Unofficial results in the Delaware primary indicate that Bryan Shupe will face Andy Gorlich in the general election in November for the 36th Representative District. Shupe received 69.21 percent of the vote with 1,531 votes compared to Smith’s 30.79 percent with 681 votes.
“Two years ago, our community entrusted me with this responsibility by just 12 votes,” Shupe said. “Tonight, to receive 70 percent of the vote is incredibly humbling. I don’t see this as a victory for me, but as an affirmation of the work we’ve done together and the trust our neighbors have placed in me to keep serving them. I’m deeply grateful to every person who voted, volunteered, prayed for our family or simply offered a word of encouragement along the way. I will never take that for granted. Tomorrow, we get right back to work.”
In the 33rd district, Morgan Hudson received 50.17 percent of the vote with 1,017 votes compared to Matt Bucher’s 49.83 percent with 1,010 votes. Hudson/Bucher will face Josh Pennington in the general election. Because the margin is less than 0.5 percent of votes cast, there will be a recount for this election.
In Delaware’s national races, Chris Coons received 77.99 percent of the vote, defeating Jeff Appelhans (10.63 pct), E. No-Trump Hansen (3.85 pct), and Mary Louve (7.53). Dr. Michael “Mike” Katz won the Republican nomination for the office with 77.34 percent of the vote against John Shulli with 22.66 percent.
Joseph “Dr. Joe” Arminio was the unofficial winner in the Republican primary for U.S Representative, receiving 47.86 percent of the vote (18,629 votes), defeating Earl L. Cooper with 19.97 percent (7,772 votes) and John J. Whalen with 32.17 percent (2,703 votes). He will face sitting Representative Sarah McBride in November.
Kathy Jennings received 71.18 percent (61,191 votes) of the vote in the primary against Dwayne J. Bensing who received 23.68 percent (20,359 votes) and Patty Rickman who received 5.14 percent (4,417 votes) of the vote. Jennings will face David C. “Dave” Graham. There is also one qualified write-in candidate, Phil Dyer, Jr.
For State Treasurer, Ted Lauzen received 45.28 percent (38,566) of the vote, defeating Mike Miller who received 32.36 percent of the vote (27,561 votes) and Michael Alexander Smith who received 22.36 percent (19,042). Lauzen will face Republican Micheal Ramone in November. For Auditor of Accounts, voters will choose between Democrat Lydia York, Republican April Callaway and Independent Austin Cassidy.
At the county level, Kent County Recorder of Deeds has Ramona Bracy and Eugenia Thornton facing off in the general election. The Kent County Levy Court At-Large Seat has Terry L. Pepper facing Frank E. Coleman. Sussex County Council District 4 has Justine Cuccia facing Douglas B. Hudson and District 5 with Jill Hicks facing John L. Rieley.
Voter turnout was lower than the last midterms. There are 593,286 registered voters in Delaware. Turnout was at 21.75 percent with 129,031 people voting in the primary. In 2024, turnout was 22.41 percent with 124,763 voters. The general election will be held November 3, 2026.
NOTE: Milford Times has reached out to Patrick Smith, Matt Bucher and Morgan Hudson about the results of the election. This article will be edited when they provide those responses.
