Delaware State Senate elections, 2014

Candidate ballot access
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2014 Competitiveness Overview
Primary competition (state comparison) ;
	Incumbents defeated • Victorious challengers •; Primary competitiveness
Major party challengers (state comparison)
	Candidates with no challenges at all in 2014
Open seats (state comparisons)
	Impact of term limits on # of open seats ; Long-serving senators • Long-serving reps
Chart Comparing 2014 Results
	Chart Comparing 2014 Results • Comparisons Between Years
Competitiveness Index • Absolute Index
	2014 State Legislative Elections; State legislative incumbent turnover in 2014
Competitiveness Studies from Other Years
	2007 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013

	2016 → ← 2012
	Delaware State Senate elections, 2014
	Majority control • Qualifications
	List of candidates District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 6 • District 10 • District 11 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 21
	State Legislative Election Results
	Delaware State Senate • 2014 Delaware House Elections

Elections for the Delaware State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 8, 2014.

Following the general election, there was no change to the majority control of the Delaware State Senate. In control of the chamber, the Democratic Party lost a single seat to drop from 13 to 12 seats. The Republican Party picked up the seat, increasing their share from eight to nine.

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Delaware State Senate:

Delaware State Senate
Party		As of November 3, 2014	After November 4, 2014
	Democratic Party	13	12
	Republican Party	8	9
Total		21	21

Qualifications

Article II, Section 3 of the Delaware Constitution states: No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained the age of twenty-seven years and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the State three years next preceding the day of his election and the last year of that term an inhabitant of the Senatorial District in which he shall be chosen, unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United States or of this State.

Competitiveness

Candidates unopposed by a major party

In four of the ten districts up for election in 2014, there was only one major party candidate running for election. Three Democrats were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.

Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in seven of the ten districts up for election. None of those districts held competitive elections in 2012. One district up for election in 2014 that had only one major party candidate in 2014 held a competitive election in 2012.

Previously Competitive, Now Unopposed

District 4: Gregory F. Lavelle (R) ran unopposed in both the Republican primary and general election. Lavelle won by a margin of victory of 3 percent in 2012.

Primary challenges

Two incumbents faced primary competition on September 9. Another eight incumbents advanced past the primary without opposition. The state senators that faced primary competition were:

District 3: Incumbent Robert I. Marshall (D) defeated Sherry Dorsey Walker in the Democratic primary.
District 11: Incumbent Bryan Townsend (D) defeated David L. Tackett in the Democratic primary.