The deadline to file for both the September 15 primary election and the November 3 general election was July 14. Several candidates are facing primary challengers in September.
U.S. Senator Chris Coons will face Jeff Appelhans, E No-Trump Hansen and Mary Louve in the Democratic primary while Dr. Michael “Mike” Katz and John Shulli will vie for the Republican nomination. For the United States Representative seat, Joseph “Dr. Joe” Arminio, Earl L. Cooper, Lee Murphy and John J. Whalen are running for the Republican nomination. The winner of that race will face sitting Representative Sarah McBride.
As for Delaware statewide offices, Dwayne J. Bensing, Kathy Jennings and Patty Rickman are running for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General. There is no republican challenger. Lydia York will remain Auditor of Accounts as she has no challenger in either the primary or general election.
Ted Lauzen, Mike Miller and Michael Alexander Smith are running for the Democratic nomination during the primary for State Treasurer. The winner of that race will face Republican Michael Ramone in the general election.
For local representative races, Matt Bucher will face Morgan Hudson for Republican District 33. The winner of that race will face Joshua Pennington. This seat was vacated when Representative Charles Postles announced he would retire at the end of his term.
For the 36 Representative District, the incumbent Bryan Shupe will once again face Patrick Smith in the primary. This is the third time the two have faced off in the primary with Smith losing the last election by 11 votes. The winner of that primary will face Andrew “Andy” Gorlich in the general election.
Currently missing from the list of General election candidates was Julie Morris who announced her candidacy as an independent for the 36th district earlier this year. Although questions arose about Morris’ ability to run as she had changed her residence to a home on East Street, which is the 33rd district, as of a month ago, Morris was still seeking signatures on a petition to run. Because she is running as an independent, Morris must file prior to September 1 to be placed on the general election ballot.
In Delaware, an independent candidate must complete a petition signed by no less than one percent of the total number of registered voters for the district office they seek. The signatures must be collected between January 1 and July 15. According to the Department of Elections, there are about 19,000 registered voters in the 36th and about 23,000 in the 33rd.
The deadline to register to vote in the primary is Saturday, August 22. The last day to request a primary election absentee ballot to be mailed is Friday, September 11, 2026. Absentee ballots for the primary election must be received by September 15 by 8 PM when polls close.
Primary early election dates and times are September 2 through 5 from 7 AM to 7 PM; September 8 from 7 AM to 7 PM; September 9 through 13 from 11 AM to 7 PM.
