2020 United States Senate election in Delaware

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.

See also: 2020 United States Senate elections

2020 United States Senate election in Delaware

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Nominee Chris Coons Lauren Witzke Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 291,804 186,054 Percentage 59.44% 37.90%

County results Precinct results Coons:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Witzke:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      No data

U.S. senator before election Chris Coons Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Chris Coons Democratic

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

Candidates

Nominee

• Chris Coons, incumbent U.S. senator^[2][3][4]

Eliminated in primary

• Jessica Scarane, technology executive^[5][6]

Withdrawn

• 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

• 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

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

• Brand New Congress^[43]
• Democratic Socialists of America^[44]
• Sunrise Movement - Newark Hub^[44]

Political parties

• Working Families Party^[45]

Polling

Hypothetical head-to-head polling

with Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chris Coons Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 1] Margin of error Lisa Blunt Rochester Chris Coons Undecided Data for Progress[46] November 15–25, 2019 528 (LV) ± 6.1% 31% 35% 34% with Chris Coons and more liberal female Democrat Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 1] Margin of error Chris Coons More liberal female Democrat Undecided Data for Progress[46] November 15–25, 2019 528 (LV) ± 6.1% 24%[lower-alpha 2] 45% 31% 32%[lower-alpha 3] 36% 32% 32%[lower-alpha 4] 36% 33%

Results

Results by county:

  Coons—70–80%

  Coons—60–70%

Democratic primary results^[47]

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

Candidates

Nominee

• Lauren Witzke, far-right activist and proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory^[48][49][50]

Eliminated in primary

• James DeMartino, attorney and nominee for the Delaware House of Representatives in 2016 & 2018^[51]

Declined

• Rob Arlett, former Sussex County councilman and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018^[52]

Endorsements

James DeMartino

Organizations

• Delaware Colonial Region Republicans^[53]

Political parties

• Republican State Committee of Delaware^[54]

Lauren Witzke

U.S. representatives

• Paul Gosar, U.S. representative from Arizona (2011–present)^[55]

Individuals

• Nick Fuentes, white nationalist activist^[56][57]

Results

Results by county:

  Witzke—60–70%

  Witzke—50–60%

Republican primary results^[47]

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

Libertarian Party

Nominee

• Nadine Frost, Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018^[58]

Independent Party of Delaware

Nominee

• Mark Turley, small business owner^[59]

General election

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

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

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

• International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers^[69]

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

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Chris Coons (D)	Lauren Witzke (R)	Other/ Undecided
University of Delaware[73]	September 21–27, 2020	847 (LV)	–	57%	27%	17%[lower-alpha 5]

Results

United States Senate election in Delaware, 2020^[74]

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

By county

County Chris Coons Democratic Lauren Witzke Republican Mark Turley IPoD Nadine Frost Libertarian Margin Total votes # % # % # % # % # % Kent 43,893 51.65 38,571 45.39 1,553 1.83 958 1.13 5,322 6.26 84,975 New Castle 191,774 68.62 80,081 28.65 4,277 1.53 3,330 1.19 111,693 39.97 279,462 Sussex 56,137 44.38 67,402 53.28 2,003 1.58 956 0.76 -11,265 -8.90 126,498 Totals 291,804 59.44 186,054 37.90 7,833 1.60 5,244 1.07 105,750 21.54 490,935 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic[75] Kent (largest municipality: Dover)

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. After being presented with a liberal set of arguments regarding Chris Coons
3. After being presented with a conservative set of arguments regarding Chris Coons
4. Voting intention without being presented with any arguments regarding Chris Coons
5. "None/other/undecided" with 11%; Turley (DI) with 4%; Frost (L) with 2%

References

1. Rakich, Nathaniel (December 2, 2020). "There Wasn't That Much Split-Ticket Voting In 2020". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
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6. "Jessica Scarane | Democrat for U.S. Senate". Jessica Scarane | Democrat for U.S. Senate.
7. 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.
8. "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.
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12. "Team Kerri on Facebook". www.facebook.com.
13. Schmidt, Sophia (December 7, 2018). "Kerri Harris reflects on her U.S. Senate run and its impact". delawarepublic.org.
14. "Data for Progress" (PDF).
15. Levine, Marianne (June 23, 2020). "The Biden whisperer in the Senate". POLITICO.
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27. "Democratic Majority for Israel". DMFI PAC.
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29. "Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Endorses Senator Chris Coons for U.S. Senate". Everytown. June 30, 2020.
30. "Giffords Endorses Slate of Senators Running to Bring a Gun Safety Majority to the US Senate". Giffords. May 8, 2020.
31. "Human Rights Campaign Announces Pro-Equality Leaders for U.S. Senate". HRC. August 14, 2020.
32. Society, Humane. "2020 Endorsements". Humane Society Legislative Fund.
33. "2020 Endorsements". Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
34. "Meet the 2020 Candidates". Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs.^{[permanent dead link]}
35. Connnon, Courtnee (May 27, 2020). "LCV Action Fund Endorses Senator Chris Coons for Re-Election". League of Conservation Voters.
36. "Everytown For Gun Safety Action Fund Announces New U.S. House and Senate Endorsements". Moms Demand Action. June 30, 2020.
37. "NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)". NARAL Pro-Choice America. September 3, 2020.
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45. "Our 2020 Endorsements - Working Families". workingfamilies.org/.
46. Data for Progress
47. "2020 State Primary Election Report". Delaware.gov. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
48. "Political newcomer with QAnon ties, Lauren Witzke, wins GOP U.S. Senate primary in Delaware". CBS News. September 16, 2020.
49. "Republican nominee for US Senate in Delaware has repeatedly promoted QAnon conspiracy theory, once called self 'flat earther'". Chicago Tribune. September 17, 2020.
50. Sommer, Will (September 16, 2020). "New QAnon-Allied GOP Senate Candidate Also Pushed Anti-Semitism, Flat Earthism, and 9/11 Conspiracies". The Daily Beast.
51. Shannon, Josh (July 23, 2020). "Candidate slate set for Delaware's fall election". Newark Post Alone. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
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53. "Delaware Colonial Region Republicans". www.facebook.com.
54. Gamard, Sarah. "Delaware Republican Party makes endorsements amid contention between members, candidates". The News Journal.
55. "Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) Endorses White Nationalist Senate Candidate with Nazi-Sympathizing Campaign Manager". Learn who's fueling antisemitism. May 11, 2020.
56. Associated Press and Haaretz (September 18, 2020). "Delaware GOP Primary Winner Linked to QAnon, White Nationalist Nick Fuentes". Haaretz. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
57. 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.
58. "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.
59. Mueller, Sarah (October 23, 2019). "Independent party candidate challenges Sen. Coons in 2020". delawarepublic.org.
60. "2020 Senate Race Ratings for October 29, 2020". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
61. "2020 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
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65. "Battle for the Senate 2020". RCP. October 23, 2020.
66. "2020 Senate Elections Model". Decision Desk HQ. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
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69. "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.
70. "Info". www.dsea.org. Retrieved November 12, 2020.(subscription required)
71. "U.S. Senate - Education Votes". educationvotes.nea.org.
72. Craven, Julia (September 16, 2020). "Meet Lauren Witzke, the QAnon-Friendly Senate Nominee in Delaware". Slate Magazine.
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External links

• 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

• Chris Coons (D) for Senate
• Mark Turley (I) for Senate
• Lauren Witzke (R) for Senate