United States House of Representatives election in Delaware, 2016

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United States House of Representatives election in Delaware, At-large district, 2016
Flag of Delaware.svg
  2014 November 8, 2016 2018  
  Lisa Blunt Rochester.jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Lisa Blunt Rochester Hans Reigle
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote233,554172,301
Percentage55.53%40.96%

U.S. Representative before election

John Carney
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Lisa Blunt Rochester
Democratic

The 2016 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the U.S. Representative from the state of Delaware from Delaware's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on September 13.

United States House of Representatives lower house of the United States Congress

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they comprise the legislature of the United States.

U.S. state constituent political entity of the United States

In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.

Delaware State of the United States of America

Delaware is one of the 50 states of the United States, in the South-Atlantic or Southern region. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, north by Pennsylvania, and east by New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor.

Contents

Democrat John Carney, the incumbent representative, did not run for reelection, instead successfully running for Governor of Delaware. [1] Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester won the open seat on November 8th.

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.

John Carney (politician) American politician

John Charles Carney Jr. is an American politician who is the 74th Governor of Delaware, serving since January 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and served as the U.S. Representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district from 2011 to 2017 prior to his governorship. Carney was also the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware from 2001 to 2009 and served as Delaware's Secretary of Finance. He first unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Governor of Delaware in 2008, losing to Jack Markell. He ran for Governor of Delaware again in 2016 and won to succeed Markell, who was term-limited.

The incumbent is the current holder of an office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent(s). For example, in the Hungarian presidential election, 2017, János Áder was the incumbent, because he had been the president in the term before the term for which the election sought to determine the president. A race without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat.

Democratic primary

Democrats Bryon Short, a member of the Delaware House of Representatives from Highland Woods, and Bryan Townsend, a member of the Delaware Senate from Newark, Delaware, had previously said they would run for the seat if Carney ran for governor. [1] [2] Following Carney's announcement that he would run for governor, both Short and Townsend declared their candidacies in the race to succeed him. [3] [4] Lisa Blunt Rochester, the former State Labor Secretary, also joined the race. [5] Short later withdrew from the race, citing difficulties fundraising. [6] Rochester won the primary with 43.8% of the vote. [7]

Bryon H. Short is an American politician. He was a Democratic member of the Delaware House of Representatives from 2006 to 2018. Short earned a BA in psychology from Salisbury University.

Delaware House of Representatives lower house of U.S. state legislature

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two-year term. Its members are not subject to term limits. The House meets at the Delaware Legislative Hall in Dover.

Highland Woods, Delaware Unincorporated community in Delaware, United States

Highland Woods is an unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. Highland Woods is located south of Darley Road to the west of Claymont.

Candidates

Nominee

  • Lisa Blunt Rochester, former State Labor Secretary, former State Personnel Director, and former CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League [5]
Lisa Blunt Rochester U.S. Representative from Delaware

Lisa LaTrelle Blunt Rochester is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district since 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Eliminated in primary

  • Bryan Townsend, State Senator [4]
  • Sean Barney, former policy director for Governor Jack Markell and nominee for State Treasurer in 2014 [8] [5]
  • Mike Miller, businessman and perennial candidate [9]

Bryan Jeffrey Schurgard Townsend is an American politician who represents District 11 in the Delaware Senate. Townsend graduated from the University of Delaware in 2003.

Withdrawn

Declined

New Castle County, Delaware County in the United States

New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of the 2010 census, the population was 538,479, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with just under 60% of the state's population of 897,936 in the same census. The county seat is Wilmington.

Jack Markell American politician

Jack Alan Markell is an American former businessman and politician who served as the 73rd Governor of Delaware from 2009 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Endorsements

Sean Barney
Lisa Blunt Rochester
Bryan Townsend
  • Coby Owens, social justice activist, CEO of Youth Caucus of America, and 2016 delegate for Bernie Sanders
  • Donald Morton, civil rights leader [18]
  • Karen E. Peterson, State Senator [18]
Bryon Short (withdrawn)

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Sean
Barney
Lisa
Blunt Rochester
Mike
Miller
Bryan
Townsend
Scott
Walker
Elias
Weir
OtherUndecided
Fairleigh Dickinson University July 20–24, 2016344± 5.3%4%11%9%11%6%0%1%52%
Gravis Marketing April 17–18, 20161,026± 3.1%12%8%19%61%

Results

Democratic primary results [19] [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Lisa Blunt Rochester27,92043.76
Democratic Bryan Townsend15,84724.84
Democratic Sean Barney12,89120.20
Democratic Micheal Miller3,5005.48
Democratic Scott Walker3,1564.94
Democratic Elias Weir4800.78
Total votes63,794100

Republican primary

Hans Reigle, a former mayor of Wyoming, Delaware, and the former chairman of the Kent County Republican Party, ran unopposed on the ballot for the Republican nomination. [21]

Candidates

Nominee

Failed to file

  • Rose Izzo, conservative activist, candidate for the seat in 2010 and 2012 and nominee in 2014 [5] (never filed for primary) [22]

Declined

  • Fred Cullis, businessman and 2010 State Senate candidate [10]
  • Ian MacFadyen, restaurant owner [10]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Hans
Reigle
OtherUndecided
Fairleigh Dickinson University July 20–24, 2016224± 6.6%26%14%55%

General election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Lisa
Blunt
Rochester (D)
Hans
Reigle (R)
OtherUndecided
University of Delaware September 16–28, 2016900± 3.8%46%26%11%18%

Results

Delaware's at-large congressional district election, 2016 [23]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Lisa Blunt Rochester 233,55455.53
Republican Hans Reigle172,30140.96
Green Mark J Perri8,3261.98
Libertarian Scott Gesty6,4361.53
Total votes420,617100
Democratic hold

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Starkey, Jonathan (September 16, 2015). "Rep. John Carney enters 2016 governor race". The News Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  2. Starkey, Jonathan (September 3, 2015). "Townsend hiring for congressional campaign". The News Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Offredo, Jon (September 25, 2015). "Delaware Rep. Bryon Short declares for Congress". The News Journal . Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Offredo, Jon (September 17, 2015). "State Sen. Bryan Townsend announces congressional bid". The News Journal . Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Offredo, Jon; Jonathan, Starkey (October 26, 2015). "Former state labor secretary enters congressional race". The News Journal . Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Albright, Matthew; Duvernay, Adam (April 4, 2016). "Short drops out of congressional race, cites money". The News Journal . Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  7. Delaware Primary results
  8. 1 2 3 4 Railey, Kimberly (September 17, 2015). "Joe Biden's Home-State Politics Get a Rare Shake-Up". National Journal . Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  9. Fowser, Mark (October 20, 2015). "Mike Miller of Lewes announces candidacy for Congress". WXDE . Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Cohen, Celia (February 5, 2015). "Shadow Primary". Delaware Grapevine. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  11. Cohen, Celia (June 24, 2015). "Chris Bullock Makes His Move". Delaware Grapevine. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  12. Wilson, Xerxes (September 2, 2015). "Bullock to run for New Castle County Council president". The News Journal . Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  13. Cohen, Celia (May 7, 2015). "The "Open Sesame" Campaign". Delaware Grapevine. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  14. Lessig, Lawrence. "the few who could make a difference" . Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Delaware Women Legislators Endorse Lisa Blunt Rochester for Congress". Lisa Blunt Rochester for Congress.
  16. "EMILY's List Endorses Lisa Blunt Rochester for Congress in Delaware's At-Large District". EMILY's List. January 29, 2016.
  17. "National Women's Political Caucus Endorses Lisa Blunt Rochester for U.S. House in Delaware". Lisa Blunt Rochester for Congress.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Offredo, Jon (September 29, 2015). "Bryon Short secures endorsements in Congressional race". The News Journal . Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  19. Delaware Primary results
  20. "Primary Election Official Results". delaware.gov. September 13, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  21. 1 2 Starkey, Jonathan (April 8, 2015). "Republican, former mayor files for Congress". The News Journal. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  22. "Primary Election (Official Results)".|first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  23. "State of Delaware General Election (Official Results)". State of Delaware Election Commissioner. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
Official campaign websites (Archived)