolds (D)				7D, 2R				John W. Causey (D)
1892		John R. Nicholson								Cleveland/ Stevenson (D)Y
1893					5D, 4R	21D
1894
1895	Joshua H. Marvil (R) [g]	Robert C. White		Beniah L. Lewis		15R, 6D		vacant [n]	Jonathan S. Willis (R)
	William T. Watson (D) [i]
1896										McKinley/ Hobart (R)Y
1897	Ebe W. Tunnell (D)					20D, 1R		Richard R. Kenney (D)	L. Irving Handy (D)
1898
1899			L. Heisler Ball (R)	John A. Lingo	9D, 8R	22R, 13D	vacant [n]		John H. Hoffecker (R) [g]
1900				Isaac N. Fooks						McKinley/ Roosevelt (R)Y
									Walter O. Hoffecker (R)
Year	Governor	Attorney General	Treasurer	Auditor	State Senate	State House	U.S. Senator (Class I)	U.S. Senator (Class II)	U.S. House	Electoral votes
	Executive offices				General Assembly		United States Congress

1901–present

Year	Executive offices						General Assembly		United States Congress			Electoral votes
	Governor	Lt. Governor	Attorney General	Treasurer	Auditor	Insurance Commissioner	State Senate	State House	U.S. Senator (Class I)	U.S. Senator (Class II)	U.S. House
1901	John Hunn (R)	Philip L. Cannon (R)	Herbert H. Ward	Martin B. Burris	Prunal B. Norman	George W. Marshall	9R, 8D	20R, 15D	vacant [n]	vacant [n]	L. Heisler Ball (R)
1902
1903							10R, 7D		L. Heisler Ball (R)	J. Frank Allee (R)	Henry A. Houston (D)
1904												Roosevelt/ Fairbanks (R)Y
1905	Preston Lea (R)	Isaac T. Parker (R)	Robert H. Richards					21R, 14D	vacant [n]		Hiram R. Burton (R)
1906
1907							11R, 6D	25R, 10D	Henry A. du Pont (R)	Harry A. Richardson (R)
1908												Taft/ Sherman (R)Y
1909	Simeon S. Pennewill (R)	John M. Mendinhall (R)	Andrew C. Gray					18D, 17R			William H. Heald (R)
1910
1911							9R, 8D	22R, 13D
1912												Wilson/ Marshall (D)Y
1913	Charles R. Miller (R)	Colen Ferguson (D)	Josiah O. Wolcott (D)					21D, 14R		Willard Saulsbury Jr. (D)	Franklin Brockson (D)
1914
1915								19R, 16D			Thomas W. Miller (R)
1916												Hughes/ Fairbanks (R)N
1917	John G. Townsend Jr. (R)	Lewis E. Eliason (D)	David J. Reinhardt				10R, 7D	19D, 16R	Josiah O. Wolcott (D) [q]		Albert F. Polk (D)
1918
1919								23R, 12D		L. Heisler Ball (R)	Caleb R. Layton (R)
1920												Harding/ Coolidge (R)Y
1921	William D. Denney (R)	J. Danforth Bush (R)	Sylvester D. Townsend Jr.				12R, 5D	18D, 17R	T. Coleman du Pont (R) [r]
1922
1923							11R, 6D		Thomas F. Bayard Jr. (D)		William H. Boyce (D)
1924												Coolidge/ Dawes (R)Y
1925	Robert P. Robinson (R)	James H. Anderson (R)	Clarence A. Southerland				9D, 8R	22R, 13D		T. Coleman du Pont (R) [s]	Robert G. Houston (R)
1926
1927					Jesse S. Cooper Jr. (D)			18R, 17D
1928												Hoover/ Curtis (R)Y
1929	C. Douglass Buck (R)	James H. Hazel (R)	Reuben Satterthwaite Jr.	George S. Williams (R)			9R, 8D	26R, 9D	John G. Townsend Jr. (R)	Daniel O. Hastings (R) [r]
1930
1931							12R, 5D	22R, 13D
1932												Hoover/ Curtis (R)N
1933		Roy F. Corley (R)	Daniel J. Layton (R)				9R, 8D	22D, 13R			Wilbur L. Adams (D)
			P. Warren Green (R)
1934
1935				Warren T. Moore (R)	James H. Hazel (R)	James Postles Hammond (R)	10R, 7D	23R, 12D			J. George Stewart (R)
1936												Roosevelt/ Garner (D)Y
1937	Richard McMullen (D)	Edward W. Cooch (D)		Ernest C. Blackstone (D)	James W. Wise (D)		11R, 6D	21D, 14R		James H. Hughes (D)	William F. Allen (D)
1938
1939			James R. Morford (R)	Fagan H. Simonton (R)	Benjamin I. Shaw (R)	William J. Swain (R)		20R, 15D			George S. Williams (R)
1940												Roosevelt/ Wallace (D)Y
1941	Walter W. Bacon (R)	Isaac J. MacCollum (D)		Peter S. Collins (D)	Harrison M. Manning (D)		10R, 7D		James M. Tunnell (D)		Philip A. Traynor (D)
1942
1943			Clair J. Killoran (R)	John S. Isaacs (R)	Joseph M. Harrington (R)			24R, 11D		C. Douglass Buck (R)	Earle D. Willey (R)
1944												Roosevelt/ Truman (D)Y
1945		Elbert N. Carvel (D)		Jesse S. Cooper Jr. (D)	Wilbur E. Jacobs (D)		11R, 6D	22R, 13D			Philip A. Traynor (D)
1946
1947			Albert W. James (R)	Benjamin F. Johnson (R)	Benjamin I. Shaw (R)			24R, 11D	John J. Williams (R)		J. Caleb Boggs (R)
1948												Dewey/ Warren (R)N
1949	Elbert N. Carvel (D)	Alexis I. du Pont Bayard (D)		Willard D. Boyce (D)	James W. W. Baker (D)		9R, 8D	18R, 17D		J. Allen Frear Jr. (D)
1950
1951			H. Albert Young (R)	Ralph W. Emerson (R)	G. Dan Enterline (R)	William R. Murphy (R)	9D, 8R	19R, 16D
1952												Eisenhower/ Nixon (R)Y
1953	J. Caleb Boggs (R)	John W. Rollins (R)		Clarence Collins Jr. (R)			10R, 7D	18R, 17D			Herbert Warburton (R)
1954
1955			Joseph D. Craven (D)	Howard H. Dickerson (D)	Clifford E. Hall (D)	Harry S. Smith (D)	12D, 5R	27D, 8R			Harris McDowell (D)
1956
1957		David P. Buckson (R)		Vera Davis (R)	Dale E. Wheatley (R)		13D, 4R	19D, 16R			Hal Haskell (R)
1958
1959			Januar D. Bove Jr. (R)	Belle Everett (D)	Ernest E. Killen (D)		11D, 6R	26D, 9R			Harris McDowell (D)
1960
												Kennedy/ Johnson (D)Y
1961	Elbert N. Carvel (D)	Eugene Lammot (D)						20D, 15R		J. Caleb Boggs (R)
1962
1963			David P. Buckson (R)			Robert Short (R)	10D, 7R	24D, 11R
1964												Johnson/ Humphrey (D)Y
1965	Charles L. Terry Jr. (D)	Sherman W. Tribbitt (D)			Charles F. Moore (D)		13D, 5R	30D, 5R
1966
1967				Daniel Ross (R)	George W. Cripps (R)		9R, 9D	23R, 12D			William Roth (R) [t]
1968												Nixon/ Agnew (R)Y
1969	Russell W. Peterson (R)	Eugene Bookhammer (R)					13R, 6D	26R, 13D
1970
1971			W. Laird Stabler Jr. (R)	Emily Womach (D)				23R, 16D	William Roth (R)		Pete du Pont (R)
1972
1973	Sherman W. Tribbitt (D)			Mary Jornlin (R)	F. Earl McGinnes (D)		11R, 10D	21R, 20D		Joe Biden (D) [u]
1974
1975			Richard R. Wier Jr. (D)		Richard T. Collins (R)		13D, 8R	25D, 16R
1976												Carter/ Mondale (D)Y
1977	Pete du Pont (R)	James D. McGinnis (D)		Tom Carper (D)		David H. Elliott (R)		26D, 15R			Thomas B. Evans Jr. (R)
1978
1979			Richard S. Gebelein (R)					21D, 20R
1980												Reagan/ Bush (R)Y
1981		Mike Castle (R)			Thomas W. Spruance (R)		12D, 9R	25R, 16D
1982
1983			Charles Oberly (D)	Janet Rzewnicki (R)	Dennis Greenhouse (D)		13D, 8R	25D, 16R			Tom Carper (D)
1984
1985	Mike Castle (R)	S. B. Woo (D)				David N. Levinson (D)		22R, 19D
1986
1987
1988												Bush/ Quayle (R)Y
1989		Dale E. Wolf (R)
					Tom Wagner (R)
1990
1991							15D, 6R	24R, 17D
1992
												Clinton/ Gore (D)Y
1993	Tom Carper (D) [v]	Ruth Ann Minner (D)				Donna Lee Williams (R)		22R, 19D			Mike Castle (R)
1994
1995			M. Jane Brady (R)				12D, 9R	27R, 14D
1996
1997							12D, 9R	23R, 18D
1998
1999				Jack Markell (D)			13D, 8R	26R, 15D
2000												Gore/ Lieberman (D)N
2001	Ruth Ann Minner (D)	John Carney (D)							Tom Carper (D)
2002
2003								29R, 12D
2004												Kerry/ Edwards (D)N
2005						Matthew Denn (D)		26R, 15D
2006			Carl Danberg (D)
2007			Beau Biden (D) [12] [13]					23R, 18D
2008												Obama/ Biden (D)Y
2009	Jack Markell (D)	Matthew Denn (D)		Velda Jones-Potter (D) [r]		Karen Weldin Stewart (D)	16D, 5R	24D, 17R		Ted Kaufman [13] (D) [w]
2010							15D, 6R [x]			Chris Coons (D)
2011				Chipman Flowers Jr. (D)			14D, 7R	26D, 15R			John Carney (D)
2012
2013							13D, 8R	27D, 14R
2014
2015		vacant	Matthew Denn (D)	Ken Simpler (R)			12D, 9R	25D, 16R
2016												Clinton/ Kaine (D)N
2017	John Carney (D)	Bethany Hall-Long (D)				Trinidad Navarro (D)	11D, 10R				Lisa Blunt Rochester (D)
2018
2019			Kathy Jennings (D)	Colleen Davis (D)	Kathy McGuiness (D) [y]		12D, 9R	26D, 15R
2020												Biden/ Harris (D)Y
2021							14D, 7R
2022
					Dennis Greenhouse (D) [r]
2023					Lydia York (D)		15D, 6R
2024												Harris/ Walz (D)N [15]
2025	Matt Meyer (D) [15]	Kyle Evans Gay (D)						27D, 14R	Lisa Blunt Rochester (D) [15]		Sarah McBride (D) [15]

Key to party colors and abbreviations for members of the U.S. Congress and other politicians or officials

Alaskan Independence (AKIP) Know Nothing (KN) American Labor (AL) Anti-Jacksonian (Anti-J) National Republican (NR) Anti-Administration (AA) Anti-Masonic (Anti-M) Conservative (Con) Covenant (Cov)

Democratic (D) Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Democratic–NPL (D-NPL) Dixiecrat (Dix), States' Rights (SR) Democratic-Republican (DR) Farmer–Labor (FL) Federalist (F) Pro-Administration (PA)

Free Soil (FS) Fusion (Fus) Greenback (GB) Independence (IPM) Independent Democrat (ID) Independent Republican (IR) Jacksonian (J) Liberal (Lib)

Libertarian (L) National Union (NU) Nonpartisan League (NPL) Nullifier (N) Opposition Northern (O) Opposition Southern (O) Populist (Pop) Progressive (Prog)

Prohibition (Proh) Readjuster (Rea) Republican (R) Silver (Sv) Silver Republican (SvR) Socialist (Soc) Union (U) Unconditional Union (UU)

Vermont Progressive (VP) Whig (W) Independent (I) Nonpartisan (NP)

Notes

1. In years in which a presidential election was not held, the table indicates the winner of the most recent election.
2. President of Delaware ^[5]
3. Presidency ended after being captured by the British army during the Revolutionary War.
4. Succeeded to office upon the capture of McKinly and resigned upon the return of George Read.
5. Succeeded to office upon the resignation of his predecessor.
6. Resigned to accept election as president of Pennsylvania.
7. Died in office.
8. Resigned.
9. Succeeded to office upon the death of his predecessor.
10. Successfully contested Patten's election.
11. Resigned to accept appointment to U.S. District Court.
12. Died before taking office; never served as governor.
13. Assumed office upon the death of Governor-elect Molleston.
14. Legislature failed to elect a senator.
15. Resigned to become United States Secretary of State.
16. Assumed office upon the death of Cannon, then was elected to office in his own right.
17. Resigned to become Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery.
18. Appointed to fill vacancy.
19. Resigned due to poor health.
20. Resigned December 31, 1970, to become a U.S. Senator.
21. Resigned after being elected Vice President of the United States ^[13]
22. Resigned office on January 3, 2001, to begin term in the U.S. Senate, and was succeeded as governor by Ruth Ann Minner for the remaining 17 days of his term.
23. Appointed to fill the vacancy created by Biden's resignation. ^[13]
24. A special election occurred after the death of Sen. Thurman Adams Jr. (D), who was succeeded by Joseph W. Booth (R) after the 2009 session, flipping the seat from Democratic to Republican. ^[14]
25. Resigned on October 19, 2022, after being convicted for corruption and conflict of interest.

References

1. "Census Regions and Divisions of the United States" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Retrieved March 19, 2025.
2. "Departments of Government Chapter 90C. Department of Technology and Information". The Delaware Code Online. Retrieved 2025-03-19.
3. "Voting in Delaware". Delaware.gov . Retrieved 2025-03-19.
4. "Session Laws". Delaware General Assembly . Retrieved 2025-03-19.
5. "Gov. John McKinly". National Governors Association . 7 January 2025. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
6. "Delaware At-Large Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. 2024-11-12. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-03-19.
7. "How Our Laws Are Made - Congress.gov Resources". Congress.gov . Retrieved 2025-03-19.
8. Karni, Annie (2025-03-11). "Republican Refers to Transgender Member as a Man, Cutting Short a House Hearing". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-03-19.
9. Golin, William B. "How Joe Biden changed Delaware's — and America's — politics". The News Journal. Retrieved 2025-03-19.
10. Corty, Susanne P.; Hanson, Joseph J. (November 4, 1982). "The Governor returns to bitter defeat". The News Journal . p. 18. Retrieved 2025-03-19– via Newspapers.com.
11. "The Founding Fathers: Delaware". National Archives and Records Administration . 6 November 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
12. "Delaware Former Attorneys General". National Association of Attorneys General . Retrieved March 28, 2025.
13. Mahtesian, Charles (2010-01-25). "Beau Biden declines Senate bid". Politico . Retrieved March 28, 2025.
14. http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/the-latest/2057-booth-wins-special-election ^{[ dead link ]}
15. "2024 Delaware Election Results". Associated Press . Retrieved March 19, 2025.

See also

• Law and government in Delaware
• Politics of Delaware
• Elections in Delaware