2020 United States Senate election in Delaware
(Redirected from United States Senate election in Delaware, 2020)
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The 2020 United States Senate election in Delaware was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Delaware, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
Incumbent Democratic senator Chris Coons ran for reelection to a second full term and won against Republican challenger Lauren Witzke with 59.4% of the vote. He outperformed Democratic presidential nominee and former Delaware Senator Joe Biden (whose seat Coons was elected to in a 2010 special election) by 0.7 percentage points, compared to the concurrent presidential election.[1] Coons also won Kent County, a swing county, for the first time in his senatorial career.
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Nominee
[edit]- Chris Coons, incumbent U.S. senator[2][3][4]
Eliminated in primary
[edit]Withdrawn
[edit]- Scott Walker, Republican nominee for Delaware's at-large congressional district in 2018 (running for governor as a Republican)[7][8][9][10][11]
Declined
[edit]- Kerri Evelyn Harris, former candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2018[12][13]
- Lisa Blunt Rochester, incumbent U.S. representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district[14] (running for re-election)
Endorsements
[edit]Chris Coons
U.S. vice presidents
- Joe Biden, 47th Vice President of the United States (2009-2017), United States Senator from Delaware (1973-2009), Democratic nominee for the 2020 election[15]
State executives
- Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware (2009-2017), Treasurer of Delaware (1999-2009)[16]
State legislators
- Margaret Rose Henry, Member of the Delaware Senate from the 2nd District (1994-2019), Majority Leader of the Delaware Senate (2017-2019)[17]
- Sean Lynn, Member of the Delaware House of Representatives from the 31st district (2014-present)[18]
- Nicole Poore, Majority Leader of the Delaware Senate (2009-present), Member of the Delaware Senate from the district 12 (2013-present)[19]
Individuals
- Sarah McBride, LGBTQ rights activist, National Press Secretary of the Human Rights Campaign and candidate for the Delaware State Senate[20]
Organizations
- 314 Action[21]
- American Bankers Association[22]
- Brady Campaign[23]
- Council for a Livable World[24]
- Delaware AFL-CIO[25]
- Delaware Bankers Association[22]
- Delaware Building and Construction Trades[26]
- Delaware Stonewall PAC[25]
- Democratic Majority for Israel[27]
- End Citizens United[28]
- Everytown for Gun Safety[29]
- Giffords[30]
- Human Rights Campaign[31]
- Humane Society of the United States Legislative Fund[32]
- Jewish Democratic Council of America[33]
- Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs[34]
- League of Conservation Voters[35]
- Moms Demand Action[36]
- NARAL Pro-Choice America[37]
- Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund[38]
- Planned Parenthood[39]
- Pro-Israel America[40]
- Sierra Club[41]
Jessica Scarane
State legislators
- John Kowalko, Member of the Delaware House of Representatives from the 25th district (2006-present)[42]
Organizations
Political parties
Polling
[edit]Hypothetical head-to-head polling
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with Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chris Coons
with Chris Coons and more liberal female Democrat
|
Results
[edit]
Coons—70–80%
Coons—60–70%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chris Coons (incumbent) | 87,332 | 72.85% | |
| Democratic | Jessica Scarane | 32,547 | 27.15% | |
| Total votes | 119,879 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Nominee
[edit]Eliminated in primary
[edit]- James DeMartino, attorney and nominee for the Delaware House of Representatives in 2016 & 2018[51]
Declined
[edit]- Rob Arlett, former Sussex County councilman and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018[52]
Endorsements
[edit]James DeMartino
Lauren Witzke
U.S. representatives
- Paul Gosar, U.S. representative from Arizona (2011–present)[55]
Individuals
- Nick Fuentes, white nationalist activist[56][57]
Results
[edit]
Witzke—60–70%
Witzke—50–60%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lauren Witzke | 30,702 | 56.89% | |
| Republican | James DeMartino | 23,266 | 43.11% | |
| Total votes | 53,968 | 100.00% | ||
Other candidates
[edit]Libertarian Party
[edit]Nominee
[edit]Independent Party of Delaware
[edit]Nominee
[edit]- Mark Turley, small business owner[59]
General election
[edit]Prior to the election, Chris Coons' re-election was considered to be a near certainty regardless of the Republican challenger. The choice of Lauren Witzke, a controversial extremist and believer of QAnon, as the nominee, only cemented this prediction. Networks declared Coons the winner as soon as voting ended, based on exit polling alone. Coons also outperformed Biden (who also once held this Senate seat) in terms of percentage, but underperformed in terms of raw vote, likely due to the lack of third-party Senate candidates.
Predictions
[edit]| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[60] | Solid D | October 29, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[61] | Safe D | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[62] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos[63] | Safe D | October 30, 2020 |
| Politico[64] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| RCP[65] | Safe D | October 23, 2020 |
| DDHQ[66] | Safe D | November 3, 2020 |
| 538[67] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| Economist[68] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
Endorsements
[edit]Chris Coons (D)
U.S. vice presidents
- Joe Biden, 47th Vice President of the United States (2009–2017), United States Senator from Delaware (1973–2009), Democratic nominee for the 2020 election[15]
State executives
- Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware (2009–2017), Treasurer of Delaware (1999–2009)[16]
State legislators
- Margaret Rose Henry, Member of the Delaware Senate from the 2nd District (1994–2019), Majority Leader of the Delaware Senate (2017–2019)[17]
- Sean Lynn, Member of the Delaware House of Representatives from the 31st district (2014-present)[18]
- Nicole Poore, Majority Leader of the Delaware Senate (2009-present), Member of the Delaware Senate from the district 12 (2013-present)[19]
Individuals
- Sarah McBride, LGBTQ rights activist, National Press Secretary of the Human Rights Campaign and candidate for the Delaware State Senate[20]
Labor unions
Organizations
- 314 Action[21]
- American Bankers Association[22]
- Brady Campaign[23]
- Council for a Livable World[24]
- Delaware AFL-CIO[25]
- Delaware Bankers Association[22]
- Delaware Building and Construction Trades[26]
- Delaware State Education Association[70]
- Delaware Stonewall PAC[25]
- Democratic Majority for Israel[27]
- End Citizens United[28]
- Everytown for Gun Safety[29]
- Giffords[30]
- Human Rights Campaign[31]
- Humane Society of the United States Legislative Fund[32]
- Jewish Democratic Council of America[33]
- Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs[34]
- League of Conservation Voters[35]
- Moms Demand Action[36]
- NARAL Pro-Choice America[37]
- National Education Association[71]
- Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund[38]
- Planned Parenthood[39]
- Pro-Israel America[40]
- Sierra Club[41]
Lauren Witzke (R)
Members of U.S. Congress
- Paul Gosar, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona (2011–present)[55]
Individuals
- Nick Fuentes, far-right political commentator, podcaster and white nationalist[72]
Polling
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Chris Coons (D) |
Lauren Witzke (R) |
Other/ Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Delaware[73] | September 21–27, 2020 | 847 (LV) | – | 57% | 27% | 17%[e] |
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chris Coons (incumbent) | 291,804 | 59.44% | +3.61% | |
| Republican | Lauren Witzke | 186,054 | 37.90% | −4.33% | |
| Independent Party | Mark Turley | 7,833 | 1.59% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Nadine Frost | 5,244 | 1.07% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 490,935 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
By county
[edit]By county
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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic[75] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - ^ After being presented with a liberal set of arguments regarding Chris Coons
- ^ After being presented with a conservative set of arguments regarding Chris Coons
- ^ Voting intention without being presented with any arguments regarding Chris Coons
- ^ "None/other/undecided" with 11%; Turley (DI) with 4%; Frost (L) with 2%
References
[edit]- ^ Rakich, Nathaniel (December 2, 2020). "There Wasn't That Much Split-Ticket Voting In 2020". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Schor, Elana; Everett, Burgess (May 8, 2018). "Meet the GOP's favorite Democrat". Politico.
- ^ "Chris Coons, U.S. Senator for Delaware". Chris Coons.
- ^ "COONS, CHRISTOPHER A. – Candidate overview". FEC.gov.
- ^ Dayen, David (November 17, 2019). "Centrist Senator Chris Coons Faces Primary Challenge in Delaware". The American Prospect.
- ^ "Jessica Scarane | Democrat for U.S. Senate". Jessica Scarane | Democrat for U.S. Senate.
- ^ Rob Petree (November 8, 2018). "Scott Walker thanks Sussex County, announces 2020 run against Coons". Archived from the original on October 5, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- ^ "Fmr. House Candidate Scott Walker suspends longshot Democratic presidential campaign, says he's writing book". Delaware 105.9 FM. June 13, 2019. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ "Austin Auen on Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- ^ "Scott Walker, Democrat again, to wield his homemade signs against Chris Coons for Senate". Delaware Online. October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- ^ "State of Delaware - Department of Elections · Office of the State Election Commissioner". elections.delaware.gov.
- ^ "Team Kerri on Facebook". www.facebook.com.
- ^ Schmidt, Sophia (December 7, 2018). "Kerri Harris reflects on her U.S. Senate run and its impact". delawarepublic.org.
- ^ "Data for Progress" (PDF).
- ^ a b Levine, Marianne (June 23, 2020). "The Biden whisperer in the Senate". POLITICO.
- ^ a b Markell, Jack Markell and Carla. "Jack and Carla Markell: We must re-elect Chris Coons to represent Delaware". The News Journal.
- ^ a b Delaware, HOY en (August 18, 2020). "Retired State Sen. Margaret Rose Henry endorses US Sen. Chris Coons".
- ^ a b "Sen. Chris Coons is a man of action". Cape Gazette.
- ^ a b Delaware, HOY en (September 3, 2020). "Sen. Chris Coons endorsement".
- ^ a b "Lit Drop for Chris Coons & Sarah McBride! · Chris Coons for Delaware". Mobilize.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Endorsed Candidates — 314actionfund". 314 Action. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "ABA and the Delaware Bankers Association Join to Release New Ads Thanking Sen. Chris Coons". www.aba.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
- ^ a b "Brady Endorses Delaware Sen. Chris Coons for Re-Election". Brady Campaign. February 20, 2020.
- ^ a b "Latest predictions on control of the Senate next year". Council for a Livable World. October 22, 2020. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Delaware AFL-CIO".
- ^ a b "Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council".
- ^ a b "Democratic Majority for Israel". DMFI PAC.
- ^ a b Muller, Tiffany (January 21, 2020). "End Citizens United Endorses 39 Candidates 10 Years After Citizens United Decision". End Citizens United.
- ^ a b "Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Endorses Senator Chris Coons for U.S. Senate". Everytown. June 30, 2020.
- ^ a b "Giffords Endorses Slate of Senators Running to Bring a Gun Safety Majority to the US Senate". Giffords. May 8, 2020.
- ^ a b "Human Rights Campaign Announces Pro-Equality Leaders for U.S. Senate". HRC. August 14, 2020.
- ^ a b Society, Humane. "2020 Endorsements". Humane Society Legislative Fund.
- ^ a b "2020 Endorsements". Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "Meet the 2020 Candidates". Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Connnon, Courtnee (May 27, 2020). "LCV Action Fund Endorses Senator Chris Coons for Re-Election". League of Conservation Voters.
- ^ a b "Everytown For Gun Safety Action Fund Announces New U.S. House and Senate Endorsements". Moms Demand Action. June 30, 2020.
- ^ a b "NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)". NARAL Pro-Choice America. September 3, 2020.
- ^ a b "Six Environmental Champions Win NRDC Action Fund Endorsements". nrdcactionfund.org. May 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "2020 Endorsements". plannedparenthoodaction.org. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^ a b "Endorsements – Pro-Israel America". proisraelamerica.org. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "Sierra Club #ClimateVoter Guide: Endorsements". Sierra Club.
- ^ Kowalko, John. "For Delaware, Jess Scarane is the right choice for U.S. senator". The News Journal.
- ^ "Jessica Scarane for U.S. Senate 2020 - Brand New Congress". Brand New Congress. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ a b "Jess Scarane Wants To "Create a Government That Puts People Over Profit"". Jacobin Magazine.
- ^ "Our 2020 Endorsements - Working Families". workingfamilies.org/.
- ^ a b Data for Progress
- ^ a b "2020 State Primary Election Report". Delaware.gov. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ "Political newcomer with QAnon ties, Lauren Witzke, wins GOP U.S. Senate primary in Delaware". CBS News. September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Republican nominee for US Senate in Delaware has repeatedly promoted QAnon conspiracy theory, once called self 'flat earther'". Chicago Tribune. September 17, 2020.
- ^ Sommer, Will (September 16, 2020). "New QAnon-Allied GOP Senate Candidate Also Pushed Anti-Semitism, Flat Earthism, and 9/11 Conspiracies". The Daily Beast.
- ^ Shannon, Josh (July 23, 2020). "Candidate slate set for Delaware's fall election". Newark Post Alone. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
- ^ "Arlett For Delaware" – via Facebook.[non-primary source needed][permanent dead link]
- ^ "Delaware Colonial Region Republicans". www.facebook.com.
- ^ Gamard, Sarah. "Delaware Republican Party makes endorsements amid contention between members, candidates". The News Journal.
- ^ a b "Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) Endorses White Nationalist Senate Candidate with Nazi-Sympathizing Campaign Manager". Learn who's fueling antisemitism. May 11, 2020.
- ^ Associated Press and Haaretz (September 18, 2020). "Delaware GOP Primary Winner Linked to QAnon, White Nationalist Nick Fuentes". Haaretz. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Sommer, Will (September 16, 2020). "New QAnon-Allied GOP Senate Candidate Also Pushed Anti-Semitism, Flat Earthism, and 9/11 Conspiracies". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ "State of Delaware - Department of Elections · Office of the State Election Commissioner". elections.delaware.gov. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Mueller, Sarah (October 23, 2019). "Independent party candidate challenges Sen. Coons in 2020". delawarepublic.org.
- ^ "2020 Senate Race Ratings for October 29, 2020". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Senate race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Senate Race Ratings". Daily Kos Elections. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Election Forecast". Politico. November 19, 2019.
- ^ "Battle for the Senate 2020". RCP. October 23, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Senate Elections Model". Decision Desk HQ. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ Silver, Nate (September 18, 2020). "Forecasting the race for the Senate". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Forecasting the US elections". The Economist. November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ "IFPTE Releases Its 2020 Congressional Endorsements". ifpte.org. International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. July 6, 2020. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ "Info". www.dsea.org. Retrieved November 12, 2020.(subscription required)
- ^ "U.S. Senate - Education Votes". educationvotes.nea.org.
- ^ Craven, Julia (September 16, 2020). "Meet Lauren Witzke, the QAnon-Friendly Senate Nominee in Delaware". Slate Magazine.
- ^ University of Delaware
- ^ "2020 General Election Report". Delaware Department of Elections. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
- ^ "Delaware U.S. Senate Election Results". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
External links
[edit]- Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Delaware", Voting & Elections Toolkits
- "Delaware: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
- "League of Women Voters of Delaware". (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
- Delaware at Ballotpedia
Official campaign websites