2018 United States Senate election in Delaware Turnout 52.18%
County results
Precinct results Carper: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Arlett: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% No data
The 2018 United States Senate election in Delaware took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the
United States Senate to represent the State of
Delaware , concurrently with
other elections to the United States Senate,
elections to the
United States House of Representatives , and various
state and
local elections .
The primary for this U.S. Senate election was held on Thursday, September 6, 2018.
[1] The
Democratic Party nominated incumbent
U.S. Senator Tom Carper and the
Republican Party nominated
Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett.
Incumbent
Democratic Senator
Tom Carper was re-elected to a fourth, and ultimately final, term.
Background
Three-term
Democratic Senator
Tom Carper was reelected with 66% of the vote in 2012 against
Republican Kevin Wade.
Carper, incumbent U.S. Senator, was challenged in the Democratic primary by
Dover activist
Kerri Evelyn Harris . Carper previously faced a primary challenge in the
2012 election from businessman Keith Spanarelli. However, Carper defeated Spanarelli by around 70 points. Carper went on to defeat Harris by around 30 points. It was the most competitive Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Delaware in two decades.
The main declared candidates in the Republican primary were
Sussex County councilman Rob Arlett and businessman Gene Truono, with a
perennial candidacy from businessman
Rocky De La Fuente , who also ran for Senate in seven other states.
[2] Another candidate withdrew before the primary. Rob Arlett defeated Gene Truono in a landslide to win the Republican nomination.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Withdrew
Tykiem Booker, activist
[5]
Declined
Endorsements
Tom Carper
U.S. Vice President
U.S. Senators
U.S. Representatives
State executive branch officials
Rita Landgraf, former Secretary of Delaware Health and Social Services
State legislators
Individuals
Matthew Albright, moderator of the
Democratic primary debate
Sandra Hall, 2016 Delaware Teacher of the Year
Douglas E. Krantz, rabbi
Sonia Schorr Sloan, former Delaware President of the Board of
Planned Parenthood
Jon Soltz , chairman of
VoteVets
Organizations
Kerri Evelyn Harris
State legislators
County Councilpersons
City Councilpersons
Political candidates
Individuals
Kate Aronoff, journalist
Dan Cantor, chairman of the
Working Families Party
Garrison Davis, community organizer
Joe Dinkin, campaign director of the Working Families Party
[7]
Mike Figueredo, host of The Humanist Report
[26]
Glenn Greenwald , journalist
Ryan Grim , journalist
Coby Owens, social justice activist, CEO of Youth Caucus of America, and
2016 delegate for
Bernie Sanders
[27]
Gerald Rocha, retired
U.S. Air Force veteran and youth advocate
[28]
Kendrick Sampson , actor
Claire Sandberg, former deputy campaign manager for
El-Sayed gubernatorial campaign and former director of distributed organizing for
Sanders presidential campaign
[29]
Jea Street, Jr., singer and son of
New Castle County Councilman Jea Street
Cenk Uygur , co-founder and co-host of
The Young Turks
[30]
[31]
[32]
Emma Vigeland, political commentator
Winnie Wong, co-founder of
The People for Bernie Sanders
[33]
Organizations
Media
Declined to endorse
Declined to endorse either candidate
Debates
Delaware newspaper
The News Journal hosted a 90-minute debate on August 27, 2018 for the Democratic primary between
Tom Carper and Kerri Evelyn Harris at
Cab Calloway School of the Arts .
[29]
[52]
Republican candidate businessman Gene Truono answered questions from panelists before Carper and Harris debated.
Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett was also invited, but declined and claimed he had a scheduling conflict.
Polling
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size
Margin of error
Tom Carper
Kerri Evelyn Harris
Undecided
Gravis Marketing
July 24–29, 2018
354
± 5.2%
51%
19%
30%
Results
Results by county
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Withdrew
Chuck Boyce, businessman
[56]
[57] (endorsed Rob Arlett)
Declined
Ken Simpler , State Treasurer (running for re-election)
[58]
Kevin Wade, businessman and candidate for Senate in
2012 and
2014 (endorsed Rob Arlett)
Endorsements
Rob Arlett
Former 2018 U.S. Senate election, Delaware candidates
Political candidates
Individuals
Gene Truono
State legislators
Republican Party officials
Political candidates
Lee Murphy, actor and
Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Delaware
Individuals
Mitch Denham, Delaware Gun Rights
John Foltz, 11th District Chairman
David Gilefski, Western NCC Region Chairman
Shawn Michael Greener, radio host
[67]
Dick Heller (
District of Columbia v. Heller )
Mark Keith Robinson, NRA affiliate
Maj Toure, Black Guns Matter
Organizations
Delaware Gun Rights
Never Carper
The News Journal Editorial Board
[69]
Revitalize Delaware
U.S. Term Limits
Declined to endorse
Declined to endorse either candidate
Debates
Councilman Rob Arlett and businessman Gene Truono had four debates in total. They were normally live streamed on
Facebook and uploaded to
YouTube . A fifth debate was planned, but Truono withdrew from the debate because he the organizers refused to give him control over what questions could not be asked. Instead organizers held a forum with all the other candidates for the U.S. Senate and other state offices. Five candidates attended that forum.
First Debate, YouTube
Second Debate, Part 1, YouTube
Second Debate, Part 2, YouTube
Third Debate, Part 1, YouTube
Third Debate, Part 2, YouTube
Fourth Debate, YouTube
Polling
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size
Margin of error
Rob Arlett
RockyDe La Fuente
Gene Truono
Undecided
Gravis Marketing
July 24–29, 2018
288
± 5.8%
19%
7%
15%
60%
Results
Results by county Arlett—70–80%
Arlett—60–70%
Arlett—50–60%
Green primary
Candidates
Nominee
Demitri Theodoropoulos, small business owner
[70]
Declined
Endorsements
Demitri Theodoropoulos
Individuals
Organizations
Libertarian primary
Candidates
Nominee
Independents
Not to be confused with the
Independent Party of Delaware , which did not run a candidate for the 2018 United States Senate election.
Candidates
Declared
Barry Eveland (write-in)
[72]
Matthew Water Stout, write-in presidential candidate in
2016 (write-in)
[72]
[73]
Todd Farina, ticket company owner (write-in)
General election
Endorsements
Bold text indicates endorsement was given before the primary.
Tom Carper
U.S. Vice President
U.S. Senators
U.S. Representatives
Governors
Other state executive branch officials
State legislators
Political candidates
Individuals
Matthew Albright, moderator of the
Democratic primary debate
Sandra Hall, 2016 Delaware Teacher of the Year
Douglas E. Krantz, rabbi
Sonia Schorr Sloan, former Delaware President of the Board of
Planned Parenthood
Jon Soltz , chairman of
VoteVets
Laura Thein, former Disabilities Caucus Chair of Young Democrats of America
[79]
Organizations
Rob Arlett
Former 2018 U.S. Senate election, Delaware candidates
Political candidates
Individuals
Organizations
Demitri Theodoropoulos
Individuals
Organizations
Media
Hijacked Radio Podcast
The Politics of Courage
[85]
Declined to endorse
Declined to endorse Tom Carper
Tykiem Booker, former candidate
Kerri Evelyn Harris, former candidate
Justice Democrats
Coby Owens, social justice activist, CEO of Youth Caucus of America, and
2016 delegate for
Bernie Sanders
Declined to endorse Rob Arlett
Debates
with Kerri Evelyn Harris and Gene Truono
On August 20, 2018, the Greater Hockessin Area Development Association (GHADA) hosted a 2-hour debate at the
Hockessin Memorial Hall between
Democratic candidate Kerri Evelyn Harris and
Republican candidate Gene Truono.
Tom Carper and Rob Arlett were also invited to the debate, but did not attend. Carper was not present because of the
U.S. Senate 's extended session due to session ceasing early the Thursday prior because of the death of former governor and U.S. Senator of
Nevada ,
Paul Laxalt .
[86] Arlett declined and claimed he had a scheduling conflict.
[87]
with Tom Carper and Rob Arlett
The debate gained national attention after Republican candidate Rob Arlett brought up Democratic senator
Tom Carper ’s past controversy of domestic abuse.
with Tom Carper, Rob Arlett, Nadine Frost, and Demitri Theodoropoulos
Predictions
Polling
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size
Margin of error
Tom Carper (D)
Rob Arlett (R)
Nadine Frost (L)
DemitriTheodoropoulos (G)
Undecided
University of Delaware
September 11–17, 2018
728 LV
–
61%
24%
3%
3%
9%
908 RV
± 3.7%
60%
22%
5%
2%
12%
Gravis Marketing
July 24–29, 2018
884
± 3.3%
47%
39%
–
–
14%
Hypothetical polling
with Tom Carper and Gene Truono
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size
Margin of error
Tom Carper (D)
Gene Truono (R)
Undecided
Gravis Marketing
July 24–29, 2018
884
± 3.3%
47%
38%
15%
with Kerri Evelyn Harris and Rob Arlett
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size
Margin of error
Kerri Evelyn Harris (D)
Rob Arlett (R)
Undecided
Gravis Marketing
July 24–29, 2018
884
± 3.3%
42%
35%
23%
with Kerri Evelyn Harris and Gene Truono
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size
Margin of error
Kerri Evelyn Harris (D)
Gene Truono (R)
Undecided
Gravis Marketing
July 24–29, 2018
884
± 3.3%
40%
37%
23%
Results
Results by Precinct: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% 90-100% 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80%
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
See also
References
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a
b
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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a
b
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^
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^
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^
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^
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Tweet ). Retrieved July 17, 2018 – via
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
a
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^
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^
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b
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a
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^
a
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^
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^
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^
a
b
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a
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^
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^
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^
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^ Tom Carper for Delaware (October 29, 2018).
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^ Patriot Majority (October 23, 2018).
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^
"ENDORSEMENTS" .
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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