Delaware held the last primary of the 2026 midterm cycle this week, closing out a nomination season that stretched from June into September under a state law requiring primaries on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in September.
The state has only one U.S. Senate seat and one U.S. House seat on the ballot this year, both currently held by Democrats.
House race set
Rep. Sarah McBride, the state’s at-large representative, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. On the Republican side, Joseph Arminio won his party’s nomination with 4,397 votes, or 43.1 percent, according to preliminary results reported when about 28 percent of the vote had been counted. John Whalen III finished second with 3,411 votes (33.4 percent), and Earl Cooper took 2,398 votes (23.5 percent). Arminio will face McBride on November 3.
Senate race set
Sen. Chris Coons faced a Democratic primary challenge from several candidates, including businessman Eric Hansen, who appeared on the ballot as “E. No-Trump Hansen.” Coons’s challengers collectively drew barely 10 percent of the vote.
On the Republican side, Michael Katz, a former Democratic state lawmaker who ran as an independent in 2024 before switching to the Republican Party, won the primary and will face Coons in the general election on November 3.
Delaware has not sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1966, when J. Caleb Boggs held the seat for one term before losing to a 29-year-old Joe Biden, who at the time became the youngest person ever elected to the Senate.
DSA gains in legislative races
Down the ballot, candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America performed strongly in state legislative primaries. DSA-backed candidate Shay Frisby was reported leading an incumbent state senator by 12 points, and progressive challenger Adriana Bohm was unexpectedly ahead of another incumbent state senator. Both candidates received endorsements from Gov. Matt Meyer.
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