A general election was held in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
on November 4, 2014. Half of Delaware's executive officers were up for election as well as a
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
seat and Delaware's at-large seat in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
.
Primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
s were held on September 9, 2014. , this was the last time Republicans won any statewide election in Delaware.
Federal
Senate
Incumbent Democratic Senator
Chris Coons
Christopher Andrew Coons (born September 9, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Delaware since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Coons served as the county executive of New Castle Cou ...
, who was elected in a
2010 special election, ran for re-election to a first full term in office.
He faced Republican businessman Kevin Wade and Green Party computer science professor Andrew Groff in the general election,
both of whom were their respective parties nominees for Delaware's other U.S. Senate seat
in 2012. Coons was re-elected with 56% of the vote to Wade's 42% and Groff's 2%
House of Representatives
Delaware has a single
at-large congressional district. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative
John Carney, who has represented the state in Congress since 2011, ran for re-election to a third term in office.
Carney faced Republican Rose Izzo, Green Bernie August and Libertarian Scott Gesty in the general election.
He was re-elected with 59% to Izzo's 37%, August's 2% and Gesty's 2%.
State
Constitutional officers
Attorney General
Incumbent
Democratic Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Beau Biden
Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III (February 3, 1969 – May 30, 2015) was an American politician, lawyer, and officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from Wilmington, Delaware. The oldest child of current U.S. president Joe Bid ...
did not run for re-election to a third term in office. He was instead going to run for
Governor of Delaware
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
in the
2016 election to succeed term-limited Democratic Governor
Jack Markell
Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician who currently serves as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He previously served as the 73rd governor of Delaware from 2 ...
, but he died of brain cancer on May 30, 2015, at the age of 46.
Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
The lieutenant governor of Delaware is the second ranking executive officer of the U.S. state of Delaware. Lieutenant governors are elected for a term of four years in the same general election as the U.S. president and take office the following ...
Matthew Denn
Matthew P. Denn (born February 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician from New Castle County, Delaware. He served as the 45th attorney general of Delaware from 2015 until 2019. Denn previously served as the 25th lieutenant governor of Dela ...
was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings had considered running, but decided not to and endorsed Denn.
The
Republicans attempted to recruit former
United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
for the
District of Delaware Colm Connolly
Colm Felix Connolly (born October 18, 1964) is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. He formerly served as United States Attorney for the District of Delaware.
Biography and ...
. He considered running, but declined to do so. The Republican nominee was corporate attorney Ted Kittila, who was unopposed for his party's nomination.
Also running were
Independent Party nominee David Graham, a tax auditor, former Republican candidate for Governor and Attorney General and the Independent Party-endorsed write-in candidate for Governor
in 2012;
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
nominee Catherine Damavandi, who served as a Deputy Attorney General of Delaware from 2000 to 2014; and Libertarian John Machurek, a candidate for the State House in 2012.
Treasurer
Incumbent Democratic
State Treasurer
In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...
Chipman L. Flowers, Jr. had planned to run for re-election to a second term in office, but after being dogged by controversy through his term in office over his use of office credit cards and travel spending and his clashes with Governor Markell and the state Cash Management Policy Board, he announced his withdrawal from the race on August 15, 2014. However, he filed a withdrawal form that was postdated to withdraw him from the race on August 28, which meant that he couldn't be removed from the ballot until that date, a move which drew criticism. His failure to withdraw in time meant that his name appeared on absentee ballots and though his name was covered at polling places, he did still receive some votes. The Democratic primary was won by Sean Barney, a former policy director for Governor Markell and former adviser to U.S. Senator
Tom Carper
Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Delaware, having held the seat si ...
, who had announced his candidacy before Flowers had attempted to run for re-election.
Two individuals ran for the Republican party's nomination, money manager
Ken Simpler
Kenneth A. Simpler is an American politician. He was Delaware State Treasurer from 2015 to 2019. He is the last Republican to win a statewide race in Delaware.
Education
Simpler attended high school at St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delawar ...
and
Sher Valenzuela
Cheryl "Sher" Valenzuela is an American small-business owner and politician. She was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware in 2012 and unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for State Treasurer of Delaware in ...
, former Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2012. The Republican primary campaign was a bitter one, marked by infighting and with outside spending behind both candidates, who criticised each other frequently.
Also running was Green Party nominee David Chandler, a mathematics professor at the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...
.
Simpler's win meant that he became the first non-incumbent Republican to win a statewide election in Delaware since 1994.
Auditor of Accounts
Incumbent Republican
Auditor of Accounts
The Vermont State Auditor of Accounts is one of six constitutional officers in Vermont, elected statewide every two years. The Office provides an independent and objective assessment of Vermont's governmental operations.
The current Auditor is ...
R. Thomas Wagner, Jr. ran for re-election to a seventh full term in office. He was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Two Democrats ran for their party's nomination: Certified Public Accountant and candidate for Auditor
in 2010 Kenneth Matlusky; and businesswoman, attorney and former executive director of the Delaware Democratic Party Brenda Mayrack.
General Assembly
Senate
House of Representatives
References
{{2014 United States elections
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...