Delaware House of Representatives elections, 2016
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| 2016 Delaware House Elections | |
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| Primary | September 13, 2016 |
| General | November 8, 2016 |
| 2016 Election Results | |
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All 41 seats in the Delaware House of Representatives were up for election in 2016. No changes occurred to the partisan balance of the chamber.[1]
Introduction
Elections for the Delaware House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 13, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was July 12, 2016.
Filed candidates
John Daniello, the state party chairman of the Democratic Party of Delaware, sent a letter to every filed statewide or local Democratic candidate across this year’s races asking them to reconsider their campaign and their chances of winning. Candidate filing did not end until July 12, but over 60 Democrats had filed their candidacy before the letter was sent on July 1, 2016. Daniello believed that the number of candidates running was too high and "encourages candidates to give a 'second and third thought' to their candidacy, and tells them there is 'no room for vanity campaigns, either statewide or local.'"[3]
At the time of the filing deadline, a total of 67 candidates, 38 Democrats, 27 Republicans, and 2 Libertarians, filed to run in the 2016 election for the Delaware House of Representatives. Five Democratic primaries were held, four which involved an incumbent. Democrats contested 33 of the 41 seats that were up for election in November 2016.
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state houses
Heading into the election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Delaware House of Representatives:
| Delaware House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 7, 2016 | After November 8, 2016 | |
| Democratic Party | 25 | 25 | |
| Republican Party | 15 | 16 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 41 | 41 | |
Retired incumbents
- Harold Peterman (R) of District 33 did not run for re-election. He died on August 10, 2016.
List of candidates
General election
| 2016 Delaware House general election candidates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Other | |||
| 1 | Charles Potter Jr.: 8,901 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 2 | Stephanie Bolden: 6,256 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 3 | Helene Keeley: 6,060 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 4 | Gerald Brady: 9,565 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 5 | Melanie George Smith: 8,280 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 6 | Debra Heffernan: 9,545 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 7 | Bryon Short: 8,277 (I) |
No candidate | Robert Wilson: 909 (L) | |
| 8 | S. Quinton Johnson: 8,703 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 9 | Monique Johns: 5,130 | Kevin S. Hensley: 7,812 (I) |
||
| 10 | Sean Matthews: 6,654 (I) |
Judith Travis: 4,300 | ||
| 11 | David L. Neilson: 2,985 | Jeffrey Spiegelman: 6,821 (I) |
||
| 12 | No candidate | Deborah Hudson: 9,866 (I) |
||
| 13 | John Mitchell, Jr.: 7,287 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 14 | Peter Schwartzkopf: 9,297 (I) |
James DeMartino: 5,332 | ||
| 15 | Valerie Longhurst: 9,390 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 16 | James Johnson: 7,536 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 17 | Michael Mulrooney: 7,721 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 18 | David Bentz: 7,348 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 19 | Kimberly Williams: 5,967 (I) |
James Startzman: 3,503 | ||
| 20 | Barbara Vaughan: 5,529 | Stephen Smyk: 9,209 (I) |
Donald R. Ayotte: 218 (Ind.) | |
| 21 | No candidate | Michael Ramone: 7,574 (I) |
David McCorquodale: 1,638 (G) | |
| 22 | Lanette Edwards: 4,329 | Joseph Miro: 8,964 (I) |
Bernard August: 306 (G) | |
| 23 | Paul Baumbach: 6,550 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 24 | Edward Osienski: 6,406 (I) |
Timothy Conrad: 2,915 | ||
| 25 | John Kowalko: 5,123 (I) |
Michael Nagorski: 2,350 | ||
| 26 | John Viola: 7,745 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 27 | Earl Jaques, Jr.: 9,182 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 28 | William Carson Jr.: 7,581 (I) |
No candidate | ||
| 29 | W. Charles Paradee: 6,777 (I) |
Janice Gallagher: 3,918 | Ruth A. James: 233 (G) | |
| 30 | Charles Groce: 2,623 | William Outten: 6,337 (I) |
||
| 31 | Sean M. Lynn: 5,765 (I) |
M. Jean Dowding: 2,897 | ||
| 32 | Andria Bennett: 4,241 (I) |
Patricia McDaniel Foltz: 2,771 | ||
| 33 | Karen Williams: 4,271 | Charles S. Postles, Jr.: 5,780 |
||
| 34 | David Henderson: 4,516 | Lyndon Dean Yearick: 6,518 (I) |
||
| 35 | Gary M. Wolfe: 2,435 | David Wilson: 6,553 (I) |
||
| 36 | No candidate | Harvey Kenton: 7,175 (I) |
||
| 37 | Paulette Rappa: 4,038 | Ruth Briggs King: 6,720 (I) |
||
| 38 | No candidate | Ronald Gray: 12,188 (I) |
||
| 39 | No candidate | Daniel Short: 6,643 (I) |
James Brittingham: 637 (L) | |
| 40 | No candidate | Timothy Dukes: 7,826 (I) |
||
| 41 | S. Bradley Connor: 4,070 | Richard Collins: 5,899 (I) |
||
Notes:
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Primary election
Margins of victory
The average margin of victory for contested races in the Delaware House of Representatives in 2016 was higher than the national average. Out of 41 races in the Delaware House of Representatives in 2016, 21 were contested, meaning at least two candidates competed for that seat in the general election. The average margin of victory across these races was 35.2 percent. Across contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016, the average margin of victory was 29.01 percent.[4]
| Republican candidates in the Delaware House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Democratic candidates in 2016. Republicans won 16 races. In the 12 races where a winning Republican faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 35.8 percent. Democrats won 25 races in 2016. In the nine races where a winning Democrat faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 34.4 percent. |
| The average margin of victory for incumbents in the Delaware House of Representatives who ran for re-election and won in 2016 was higher than the national average. Forty incumbents who ran for re-election in 2016 won. The average margin of victory for the 20 winning Delaware House of Representatives incumbents who faced a challenger in 2016 was 36.2 percent. The average margin of victory for all winning incumbents in contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016 was 31.8 percent. |
| Republican incumbents in the Delaware House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Democratic incumbents. Fifteen Republican incumbents won re-election. In the 11 races where a winning Republican incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 37.7 percent. Twenty-five Democratic incumbents won re-election. In the nine races where a winning Democratic incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 34.4 percent. |
Delaware House of Representatives: 2016 Margin of Victory Analysis Party Elections won Average margin of victory[5] Races with incumbent victories Average margin of victory for incumbents[5] Unopposed incumbents Unopposed races Percent unopposed Democratic 25 34.4 percent 25 34.4 percent 16 16 64.0 percent Republican 16 35.8 percent 15 37.7 percent 4 4 25.0 percent Total 41 35.2 percent 40 36.2 percent 20 20 48.8 percent
Click [show] on the tables below to see the margin of victory in Delaware House of Representatives districts in 2016.
| Delaware House of Representatives: 2016 Margin of Victory by District | ||
|---|---|---|
| District | Winning Party | Margin of Victory |
| District 1 | D | Unopposed |
| District 2 | D | Unopposed |
| District 3 | D | Unopposed |
| District 4 | D | Unopposed |
| District 5 | D | Unopposed |
| District 6 | D | Unopposed |
| District 7 | D | 80.2 percent |
| District 8 | D | Unopposed |
| District 9 | R | 20.7 percent |
| District 10 | D | 21.5 percent |
| District 11 | R | 39.1 percent |
| District 12 | R | Unopposed |
| District 13 | D | Unopposed |
| District 14 | D | 27.1 percent |
| District 15 | D | Unopposed |
| District 16 | D | Unopposed |
| District 17 | D | Unopposed |
| District 18 | D | Unopposed |
| District 19 | D | 26.0 percent |
| District 20 | R | 24.6 percent |
| District 21 | R | 64.4 percent |
| District 22 | R | 34.1 percent |
| District 23 | D | Unopposed |
| District 24 | D | 37.5 percent |
| District 25 | D | 37.1 percent |
| District 26 | D | Unopposed |
| District 27 | D | Unopposed |
| District 28 | D | Unopposed |
| District 29 | D | 26.2 percent |
| District 30 | R | 41.5 percent |
| District 31 | D | 33.1 percent |
| District 32 | D | 21.0 percent |
| District 33 | R | 15.0 percent |
| District 34 | R | 18.1 percent |
| District 35 | R | 45.8 percent |
| District 36 | R | Unopposed |
| District 37 | R | 24.9 percent |
| District 38 | R | Unopposed |
| District 39 | R | 82.5 percent |
| District 40 | R | Unopposed |
| District 41 | R | 18.4 percent |
Important dates and deadlines
- See also: Delaware elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Delaware in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| January 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Independent candidates can begin circulating petitions | |
| February 26, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for presidential candidates | |
| March 4, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for school board candidates | |
| April 26, 2016 | Election date | Presidential primary election | |
| May 10, 2016 | Election date | School board elections | |
| July 12, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for statewide and all other offices | |
| July 15, 2016 | Ballot access | Last day that filed candidates may withdraw or file for a different office | |
| July 15, 2016 | Ballot access | Last day that independent candidates can circulate petitions | |
| August 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for minor parties to select their candidates by convention | |
| August 16, 2016 | Campaign finance | 30-day primary report due | |
| August 23, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for minor parties to register the required number of voters to place candidates on the general election ballot | |
| September 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for major parties to file nomination certificates for offices for which no party members filed; deadline for minor parties to file nomination certificates | |
| September 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for independent candidates | |
| September 7, 2016 | Campaign finance | 8-day primary report due | |
| September 13, 2016 | Election date | Primary election | |
| September 30, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for write-in candidates | |
| October 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | 30-day general report due | |
| November 2, 2016 | Campaign finance | 8-day general report due | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| Source: Delaware State Election Commissioner, "2016 Delaware Election Calendar," accessed June 5, 2015 | |||
Competitiveness
Candidates unopposed by a major party
In 24 (58.5%) of the 41 seats that were up for election in 2016, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of 18 Democrats and 8 Republicans were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.
Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in 17 (41.4%) of the 41 seats up for election.
Primary challenges
Five incumbents faced primary competition on September 13. One seat was open, leaving 35 incumbents that advanced past the primary without opposition.
Retired incumbents
One incumbent representative did not run for re-election, while 40 ran for re-election. The one retiring incumbent, a Republican, can be found above.
Results from 2014
There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. All three aspects of Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Index—the number of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition, and general elections between partisan candidates—showed poor results compared to the prior election cycle. States with elections in 2014 held fewer general elections between partisan candidates. Additionally, fewer incumbents faced primary opposition and more incumbents ran for re-election than in recent years.
Since 2010, when the Competitiveness Index was established, there had not been an even-year election cycle to do statistically worse in any of the three categories. See the following chart for a breakdown of those scores between each year.
| Overall Competitiveness | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Competitiveness Index | 36.2 | 35.8 | 31.4 |
| % Open Seats | 18.6% | 21.2% | 17.0% |
| % Incumbent with primary challenge | 22.7% | 24.6% | 20.1% |
| % Candidates with major party opposition | 67.3% | 61.7% | 57.0% |
The following table details Delaware's rates for open seats, incumbents that faced primary challenges, and major party competition in the 2014 general election.
| Delaware General Assembly 2014 Competitiveness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Open Seats | % Incumbent with primary challenge | % Candidates with major party opposition | Competitiveness Index | Overall rank |
| 4.0% | 18.4% | 58.9% | 27.1 | 29 |
Historical context
Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.
Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.
Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.
Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.
Campaign contributions
The following chart shows how many candidates ran for State House in Delaware in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in State House races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests.[6]
| Delaware House of Representatives Donations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates | Amount |
| 2014 | 79 | $2,097,234 |
| 2012 | 85 | $1,937,326 |
| 2010 | 88 | $2,555,897 |
| 2008 | 75 | $2,287,994 |
| 2006 | 79 | $2,147,765 |
State comparison
The map below shows the average contributions to 2014 candidates for state houses. The average contributions raised by state house candidates in 2014 was $59,983. Delaware, at $26,547 per candidate, is ranked 31 of 45 for state house chambers with the highest average contributions. Hover your mouse over a state to see the average campaign contributions for that state’s house candidates in 2014.[6][7]
Qualifications
Article II, Section 3 of the Delaware Constitution states: "No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-four 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 Representative 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."
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Republicans reclaimed a single seat left vacant prior to the election.
- ↑ Under Ballotpedia's competitiveness criteria, districts that have a margin of victory of less than 5 percent are considered highly competitive. Districts that have a margin of victory from 5 to 10 percent are considered mildly competitive.
- ↑ Newsworks, "Delaware Democratic Party asks candidates to reconsider decision to run for office," accessed July 12, 2016
- ↑ This calculation excludes chambers that had elections where two or more members were elected in a race. These chambers are the Arizona House, the New Hampshire House, the North Dakota House, the South Dakota House, the Vermont House, the Vermont Senate, and the West Virginia House.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Excludes unopposed elections
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 followthemoney.org, "Contributions to candidates and committees in elections in Delaware," accessed July 28, 2015
- ↑ This map relies on data collected in July 2015.
