Snyder-Hall tops Simpler to win District 14 seat
Claire Snyder-Hall knocked on a lot of doors for her primary win, and she kept on knocking to lock up the win Nov. 5 for the 14th District representative seat formerly held by Pete Schwartzkopf.
“After we won the primary we continued knocking on doors, and I was specifically focusing on independents,” Snyder-Hall said. “It’s a different population, but a lot of them said they were going to vote blue all the way down this year.”
In unofficial results posted on the Department of Elections website, she defeated Republican Mike Simpler with about 54% of the vote, 9,630-7,990.
As the new 14th District representative, who will immediately take office the day after election, Snyder-Hall said she wants to work with her colleagues to get a constitutional amendment to secure early voting, vote by mail and same-day registration, and remove Jim Crow-era language such as a literacy requirement.
She also supports bringing a medical school to the state. “We’re so short on healthcare providers,” she said.
The lack of doctors and healthcare providers in the area was the No. 1 concern Snyder-Hall said she heard from constituents.
“Both of those are long-term plans, so I’d want to get started right away on that,” she said.
Gruenebaum ousts Schaeffer
Democratic newcomer Jane Gruenebaum ousted incumbent Republican Mark Schaeffer for the District 3 Sussex County Council seat by a 20,615-17,057 unofficial vote.
From the joint election night venue at the Listening Booth in Lewes that Gruenebaum shared with Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, she said she knew challenging an incumbent would be a steep hill to climb, but she also knew how upset people in the county were about overdevelopment.
Gruenebaum thanked everyone who helped make her campaign a success.
“This was an amazing campaign run by the people of Sussex County, not the builders of Sussex County,” she said. “We are going to bring the change to county council we promised we would bring.”
Gruenebaum will join newcomers Matt Lloyd (District 1) and Steve McCarron (District 2) on council after Lloyd defeated Council President Mike Vincent and McCarron topped incumbent Cindy Green in the September primary. Neither Republican had a Democratic challenger in the general election.
Parker Selby wins tight race
Rep. Stell Parker Selby, D-Milton, kept her representative seat for District 20 by 245 votes over Republican newcomer Nikki Miller.
She addressed her supporters at Irish Eyes in Lewes, but there was no clear winner by the time the party ended.
"Thank you to everyone in this room for the support. No matter what the results are, I'm still going to be a mouthpiece here in Delaware," she said
The unofficial results show she won 8,857-8,612.
Huxtable keeps Senate seat
Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, retained his Senate seat with about 54% of the vote, beating Republican challenger Kim Hoey Stevenson 20,211-16,971.
He said he is looking forward to spending time with his family now that the results were released.
“We did this because community matters. Community is what this campaign has been about. It’s about working together to create the community we want to grow in,” he told his supporters at the Listening Booth.
Other races
Republicans had more success in other central and northern Sussex County races.
Rep. Bryan Shupe of Milford retained his seat with an easy victory over Democratic challenger Rony Baltazar-Lopez, winning more than 62% of the vote in the District 36 race.
Rep. Jeff Hilovsky of Long Neck also earned re-election, defeating Democrat Gregg Lindner in the District 4 race with 58% of the vote.
Rep. Rich Collins of Millsboro continues to have a stranglehold on District 41, topping Democrat Tom Brett with 64% of the vote.
New faces
Democrats secured all state races for governor, lieutenant governor and insurance commissioner, as well as the open seats for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Matt Meyer and Kyle Evans Gay took about 56% of the vote for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, defeating Republicans Mike Ramone and Ruth Briggs King.
“Ours is a campaign that under the old Delaware Way was given little chance of success. The insiders had chosen their candidate and were celebrating their path to more of the same,” Meyer said during his victory speech at the Chase Center in Wilmington. “But then we – an extraordinary team from across our state – came together and engaged Delawareans in a discussion about our potential, about the opportunities and innovations that are possible.”
In a joint statement, Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola, Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend and Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman congratulated Evans Gay for her win.
“We are extraordinarily proud of our colleague, Kyle Evans Gay, as she becomes our next lieutenant governor,” they said. “Her dynamic, issues-focused campaign inspired voters across our state to envision a brighter future for the next generation of Delawareans.”
Lisa Blunt Rochester took about 56% of votes to win the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Tom Carper. When sworn in, she will be the first female and first Black senator to represent the First State. She’ll be joined in Senate chambers by Democrat Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland, marking the first time in history two Black women will serve as senators at the same time.
“We are a country that is strengthened over time by the soul and sacrifice of all who serve – and all who came before us,” Blunt Rochester said during her victory speech in Wilmington. “So, as I prepare to step foot on that trail blazed by the three strong Black women senators who came before us – Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Laphonza Butler – I have a message to the young people who are standing up, speaking up and giving [their] all for our country and the world – I see you, I’m grateful for you, and you’ve got next!”
Sarah McBride took about 57% of the vote to win Blunt Rochester’s open seat in Congress. She will be the first transgender person to serve in Congress.
“Tonight is a testament to Delawareans: that here in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities,” she told her supporters.
Trinidad Navarro took about 58% of the vote to retain his seat as insurance commissioner.
Following the defeat to Meyer, Ramone issued a statement thanking his supporters and committing to making Delaware the best state to live, work, raise a family, start a business and retire.
“I am proud of the race we ran,” he said. “We prioritized Delaware, not politics. We focused on people, not soundbites. And, we highlighted the importance of bringing balance back to Dover. I congratulate Matt Meyer for winning tonight’s race, and I hope to be a voice of reason for years to come.”
Republicans lose a House seat
Republicans lost the District 21 seat held by Mike Ramone, who ran for governor. Democrat Frank Burns won the seat. Other new Democrats are Melanie Ross Levin in District 10, who replaces Sean Matthews who didn’t run for re-election; Kamela T. Smith, who was unchallenged for the District 15 seat after beating Speaker of the House Rep. Valerie Longhurst in the September primary; and Mara Gorman, who was unchallenged in replacing Paul Baumbach in District 23.
The loss of Ramone’s seat leaves Republicans with 14 seats to the Democrats’ 27.
The Department of Elections has no information yet on when a special election will be held for the Senate District 1 and District 5 seats that were held by McBride and Evans Gay.
Voter turnout
Statewide, about 48% of people who participated in the election cast their ballots either early or by absentee ballot. However, in the eastern Sussex County races for the House, Senate and county council, about 87% of people who voted did so early or via absentee ballot. Statewide, voter turnout was 65.74%.
To see unofficial results and photographs from candidates’ watch parties, go to https://tinyurl.com/3u3zcswf.
Staff writers Chris Flood and Bill Shull contributed to this story
