2012 Delaware Senate election

← 2010

November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06)

2014 →

All 21 seats in the Delaware Senate
11 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Leader	Tony DeLuca (lost re-nomination)	Gary Simpson
Party	Democratic	Republican
Leader since	January 8, 2009	January 8, 2009
Leader's seat	11th – Brookside	18th – Milford
Last election	14	7
Seats before	14	7
Seats after	13	8
Seat change	1	1
Popular vote	225,241	127,505
Percentage	62.50%	35.38%

Results:
Democratic gain Republican gain
Democratic hold Republican hold

President pro tempore before election

Tony DeLuca
Democratic

Elected President pro tempore

Patti Blevins
Democratic

The 2012 Delaware Senate election was held on November 6, 2012 to elect all 21 members of the Delaware Senate. The election coincided with the elections for other offices, including the Presidency, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Governor, and state house. The primary election was held on September 11, 2012.^[1]

Open seats

District 6: Republican incumbent and Minority Whip Liane Sorenson is retiring.^[2]

District 20: Democratic incumbent George Bunting is retiring.^[3]

Results summary

District	Incumbent		Elected Senator
1	Harris McDowell III	Dem	Harris McDowell III	Dem
2	Margaret Rose Henry	Dem	Margaret Rose Henry	Dem
3	Robert Marshall	Dem	Robert Marshall	Dem
4	Michael Katz	Dem	Gregory Lavelle	Rep
4	Liane Sorenson^[a]	Rep	Gregory Lavelle	Rep
5	Catherine Cloutier	Rep	Catherine Cloutier	Rep
6	New Seat		Ernesto Lopez	Rep
7	Patti Blevins	Dem	Patti Blevins	Dem
8	David Sokola	Dem	David Sokola	Dem
9	Karen Peterson	Dem	Karen Peterson	Dem
10	Bethany Hall-Long	Dem	Bethany Hall-Long	Dem
11	Tony DeLuca	Dem	Bryan Townsend	Dem
12	Dorinda Connor	Rep	Nicole Poore	Dem
13	David McBride	Dem	David McBride	Dem
14	Bruce Ennis	Dem	Bruce Ennis	Dem
15	David Lawson	Rep	David Lawson	Rep
16	Colin Bonini	Rep	Colin Bonini	Rep
17	Brian Bushweller	Dem	Brian Bushweller	Dem
18	Gary Simpson	Rep	Gary Simpson	Rep
19	Joseph Booth	Rep	Brian Pettyjohn	Rep
20	George Bunting	Dem	Gerald Hocker	Rep
21	Robert Venables Sr.	Dem	Robert Venables Sr.	Dem

Party		Candi- dates	Votes		Seats
Party		Candi- dates	No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Democratic	19	225,241	62.50%	13	1	61.90%
	Republican	13	127,505	35.38%	8	1	38.10%
	Independent	3	4,734	1.31%	0		0.00
	Libertarian	6	2,887	0.80%	0		0.00
Total		41	360,367	100%	21		100

Popular vote

Democratic			62.50%
Republican			35.38%
Independent			1.31%
Libertarian			0.80%

Senate seats

Democratic			61.90%
Republican			38.10%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Governing^[4]	Safe D	October 24, 2012

Detailed results

^[5]^[6]

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Harris McDowell III has represented the 1st district since 1977.

Delaware Senate 1st district Democratic primary election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harris McDowell III (incumbent)	2,342	52.24%
	Democratic	David D. Brady	1,613	35.98%
	Democratic	James Martin	528	11.78%
Total votes			4,483	100%

Delaware Senate 1st district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harris McDowell III (incumbent)	15,155	85.31%
	Independent Party	Robert Clark	2,054	11.56%
	Libertarian	Bryan Lintz	555	3.12%
Total votes			17,764	100%
	Democratic hold

District 2

Incumbent Democrat Margaret Rose Henry has represented the 2nd district since 1994.

Delaware Senate 2nd district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Margaret Rose Henry (incumbent)	15,197	100%
Total votes			15,197	100%
	Democratic hold

District 3

Incumbent Democrat Robert Marshall has represented the 3rd district since 1979.

Delaware Senate 3rd district Democratic primary election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Marshall (incumbent)	2,504	62.21%
	Democratic	Eric M. Anderson	912	22.66%
	Democratic	Timothy J. Meades Sr.	609	15.13%
Total votes			4,025	100%

Delaware Senate 3rd district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Marshall (incumbent)	12,322	100%
Total votes			12,322	100%
	Democratic hold

District 4

The new 4th district includes the homes of incumbent Democrat Michael Katz, who has represented the 4th district since 2009, and Republican Liane Sorenson, who has represented the 6th district since 1995. Sorenson didn't seek re-election. Katz lost re-election here to Republican Gregory Lavelle.

Delaware Senate 4th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gregory Lavelle	11,970	50.79%
	Democratic	Michael Katz (incumbent)	11,188	47.47%
	Libertarian	Marcia Groff	410	1.74%
Total votes			23,568	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 5

Incumbent Republican Catherine Cloutier has represented the 5th district since 2001.

Delaware Senate 5th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Catherine Cloutier (incumbent)	12,912	56.20%
	Democratic	Christopher R. Counihan	10,062	43.80%
Total votes			22,974	100%
	Republican hold

District 6

The new 6th district is based in the Cape Region in costal Sussex County, and includes Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, and Milton. The district has no incumbent. Republican Ernesto Lopez won the open seat.

Delaware Senate 6th district Democratic primary election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Andrew W. Staton	2,088	58.05%
	Democratic	Robert G. Frederick	814	22.63%
	Democratic	Micheal C. Miller Sr.	695	19.32%
Total votes			3,597	100%

Delaware Senate 6th district Republican primary election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ernesto Lopez	2,163	54.87%
	Republican	Glen Urquhart	1,779	45.13%
Total votes			3,942	100%

Delaware Senate 6th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ernesto Lopez	13,603	56.12%
	Democratic	Andrew W. Staton	10,352	42.70%
	Libertarian	Gwendolyn M. Jones	286	1.18%
Total votes			24,241	100%
	Republican win (new seat)

District 7

Incumbent Democrat Patti Blevins has represented the 7th district since 1991.

Delaware Senate 7th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patti Blevins (incumbent)	13,756	92.35%
	Libertarian	James Christina	1,139	7.65%
Total votes			14,895	100%
	Democratic hold

District 8

Incumbent Democrat David Sokola has represented the 8th district since 1991.

Delaware Senate 8th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Sokola (incumbent)	10,099	60.71%
	Republican	William Stritzinger	6,535	39.29%
Total votes			16,634	100%
	Democratic hold

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Karen Peterson has represented the 9th district since 2003.

Delaware Senate 9th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Karen Peterson (incumbent)	13,941	100%
Total votes			13,941	100%
	Democratic hold

District 10

Incumbent Democrat Bethany Hall-Long has represented the 10th district since 2009.

Delaware Senate 10th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bethany Hall-Long (incumbent)	16,498	100%
Total votes			16,498	100%
	Democratic hold

District 11

Incumbent Democratic President pro tempore Tony DeLuca has represented the 11th district since 1999. DeLuca lost re-nomination to fellow Democrat Bryan Townsend. Townsend won the general election.

Delaware Senate 11th district Democratic primary election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bryan Townsend	1,441	57.76%
	Democratic	Tony DeLuca (incumbent)	1,054	42.24%
Total votes			2,495	100%

Delaware Senate 11th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bryan Townsend	12,860	78.37%
	Republican	Evan Queitsch	3,550	21.63%
Total votes			16,410	100%
	Democratic hold

District 12

Incumbent Republican Dorinda Connor has represented the 12th district since 1997. Connor lost re-election to Democrat Nicole Poore.

Delaware Senate 12th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nicole Poore	12,875	60.29%
	Republican	Dorinda Connor (incumbent)	8,170	38.26%
	Libertarian	Brad Thomas	310	1.45%
Total votes			21,355	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 13

Incumbent Democratic Majority Leader David McBride has represented the 13th district since 1979.

Delaware Senate 13th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David McBride (incumbent)	14,444	100%
Total votes			14,444	100%
	Democratic hold

District 14

Incumbent Democrat Bruce Ennis has represented the 14th district since 2007.

Delaware Senate 14th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bruce Ennis (incumbent)	12,031	61.12%
	Republican	Scott Unruh	7,652	38.88%
Total votes			19,683	100%
	Democratic hold

District 15

Incumbent Republican David Lawson has represented the 15th district since 2011.

Delaware Senate 15th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Lawson (incumbent)	9,547	50.58%
	Democratic	Kathleen Cooke	9,004	47.70%
	Independent Party	Catherine Samardza	324	1.72%
Total votes			18,875	100%
	Republican hold

District 16

Incumbent Republican Colin Bonini has represented the 16th district since 1995.

Delaware Senate 16th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Colin Bonini (incumbent)	9,372	79.91%
	Independent Party	Michael Tedesco	2,356	20.09%
Total votes			11,728	100%
	Republican hold

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Brian Bushweller has represented the 17th district since 2009.

Delaware Senate 17th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brian Bushweller (incumbent)	13,161	100%
Total votes			13,161	100%
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Republican Minority Leader Gary Simpson has represented the 18th district since 1999.

Delaware Senate 18th district Republican primary election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gary Simpson (incumbent)	1,515	68.03%
	Republican	Matthew A. Opaliski	712	31.97%
Total votes			2,227	100%

Delaware Senate 18th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gary Simpson (incumbent)	13,198	100%
Total votes			13,198	100%
	Republican hold

District 19

Incumbent Republican Joseph Booth has represented the 19th district since 2009. Booth lost re-nomination to fellow Republican Eric Bodenweiser. Bodenweiser later withdrew from the general election and was replaced on the ballot by Brian Pettyjohn. Pettyjohn won the general election.

Delaware Senate 19th district Republican primary election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Bodenweiser	1,736	52.75%
	Republican	Joseph Booth (incumbent)	1,555	47.25%
Total votes			3,291	100%

Delaware Senate 19th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brian Pettyjohn^[b]	9,817	59.78%
	Democratic	Jane E. Hovington	6,605	40.22%
Total votes			16,422	100%
	Republican hold

District 20

Incumbent Democrat George Bunting has represented the 20th district since 1997. Bunting retired and Republican Gerald Hocker won the open seat.

Delaware Senate 20th district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gerald Hocker	14,290	67.96%
	Democratic	Richard Eakle	6,736	32.04%
Total votes			21,026	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 21

Incumbent Democrat Robert Venables Sr. has represented the 21st district since 1989.

Delaware Senate 21st district general election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Venables Sr. (incumbent)	8,955	55.86%
	Republican	Bryant Richardson	6,889	42.97%
	Libertarian	John F. Potter	187	1.17%
Total votes			16,031	100%
	Democratic hold

v t e Elections in Delaware
General	1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1982 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
Delaware Senate	2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
Delaware House	2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
Governor	1777 1778 1781 1783 1786 1789 1792 1795 1798 1801 1804 1807 1810 1813 1816 1819 1820 (sp) 1822 (sp) 1823 (sp) 1826 1829 1832 1836 1840 1844 1846 (sp) 1850 1854 1858 1862 1866 1870 1874 1878 1882 1886 1890 1894 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. President	1788–89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate Class 1	1788 1790 1795 (sp) 1797 1802 (sp) 1803 1809 1810 (sp) 1815 1822 1824 (sp) 1827 1830 (sp) 1832 1836 (sp) 1839 1841 (sp) 1845 1849 (sp) 1851 (sp) 1851 1857 1863 1864 (sp) 1869 (sp) 1869 1875 1881 1885 (sp) 1887 1893 1899 1903 (sp) 1905 1906 (sp) 1911 1916 1922 (sp) 1922 1928 1934 1940 1946 1952 1958 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012 2018 2024
U.S. Senate Class 2	1788 1793 1798 (sp) 1799 (sp) 1799 1804 (sp) 1805 1811 1813 (sp) 1817 1823 1824 (sp) 1827 (sp) 1829 1835 1837 (sp) 1841 1847 1853 1857 (sp) 1858 1864 1870 1876 1883 1889 1895 1897 (sp) 1901 1903 (sp) 1907 1913 1918 1924 1930 (sp) 1930 1936 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2010 (sp) 2014 2020 2026
U.S. House	1789 1790 1792 1794 1796 1798 1802 1804 1805 (sp) 1806 1808 1810 1812 1814 1816 1818 1820 1822 1822 (sp) 1824 1826 1827 (sp) 1828 1830 1833 1834 1836 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Wilmington mayor	2012 2016 2020 2024
New Castle County Executive	2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
See also: Political party strength in Delaware

v t e (2011 ←) 2012 United States elections (→ 2013)
U.S. President	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Guam (straw poll)
U.S. Senate	Arizona California Connecticut Delaware Florida Hawaii Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
U.S. House (Election ratings)	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona 8th sp Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois 2nd sp Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky 4th sp Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan 11th 11th sp Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey 10th sp New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon 1st sp Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia U.S. Virgin Islands Washington 1st sp West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	American Samoa Delaware Lt. Gov Indiana Missouri Lt. Gov Montana New Hampshire North Carolina Lt. Gov North Dakota Puerto Rico Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia Wisconsin (recall)
Attorneys general	Missouri North Carolina Pennsylvania Washington
Other statewide elections	Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor (recall)
State legislatures	Alaska Senate Arizona Senate California Assembly Senate Connecticut Senate Delaware House Senate Florida House Hawaii House Senate Illinois House Senate Iowa Senate Michigan House Minnesota House Senate Montana House New Mexico House Senate New York Senate North Carolina House Senate Oregon Legislative Assembly Pennsylvania House Senate Texas House Senate Washington House Senate Wisconsin Assembly Senate recalls Wyoming Senate
Mayoral	Alexandria, VA Anchorage, AK Augusta, GA Austin, TX Bakersfield, CA Baton Rouge, LA Cheyenne, WY Corpus Christi, TX Fort Lauderdale, FL Fresno, CA Glendale, AZ Honolulu, HI Huntsville, AL Irvine, CA Juneau, AK Lubbock, TX Mesa, AZ Miami-Dade County, FL Milwaukee, WI Orlando, FL Portland, OR Richmond, VA Riverside, CA Sacramento, CA San Diego, CA San Juan, PR Santa Ana, CA Stockton, CA Virginia Beach, VA Wilmington, DE
Local	Bay County, MI Executive DeKalb County, GA Chief Executive Officer Milwaukee County, WI Executive New Castle County, DE Executive Oakland County, MI Executive Summit County, OH Executive Will County, IL Executive Volusia County, FL Chair
States and territories	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming