Due to the state's small size (45th of 50 by population in 2022), the politics of Delaware tend to be less convoluted and controversial than those in neighboring states. Nonetheless, Delaware's political status quo reflects the state's long history of political clout dating from the earliest days of the United States, some of which remains today. Historically, the state was considered a swing state, as it voted for the national winner all but twice between 1896 and 1996; the only exceptions being 1916 and 1948.[2] However, in the 21st century, the state has become strongly Democratic and provided double-digit wins to Democrats since 2008. The 2008 election saw Democrat Barack Obama with a 25.0% margin of victory, the best-ever result for a Democratic presidential candidate in the state's history. Obama's large margin of victory was aided by his running mate, Joe Biden, a longtime U.S. senator from the state and the first Delawarean to appear on a national presidential ticket. Biden later went on to become the first Delawarean elected president in 2020.
A heavily Democratic state, progressivism and social liberalism are generally concentrated in the northern part of the state, and conservatism is more prevalent in the less heavily populated central and southern regions. Some of the wealthiest neighborhoods around Wilmington (in the north) as well as a few of the more progressive beach towns (in the south) serve as exceptions to this general trend. Politicians of both major parties tend to vote consistently in favor of big business, an important sector of Delaware's economy. Despite this, economically progressive measures such as Medicare for All and the state's to-be-$15 an hour minimum wage remain popular.[3]
Matters of perennial statewide debate tend to include taxation (which runs relatively low compared to other northeastern states); the needs and demands of Delaware's massive business community; education (Delaware's educational spending per student remains low); increasing stress on the environment; urban development and sprawl; the needs of an increasingly diverse population; large income disparities between wealthy and disadvantaged areas; and a perceived disconnect between the rural central and southern areas of the state and Wilmington and the urbanized corridor in the north, home to the bulk of the state's population.
National politicsedit
Delaware's situation with respect to the Presidential Primary Election changed between 2000 and 2008.[4] Delaware's Primary is held "on the first Tuesday in February in the calendar year of a presidential election."[5] In 2000, Delaware was the sole state to have a primary on February 1, while in 2004 it was one of five states with primaries on February 3.[4] In the 2008 primaries, Delaware shared February 5 with 23 other states on "Super Tuesday (2008)", the largest group of simultaneous primary races in the history of the United States.[4][6] Being the first Primary in the nation increases the influence of a state disproportionately in determining who the contestants will be in the general presidential election. However, as other states change the dates of their primaries, influence is inevitably decreased.[4]
^"Delaware Presidential Election Voting History - 270toWin".
^"Delawareans continue to back progressive agenda, elected officials" (PDF).
^ abcdBeth Miller (January 13, 2008). "Dela-where? Campaigns bypass First State". The News Journal. Retrieved January 13, 2008. ...it did have an early Republican primary all to itself in 2000, when it provided George W. Bush with his first primary win. In 2004, Delaware shared its primary day with four other states. And now, it is shoehorned into a virtual phone booth.[dead link]
^"Presidential Primary Election". Online Delaware Code. State of Delaware. January 1, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2008. ...a presidential primary election for major political parties shall be conducted on the first Tuesday in February in the calendar year of a presidential election.
^Richard Allen Greene (May 30, 2007). "States jostle for primary power". Washington: BBC News. Retrieved January 13, 2008. The US has had "Super Tuesdays" in the past ... (b)ut it has never seen anything like what is shaping up for February 5, 2008 – which some wits are calling "Super Duper Tuesday".
^"Voter Registration Totals". State of Delaware. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
^Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Delaware". US Election Atlas. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
November 23, 2023
politics, delaware, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Politics of Delaware news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Gubernatorial election results 1 Year Democratic Republican1952 47 9 81 772 52 1 88 9771956 48 1 85 047 52 0 91 9651960 51 7 100 792 48 3 94 0431964 51 4 102 797 48 7 97 3741968 49 5 102 360 50 5 104 4741972 51 3 117 274 47 9 109 5831976 42 5 97 480 56 9 130 5311980 28 5 64 217 70 7 159 0041984 44 5 108 315 55 5 135 2501988 29 3 70 236 70 7 169 7331992 64 7 179 365 32 8 90 7251996 69 5 188 300 30 5 82 5642000 59 2 191 695 39 8 128 6032004 50 9 185 548 45 8 167 0082008 67 5 266 861 32 0 126 6622012 69 3 275 993 28 6 113 7932016 58 3 248 404 39 2 166 8522020 59 5 292 903 38 6 190 312Due to the state s small size 45th of 50 by population in 2022 the politics of Delaware tend to be less convoluted and controversial than those in neighboring states Nonetheless Delaware s political status quo reflects the state s long history of political clout dating from the earliest days of the United States some of which remains today Historically the state was considered a swing state as it voted for the national winner all but twice between 1896 and 1996 the only exceptions being 1916 and 1948 2 However in the 21st century the state has become strongly Democratic and provided double digit wins to Democrats since 2008 The 2008 election saw Democrat Barack Obama with a 25 0 margin of victory the best ever result for a Democratic presidential candidate in the state s history Obama s large margin of victory was aided by his running mate Joe Biden a longtime U S senator from the state and the first Delawarean to appear on a national presidential ticket Biden later went on to become the first Delawarean elected president in 2020 Contents 1 Major issues 2 National politics 3 Federal representation 4 Party registration 5 See also 6 Notes 7 ReferencesMajor issues editA heavily Democratic state progressivism and social liberalism are generally concentrated in the northern part of the state and conservatism is more prevalent in the less heavily populated central and southern regions Some of the wealthiest neighborhoods around Wilmington in the north as well as a few of the more progressive beach towns in the south serve as exceptions to this general trend Politicians of both major parties tend to vote consistently in favor of big business an important sector of Delaware s economy Despite this economically progressive measures such as Medicare for All and the state s to be 15 an hour minimum wage remain popular 3 Matters of perennial statewide debate tend to include taxation which runs relatively low compared to other northeastern states the needs and demands of Delaware s massive business community education Delaware s educational spending per student remains low increasing stress on the environment urban development and sprawl the needs of an increasingly diverse population large income disparities between wealthy and disadvantaged areas and a perceived disconnect between the rural central and southern areas of the state and Wilmington and the urbanized corridor in the north home to the bulk of the state s population National politics editDelaware s situation with respect to the Presidential Primary Election changed between 2000 and 2008 4 Delaware s Primary is held on the first Tuesday in February in the calendar year of a presidential election 5 In 2000 Delaware was the sole state to have a primary on February 1 while in 2004 it was one of five states with primaries on February 3 4 In the 2008 primaries Delaware shared February 5 with 23 other states on Super Tuesday 2008 the largest group of simultaneous primary races in the history of the United States 4 6 Being the first Primary in the nation increases the influence of a state disproportionately in determining who the contestants will be in the general presidential election However as other states change the dates of their primaries influence is inevitably decreased 4 Federal representation editDelaware s senators in the United States Senate are Chris Coons and Tom Carper both Democrats serving since 2010 and 2001 respectively Delaware s at large representative in the United States House of Representatives is Lisa Blunt Rochester a Democrat Delaware is part of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware in the federal judiciary The district s cases are appealed to the Philadelphia based United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Party registration editMain article Political party strength in Delaware Party registration as of February 1 2020 7 a Party Total voters PercentageDemocratic 362 181 47 75 Republican 210 180 27 71 No party 168 313 22 19 Other 17 763 2 34 Total 758 437 100 United States presidential election results for Delaware 8 Year Republican Whig Democratic Third partyNo No No 2020 200 603 39 77 296 268 58 74 7 475 1 48 2016 185 127 41 71 235 603 53 09 23 084 5 20 2012 165 484 39 98 242 584 58 61 5 853 1 41 2008 152 374 36 93 255 459 61 91 4 783 1 16 2004 171 660 45 74 200 152 53 34 3 458 0 92 2000 137 288 41 90 180 068 54 96 10 266 3 13 1996 99 062 36 54 140 355 51 78 31 667 11 68 1992 102 313 35 31 126 054 43 51 61 368 21 18 1988 139 639 55 88 108 647 43 48 1 605 0 64 1984 152 190 59 78 101 656 39 93 726 0 29 1980 111 252 47 21 105 754 44 87 18 662 7 92 1976 109 831 46 57 122 596 51 98 3 407 1 44 1972 140 357 59 60 92 283 39 18 2 876 1 22 1968 96 714 45 12 89 194 41 61 28 459 13 28 1964 78 078 38 78 122 704 60 95 538 0 27 1960 96 373 49 00 99 590 50 63 720 0 37 1956 98 057 55 09 79 421 44 62 510 0 29 1952 90 059 51 75 83 315 47 88 651 0 37 1948 69 588 50 04 67 813 48 76 1 672 1 20 1944 56 747 45 27 68 166 54 38 448 0 36 1940 61 440 45 05 74 599 54 70 335 0 25 1936 57 236 44 85 69 702 54 62 665 0 52 1932 57 073 50 55 54 319 48 11 1 509 1 34 1928 68 860 65 03 36 643 34 60 388 0 37 1924 52 441 57 70 33 445 36 80 4 999 5 50 1920 52 858 55 71 39 911 42 07 2 106 2 22 1916 26 011 50 20 24 753 47 78 1 046 2 02 1912 15 998 32 85 22 631 46 48 10 065 20 67 1908 25 014 52 10 22 055 45 94 938 1 95 1904 23 705 54 05 19 347 44 11 804 1 83 1900 22 535 53 67 18 852 44 90 602 1 43 1896 20 450 53 18 16 574 43 10 1 432 3 72 1892 18 077 48 55 18 581 49 90 577 1 55 1888 12 950 43 51 16 414 55 15 400 1 34 1884 12 953 43 20 16 957 56 55 74 0 25 1880 14 148 48 03 15 181 51 53 129 0 44 1876 10 752 44 55 13 381 55 45 0 0 00 1872 11 129 51 00 10 205 46 76 488 2 24 1868 7 614 41 00 10 957 59 00 0 0 00 1864 8 155 48 19 8 767 51 81 0 0 00 1860 3 822 23 72 1 066 6 61 11 227 69 67 1856 310 2 12 8 004 54 83 6 284 43 05 1852 6 293 49 66 6 318 49 85 62 0 49 1848 6 440 51 80 5 910 47 54 82 0 66 1844 6 271 51 20 5 970 48 75 6 0 05 1840 5 967 54 99 4 872 44 89 13 0 12 1836 4 736 53 24 4 154 46 70 5 0 06 See also editPolitical party strength in DelawareNotes edit Parties that make up less than 5 of total registered voters are not shown References edit Leip David General Election Results Delaware Dave Leip s Atlas of U S Presidential Elections Retrieved August 4 2018 Delaware Presidential Election Voting History 270toWin Delawareans continue to back progressive agenda elected officials PDF a b c d Beth Miller January 13 2008 Dela where Campaigns bypass First State The News Journal Retrieved January 13 2008 it did have an early Republican primary all to itself in 2000 when it provided George W Bush with his first primary win In 2004 Delaware shared its primary day with four other states And now it is shoehorned into a virtual phone booth dead link Presidential Primary Election Online Delaware Code State of Delaware January 1 2008 Retrieved January 13 2008 a presidential primary election for major political parties shall be conducted on the first Tuesday in February in the calendar year of a presidential election Richard Allen Greene May 30 2007 States jostle for primary power Washington BBC News Retrieved January 13 2008 The US has had Super Tuesdays in the past b ut it has never seen anything like what is shaping up for February 5 2008 which some wits are calling Super Duper Tuesday Voter Registration Totals State of Delaware Retrieved March 1 2021 Leip David Presidential General Election Results Comparison Delaware US Election Atlas Retrieved January 3 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Politics of Delaware amp oldid 1157355752, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
