On Tuesday, Delaware primary voters headed to the polls to cast their ballot for local and statewide candidates.
While primaries typically see fewer voters than on Election Day, turnout did not appear to be higher this year, despite the state auditor’s race.
In June, a Kent County jury found Auditor Kathy McGuiness guilty of three misdemeanors − conflict of interest, structuring and official misconduct − in connection with an investigation that began in spring 2020. Last month, a judge upheld the two guilty verdicts against McGuiness for hiring her daughter, but threw out a separate misdemeanor conviction for rigging a state contract in an illegal manner.
McGuiness, who is the only statewide-elected official in Delaware’s history to be charged with and found guilty by a jury of crimes while in office, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. She’s also refused to step down, despite calls for her to do so.
BACKGROUND:State auditor has two criminal guilty verdicts upheld, one tossed ahead of election
Her opponent Lydia York has been endorsed by the state Democratic Party, with the party on Tuesday again tweeting its support of York. It urged residents to vote for York to “restore integrity to the auditor’s office.”
While this race may have been the most-watched, Tuesday’s primary included more than a dozen General Assembly races and a number of local elections. Many longtime state lawmakers faced challengers.
Polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Here’s what voters had to say.
Several key statehouse races remain close
Several key statehouse races remain close, with at least one possibly resulting in a recount.
As of 10:30 p.m., House Majority Whip John “Larry” Mitchell, who faced his first primary challenger since being elected in 2006, had received about 48.1% of the vote to DeShanna Neal‘s 51.8% for District 13 representative.
Neal is a progressive candidate who became an LGBTQ advocate following their daughter Trinity’s transition, which Delaware Online/The News Journal documented.
For the District 14 senate seat, Kyra Hoffner, a lobbyist with the League of Women Voters, led with 33.8% of the vote. She is battling four others for the seat.
Two Wilmington representatives also faced primary challengers, both of whom entered the race in July.
Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha, who represents District 1, faced Shané Darby, currently Wilmington city councilwoman. As of 10:30 p.m., the two were neck-and-neck, with Chukwuocha less than two percentage points ahead.
Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden, who has represented District 2 for more than a decade, was challenged by James Taylor, who works for the state Department of Finance’s Office of Unclaimed Property. Bolden’s win appears apparent, given she received 60.24% of the vote with 508 out of 513 precincts reporting.
Statewide, about 12.17% of voters turned out, according to the Department of Elections’ 10:30 p.m. update.
Republican challenger upsets longtime Sen. Colin Bonini
Sen. Colin Bonini, a conservative Dover Republican who has been in office for nearly 30 years, lost the primary to Republican Eric Buckson. With 508 of 513 precincts reporting, Buckson had 51.11% of the vote, while Bonini had 21.75%.
Buckson, who is currently a commissioner on Kent County Levy Court, is the son of former Gov. David P. Buckson.
Bonini, who famously has never voted for the state budget, is a supporter of former President Donald Trump. In addition to Buckson, he faced Kim Petters for the District 16 senate seat.
In an emailed statement Tuesday night, Bonini congratulated Buckson “for his victory and to Kim for a hard-fought race.”
Petters, an Air Force Veteran, rose to prominence when she spoke out against school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. With 508 precincts reporting, she had 27.14% of the vote.
McGuiness concedes to York in auditor’s race, York says
McGuiness telephoned York, the projected primary winner, to concede the race, York told Delaware Online/The News Journal.
York said she was “still overwhelmed” by the win, adding it’s “quite heartening to know that there was this swell of support for me.”
“I think a lot of voters today wanted to make it clear that misfeasance in office should not be rewarded,” York said. “(Voters) needed to have a choice. And specifically a choice for someone who was (not) tangled up in the criminal justice system.”
AP calls auditor race for Lydia York
Around 9:15 p.m. with nearly 75% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press projected York the winner of the state auditor’s race. She had received about 69.5% of the votes, while McGuiness had received about 30.5%.
Precincts begin reporting − slowly
About 45 minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m., 130 of 513 precincts had reported. According to the Department of Elections website, 13,360 out of 571,219, or 2.34%, of registered voters had their ballots counted by then.
President Joe Biden travels to Wilmington to vote in primary
Biden traveled to Wilmington on Tuesday night to cast his ballot in Delaware’s primary race, he told White House reporters.
According to Biden’s travel schedule, he was expected to be in Delaware for about an hour. Polls closed at 8 p.m. He is flying back to Delaware on Air Force One, according to reports.
Eden Support Services, Bear
Only one person was voting around 4 p.m. at Eden Support Services in Bear, next to the busy Route 40 and Route 7 intersection.
Five poll workers munched on chips as they waited for voters to trickle in. It had been about 30 minutes since the last voter came in, and overall “not many” turned out on Tuesday, the workers said.
For many residents in the area, this polling place was new. For more than a quarter-century, Red Lion United Methodist Church, located a couple of miles away, had been the place to vote. But area residents were mailed new cards a couple of months ago instructing them to vote at Eden Support Services going forward.
— Brad Myers
More than 45,000 Delawareans have voted so far
As of early Tuesday afternoon, more than 45,000 people had voted in the primary election, according to state data.
To vote in Delaware’s primary, residents must be registered to a party. This means to vote for Republican candidates, one must be a registered Republican voter, and likewise for Democrats.
As of Sept. 1, a total of 362,002 people were registered with the Democratic Party, and 209,358 people are registered with the Republican Party, according to the Department of Elections. These numbers are likely to increase since, for the first time ever, Delawareans can register to vote on Election Day.
This primary election includes significant changes to the ways Delawareans can vote this year.
The General Assembly recently passed legislation that allows registered voters to mail in their ballots after requesting them from the Department of Elections. It was a significant win for Democrats, who for years have tried to pass similar election reforms.
It’s unclear how much this will boost voter turnout, which tends to lag in non-presidential election years. In 2018, Delaware saw a Democratic voter turnout of 25.38% and Republican turnout of 19.66%, according to state data.
The major difference between vote by mail and absentee is that absentee ballots are intended for voters who can’t be at their polling location on Election Day. In Delaware, you are required to provide a reason why you need to vote absentee.
To vote by mail, any registered voter can request a ballot from the state at least a week before the election.
Here’s a breakdown of voter turnout as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to state election officials.
Total number of votersNew Castle: 17,615Kent: 8,518Sussex: 19,386Statewide: 45,519
Votes by voting methodStatewideAbsentee: 10,481Early voting: 4,819Polling place: 28,739Vote by mail: 1,480
New Castle CountyAbsentee: 4,563Early voting: 1,384Polling place: 10,824Vote by mail: 844
Kent CountyAbsentee: 1,808Early voting: 812Polling place: 5,721Vote by mail: 177
Sussex CountyAbsentee: 4,110Early voting: 2,623Polling place: 12,194Vote by mail: 459
Thomas Edison Charter School, Wilmington
Tuesday afternoon brought a “slow but steady” crowd to the polls, according to poll worker Karen Randolph. By about 2:30 p.m., the polling place had seen 48 residents stop by. They chose between James J. Taylor and incumbent Stephanie Bolden as state representative for the 2nd District.
Outside the polling place, campaign signs for both candidates boasted various taglines, including “Experience Matters” in support of Bolden’s sixth term.
Randolph said the recent redistricting of the Wilmington area could have misled voters, causing them to visit multiple different polling centers until they found the right one.
“A lot of people don’t know,” Randolph said. “People don’t think it’s important so they just won’t come out, but it’s critical to vote now so you can have who you want to vote for in November.”
— Molly McVety
North Dover Elementary School, Dover
You could count on one hand the number of voters at North Dover Elementary School a few minutes before 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Polling inspector Arthur Paul, who oversees the voting process and the other election officials, said traffic had been light all day.
For those who still hadn’t voted in the primary, Paul encouraged them to not snooze on the opportunity.
“If you vote, you get a chance to say something about what’s happening,” he said. “Otherwise, you shouldn’t be saying anything.”
— Andre Lamar
Smyrna and Clayton, Delaware
At two polling sites in the Smyrna-Clayton area, turnout was light at lunchtime with no lines.
Only six people exited the Clayton Fire Hall from 12:10 to 12:25 p.m., and at Smyrna Middle School from 12:30 to 12:45 p.m., seven people exited the polling place.
One of those voters was Larry Lowman, who said casting his ballot in the primary was “very important” to him.
“It’s one of your duties, your responsibility as a citizen,” Lowman said.
— Ben Mace
North Georgetown Elementary School, Georgetown
Around noon at the North Georgetown Elementary School polling place, Russell McCabe, Georgetown Councilperson Angela Townsend and Carol Conroy were the only people present. Townsend was voting, while McCabe and Conroy encouraged voters to vote for Sussex County Councilman John Rieley in the Republican primary.
— Shannon McNaught
Downes Elementary School, Newark
Auditor candidate Lydia York stood outside Downes Elementary School in Newark to greet the slow trickle of voters coming to cast their ballots at 11:30 a.m. She’d already visited polling places in Lewes and Dover and planned to travel to locations in New Castle and Wilmington later in the day.
Turnout in Sussex County wasn’t great Tuesday morning because of storms, York said, but voter participation has been consistent overall − an impressive feat, considering it’s an off-year primary.
“This is kind of tough to get folks out for, but I think broadly speaking that it’s a good turnout,” York said.
She expects greater turnout as primary day progresses and people get off work. And while she’ll have to wait until the official results come in to say for certain, she said the expressions of voters she’s encountered so far have her feeling hopeful.
If she ends up losing the race to McGuiness, York said a lack of awareness of the primary and less focus on the news − especially that of the legal case surrounding McGuiness − may be the reasons. Either way, “the rest of the mechanism government’s going to have to wheel into action.”
— Hannah Edelman
Cape Henlopen High School, Lewes
While traffic was slightly backed up on Kings Highway heading to Cape Henlopen High School, the polling site had a steady flow of voters a little bit after 11 a.m.
One poll worker said she was surprised by the turnout, but if she had one reminder for voters, it would be to double-check their polling place. Because voting districts changed, some people showed up at the wrong site, she said.
Even with a little bustle at Cape Henlopen High − including some high school seniors getting their portraits taken − the voting process was quick and required almost no wait.
— Emily Lytle
Elsmere Fire Company Hall, Elsmere
Just after 10 a.m., the liquor store that shares the parking with Elsmere’s polling location was busier than the polling place itself. Poll workers said 21 people had voted, but they were expecting more after daytime work hours.
They noted that early voting had also impacted in-person voting numbers.
— Anitra Johnson
Springer Middle School, Talleyville
Springer Middle School in Talleyville was largely quiet Tuesday morning, with only two people voting around 8:45 a.m. About 45 minutes later, several more people were casting their vote, though poll workers outnumbered voters.
— Isabel Hughes
Rehoboth Beach Fire Station, Rehoboth Beach
McGuiness was one of the first in line to vote at Rehoboth Beach Fire Station in Sussex County on Tuesday morning. Voting was delayed a short while as a result of a severe thunderstorm that had passed through the area earlier in the morning.
McGuiness greeted other voters in line and put up signs as she waited and as election workers got ready to welcome voters.
By 10:30 a.m., the crowd had thinned out. Campaigners for Russ Huxtable were all smiles as the sun finally made an appearance following a cloudy morning.
— Emily Lytle and photojournalist Chuck Snyder
Reporters Bill Bretzger, Krys’tal Griffin, Hannah Edelman, Anitra Johnson, Andre Lamar, Emily Lytle, Ben Mace, Shannon McNaught and Meredith Newman contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Return to delawareonline.com for updates.
