AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Delaware’s state primary

WASHINGTON (AP) — Delaware’s Democratic U.S. senator, U.S. representative and state attorney general will go before voters in a state primary Tuesday as they seek reelection. Voters also will choose nominees for state Legislature and for an open seat for state treasurer.

The primaries will set the stage for the November general election, when Republicans will try to break a Democratic lock on Delaware’s statewide offices against the backdrop of a midterm election cycle that tends to punish the president’s party. This is the last state primary scheduled before November.

In the race for U.S. Senate, Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Coons faces three primary opponents in his bid for a third full term. His challengers are University of Delaware history professor Jeff Appelhans, naval architect Mary Louve, and former business executive Eric Hansen. Hansen was the Republican U.S. Senate nominee in 2024. He is now running as a Democrat and will appear on the ballot under the name “E. No-Trump Hansen.”

Coons reported raising about $6.9 million for his campaign, compared to about $1,500 for Appelhans. Neither Hansen nor Louve have filed any campaign fundraising reports this cycle.

Former state Sen. Michael Katz and U.S. Army Reserves Col. John Shulli are competing for the Republican nomination. Katz has raised about $159,000 for the campaign, compared to about $118,000 for Shulli.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride is unopposed in her primary as she seeks a second term as Delaware’s sole representative in the U.S. House. Republicans Joseph Arminio, Earl Cooper and John Whalen are competing to face her in November.

State Attorney General Kathy Jennings faces primary challenges from attorney Dwayne Bensing and Patty Rickman, an advocate for victims of domestic violence. Republican David Graham is unopposed for his party’s nomination.

In the race for state treasurer, the incumbent, Democrat Colleen Davis, is not seeking a third term, creating the state’s only open seat for statewide office this year. Investment manager Ted Lauzen, business owner Mike Miller and economist Michael Smith are competing for the Democratic nomination. Former state Rep. Michael Ramone is unopposed for the Republican nomination.

About half of Delaware’s 21 state Senate seats and all 41 state House seats are up for election in 2026. Democrats hold roughly 2-to-1 majorities in both chambers.

Although control of the U.S. Senate and House may come down to just a small handful of competitive races, the seats in Delaware are expected to remain firmly in the Democratic column. Once a reliable bellwether in presidential races, Delaware has shifted heavily Democratic since the 1990s. Republicans have not won the governorship since 1988, a U.S. Senate seat since 1994 or the U.S. House seat since 2008.

New Castle County is the most populous of Delaware’s three counties and is the largest prize in statewide contests. It includes Wilmington, the state’s largest city, and Newark, home to the University of Delaware.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, attorney general, treasurer, state Senate and state House.

Who gets to vote?

Only voters registered with a political party may participate in that party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.

How many voters are there?

As of Sept. 1, there were about 808,000 registered voters in Delaware, including about 331,000 registered Democrats and about 199,000 registered Republicans.

How many people actually vote?

About 86,000 Democratic primary votes and about 37,000 Republican primary votes were cast in the 2024 state primaries for governor.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 26% of Democratic primary voters and about 23% of Republican primary voters cast their ballots early in-person or by mail.

As of Friday, about 30,800 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election, including about 22,200 from Democrats and about 8,500 from Republicans.

When are early and absentee votes released?

All three Delaware counties release almost all of their results from early in-person and mail voting in their first vote updates of the night, before releasing any results from in-person Election Day voting.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 state primary election, the AP first reported results at 8:22 p.m. ET, or 22 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 11:30 p.m. ET with 100% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

Automatic recounts are triggered in statewide primaries if the vote margin is less than 1,000 votes. For all other offices, such as state legislative and county-level races, automatic recounts are triggered if the margin is less than 1,000 votes or less than 0.5% of the total vote, whichever is less. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 49 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.