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Presidential election in Delaware, 2016
| Delaware |
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| General election in Delaware |
| Date: November 8, 2016 2016 winner: Hillary Clinton Electoral votes: 3 2012 winner: Barack Obama (D) |
| Democratic Primary |
| Date: April 26, 2016 Winner: Hillary Clinton |
| Republican Primary |
| Date: April 26, 2016 Winner: Donald Trump |
| Down ballot races in Delaware |
| U.S. House Governor State executives Delaware State Senate Delaware House of Representatives Delaware judicial elections Delaware local judicial elections School boards Click here for more elections in Delaware |
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Delaware held an election for the president of the United States on November 8, 2016. Democratic and Republican primaries took place in Delaware on April 26, 2016.
General election candidates and results
The candidate list below is based on an official list on the Delaware secretary of state website. The candidate names below appear in the order in which they were listed on the official list—not necessarily the order in which they appeared on the ballot in November.
Presidential candidates on the ballot in Delaware
- ☑ Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democratic)
- ☐ Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)
- ☐ Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka (Green)
- ☐ Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Libertarian)
Results
| U.S. presidential election, Delaware, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine |
53.4% | 235,603 | 3 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 41.9% | 185,127 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 3.3% | 14,757 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 1.4% | 6,103 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 441,590 | 3 | |||
| Election results via: Delaware Department of Elections | |||||
Pivot Counties
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012, in 34 states.[1] Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes, and had an average margin of victory of 11.45 percent. The political shift in these counties could have a broad impact on elections at every level of government for the next four years.
Historical election trends
- See also: Presidential election accuracy
Below is an analysis of Delaware's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.
Presidential election voting record in Delaware, 1900-2016
Between 1900 and 2016:
- Delaware participated in 30 presidential elections.
- Delaware voted for the winning presidential candidate 80 percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was 72.31 percent.[2]
- Delaware voted Democratic 46.67 percent of the time and Republican 53.33 percent of the time.
Presidential election voting record in Delaware, 2000-2016
- Accuracy: 40 percent[3]
- 2000 state winner: Al Gore (D)
- 2004 state winner: John Kerry (D)
- 2008 state winner: Barack Obama (D)*
- 2012 state winner: Barack Obama (D)*
- 2016 state winner: Hillary Clinton (D)
*An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.
Election results
2012
| U.S. presidential election, Delaware, 2012 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent |
58.6% | 242,584 | 3 | |
| Republican | Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan | 40% | 165,484 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Jim Gray | 0.9% | 3,882 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala | 0.5% | 1,940 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 413,890 | 3 | |||
| Election results via: State of Delaware, Office of the State Election Commissioner | |||||
2008
| U.S. presidential election, Delaware, 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama/Joe Biden |
61.9% | 255,459 | 3 | |
| Republican | John McCain/Sarah Palin | 36.9% | 152,374 | 0 | |
| Independent | Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez | 0.6% | 2,401 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root | 0.3% | 1,109 | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers Party | Roger Calero/Alyson Kennedy | 0% | 58 | 0 | |
| Green | Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente | 0.1% | 385 | 0 | |
| Constitution | Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle (write-in) | 0.2% | 626 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 412,412 | 3 | |||
| Election results via: Delaware Secretary of State | |||||
Electoral votes
- See also: Electoral College
The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote but rather by electors in the Electoral College. In fact, when Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for a slate of electors selected by members of Democratic and Republican state parties or nominated in some other fashion. Under this system, which is laid out in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, each state is allocated one electoral vote for every member of their congressional delegation, meaning one for each member of the U.S. House and one for each of their two Senators.
Delaware electors
In 2016, Delaware had three electoral votes. Delaware's share of electoral votes represented 0.5 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 1.1 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president. Democratic electors in Delaware were selected by the Democratic state executive committee, while Republican electors were selected at the Republican state convention.
"Faithless electors"
The U.S. Constitution does not dictate how presidential electors are to cast their votes, but, in general, electors are expected to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state or the candidates of the party that nominated them to serve as electors. Electors who choose not to vote for the winner of the popular vote or the candidates of the party that nominated them are known as "faithless electors." Faithless electors are rare. Between 1900 and 2012, there were only eight known instances of faithless electors.
Several states have passed laws against faithless electors and require electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, for the candidate of the party that nominated them to serve as electors, or in accordance with any pledge they may have been required to make at the time of their nomination. In states with these types of laws, faithless electors can be fined or replaced, or their votes can be nullified.[4][5]
Delaware was one of 31 states in 2016—including the District of Columbia—with a law seeking to bind the votes of presidential electors.
Down ballot races
- See also: Delaware elections, 2016
Below is a list of down ballot races in Delaware covered by Ballotpedia in 2016.
- U.S. House
- Governor
- State executives
- Delaware State Senate
- Delaware House of Representatives
- Delaware judicial elections
- Delaware local judicial elections
- School boards
Primary election
Quick facts
Democrats:
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Republicans
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Democrats
Hillary Clinton won the Delaware Democratic primary, defeating Bernie Sanders by 20 points.
Republicans
Donald Trump won the Delaware Republican primary with 61 percent of the vote. John Kasich came in second, followed by Ted Cruz in third.
April 26 primaries
Four other states in the northeastern U.S. also held primary elections on April 26: Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
2016 primary results
Democrats
| Delaware Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Hillary Clinton |
59.8% | 55,954 | 12 | |
| Bernie Sanders | 39.2% | 36,662 | 9 | |
| Roque De La Fuente | 1.1% | 1,024 | 0 | |
| Totals | 93,640 | 21 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Delaware Secretary of State | ||||
Republicans
| Delaware Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Donald Trump |
60.8% | 42,472 | 16 | |
| Ted Cruz | 15.9% | 11,110 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 20.4% | 14,225 | 0 | |
| Jeb Bush | 0.8% | 578 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 1.3% | 885 | 0 | |
| Marco Rubio | 0.9% | 622 | 0 | |
| Totals | 69,892 | 16 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Delaware Secretary of State | ||||
Primary candidates
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Polls
Democratic primary
| Poll | Hillary Clinton | Bernie Sanders | Unsure or Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size | ||||||||||||||
| Gravis April 17-18, 2016 | 45% | 38% | 17% | +/-3.1 | 1,026 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Republican primary
| Poll | Donald Trump | John Kasich | Ted Cruz | Unsure or Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size | |||||||||||||
| Gravis April 17-18, 2016 | 55% | 18% | 15% | 12% | +/-3 | 1,038 | |||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Delegates
Delegate selection
Democratic Party
Delaware had 32 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 21 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.[7][8]
Eleven party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[7][9]
Delaware superdelegates
- Robert Gilligan
- Chris Coons
- Jack Markell
- Joe Biden
- John Carney Jr.
- Tom Carper
- John Daniello
- Karen Valentine
- Lisa Goodman (Delaware)
- Valerie Longhurst
- Tony Coelho
Republican Party
Delaware had 16 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, three were district-level delegates (all representing the state's single congressional district). Delaware's district delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the plurality winner of the primary received all of the state's district delegates.[10][11]
Of the remaining 13 delegates, 10 served at large. Delaware's at-large delegates were also allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the plurality winner of the primary received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were required to pledge their support to the winner of the state's primary.[10][11]
Republican delegates
- Charles Copeland
- Ellen Barrosse
- Cliff Werline
- Robert Stout (Delaware)
- Bonnie McCann
- John Foltz
- Michael Uffner
- Tom Draper
- Allison Brokaw
- Carol Bodine
- Billy Carroll
- Laird Stabler III
- Frederick R. Cullis
- Gary Simpson
- Ken Simpler
- Richard Forsten
Presidential voting history
Delaware presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16 Democratic wins
- 16 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
State profile
| Demographic data for Delaware | ||
|---|---|---|
| Delaware | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 944,076 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 1,949 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 69.4% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 21.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 8.7% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 88.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 30% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $60,509 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 13.9% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Delaware. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Delaware
Delaware voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Delaware, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[12] As of May 2017, eight state House districts and five state Senate districts intersected with a Pivot County in Delaware. The state has one at-large congressional district.
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Delaware had one Boomerang Pivot County, 4.00% of all Boomerang Pivot Counties.
More Delaware coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Delaware
- United States congressional delegations from Delaware
- Public policy in Delaware
- Endorsers in Delaware
- Delaware fact checks
- More...
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ↑ This average includes states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, which did not participate in all 30 presidential elections between 1900 and 2016. It does not include Washington, D.C., which cast votes for president for the first time in 1964, or Alaska and Hawaii, which cast votes for president for the first time in 1960.
- ↑ This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
- ↑ Archives.gov, "About the Electors," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: How it works in contemporary presidential elections," April 13, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 State of Delaware Department of Elections, "Presidential Primary Election," accessed February 27, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
- ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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