More than 75,000 Delawareans have already cast their vote in this year’s midterm election and thousands more are expected to hit the polls on Tuesday.
While the election is an important one nationally with Republicans expected to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives ‒ it remains a tossup which party will control the U.S. Senate ‒ races in the First State this year are largely uncontroversial.
This differs from the 2020 election, where a Delaware man was vying for the presidency and Lauren Witzke was attempting to unseat U.S. Sen. Chris Coons. (Only one of them was successful).
UNSURE WHERE TO VOTE?Find your polling place
Incumbents U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Attorney General Kathy Jennings are expected to win handily on Tuesday, and while every lawmaker in the General Assembly is up for reelection this year due to redistricting, the political makeup of Delaware’s legislature also likely won’t change much.
“With Delaware such a blue state, there may be some insulation for a lot of these races,” Paul Brewer, a University of Delaware political science professor, previously told Delaware Online/The News Journal.
WHERE TO FIND ELECTION RESULTS:2022 Delaware Election Results
Elsewhere across the country, both close to Delaware and farther away, however, there are a number of hot races that many are watching.
Pennsylvania races to watch
In neighboring Pennsylvania, all eyes are on the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races.
The outcome of the Senate race, between Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz, could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, ultimately affecting issues like abortion rights and the economy, among others.
For the governor’s race, Democratic candidate and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro faces Doug Mastriano, a far-right Trump-endorsee who has supported the former president’s lies that the election was stolen.
MIDTERMS ARE HERE:Midterms are less than a week away. Here are the key races in Delaware
Maryland races to watch
In Maryland, bestselling author Wes Moore, who would become the state’s first Black governor if elected, is facing another Trump endorsee, Dan Cox. Cox has also promoted the former president’s lies about the election. During the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, Cox tweeted that Vice President Mike Pence was a “traitor.”
Moore is seen as the favorite to clinch the gubernatorial election in Maryland.
New York races to watch
To Delaware’s north, it’s unlikely that the traditionally blue state of New York will look much different after Tuesday. Still, the governor’s race between Gov. Kathy Hochul ‒ the state’s first female governor who took over following disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation last year ‒ and Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin isn’t a shoo-in.
Hochul’s lead over Trump-backed Zeldin has narrowed in recent weeks, according to Politico’s election forecast.
Georgia races to watch
Many eyes are on Georgia’s governor’s race this year, a repeat matchup between Gov. Brian Kemp and gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams.
Recent polls show Kemp ‒ no longer the overseer of Georgia’s elections as he was during the 2018 race ‒ leading by seven percentage points. Still, Abrams was able to mobilize many voters in 2018, something she hopes to carry with her this year.
KEMP VS ABRAMS:In second debate, Georgia candidates Kemp and Abrams argue over abortion, gun control
Just as anticipated, though slightly more contentious, is Georgia’s U.S. Senate race.
Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock is facing Trump-backed Herschel Walker, an anti-abortion advocate who, in recent weeks, has repeatedly denied that he paid for two women to have abortions years ago. The women recently came forward with the claims that Walker impregnated them and then paid for the medical procedures.
Earlier in his campaign, Walker revealed that he fathered four children by four different women, a striking contrast to his public admonishments about absentee fathers and his previous contention that he had three children, USA Today reported.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the race is quite close, with Walker leading Warnock by about one percentage point.
Arizona races to watch
Arizona’s gubernatorial race remains a toss-up, but it will be closely watched.
Polls are showing election denier Kari Lake slightly ahead of incumbent Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs, though that may not mean much. The veracity of polls often depends on what entity is conducting them, what their methods are and whether they have a partisan lean.
POLLS AREN’T ALWAYS ACCURATE:Polls in Arizona’s Senate and governor’s races: Don’t count on them
The outcome of the gubernatorial race will have important implications ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Lake, a former local Fox News anchor who now markets herself as an anti-media Republican, has repeatedly reiterated the baseless claim that Trump won the 2020 election in Arizona. She’s also said she would not have certified President Joe Biden’s election if she were governor at the time.
Florida races to watch
As in many other states, Florida’s key contests are the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.
Incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will likely be a presidential contender in 2024, is facing off against Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor-turned-Democrat who represented Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives until August of this year. He resigned to focus on the governor’s race.
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On the U.S. Senate side of the midterms, Republican Marco Rubio, a senator since 2011, is facing off against Democrat Val Demings. Polls show Rubio with a more than eight percentage point lead.
Ohio races to watch
This election cycle, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan ‒ who is vying for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat ‒ has out-raised many other Senate hopefuls across the nation.
READ:Tim Ryan is raising more than J.D. Vance. Can he counter national GOP spending?
Yet it remains to be seen whether Ryan’s cash flow will be enough to secure him the race against Trump-backed Republican J.D. Vance.
Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_
