The 2018 United States Senate election in Delaware took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Delaware, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
The primary for this U.S. Senate election was held on Thursday, September 6, 2018. The Democratic Party nominated incumbent U.S. Senator Tom Carper and the Republican Party nominated Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett.
Incumbent Democratic Senator Tom Carper was re-elected to a fourth, and ultimately final, term. Despite Carper's victory, Arlett managed to flip Sussex County, typically a reliably Republican county in Delaware. This subsequently marked the first time Carper lost the county since his first election to the Senate in 2000.
Background
Three-term Democratic Senator Tom Carper was reelected with 66% of the vote in 2012 against Republican Kevin Wade.
Carper, the incumbent U.S. senator, was challenged in the Democratic primary by Dover activist Kerri Evelyn Harris. Carper previously faced a primary challenge in the 2012 election from businessman Keith Spanarelli. However, Carper defeated Spanarelli by around 70 points. Carper went on to defeat Harris by around 30 points. It was the most competitive Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Delaware in two decades.
The main declared candidates in the Republican primary were Sussex County councilman Rob Arlett and businessman Gene Truono, with a perennial candidacy from businessman Rocky De La Fuente, who also ran for Senate in seven other states. Another candidate withdrew before the primary. Rob Arlett defeated Gene Truono in a landslide to win the Republican nomination.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Tom Carper, incumbent U.S. senator and 71st governor of Delaware
Eliminated in primary
- Kerri Evelyn Harris, Dover activist and U.S. Air Force veteran
Withdrew
- Tykiem Booker, activist
Declined
- Lisa Blunt Rochester, U.S. representative (ran for re-election)
Endorsements
Debates
Delaware newspaper The News Journal hosted a 90-minute debate on August 27, 2018, for the Democratic primary between Tom Carper and Kerri Evelyn Harris at Cab Calloway School of the Arts. Republican candidate businessman Gene Truono answered questions from panelists before Carper and Harris debated. Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett was also invited, but declined and claimed he had a scheduling conflict.
- Full video of debate, Facebook
Polling
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Rob Arlett, former Sussex County Councilman, and former Delaware State Chairman for the Trump campaign
Eliminated in primary
- Rocky De La Fuente, businessman and perennial candidate
- Gene Truono, businessman and former chief compliance officer at PayPal
Withdrew
- Chuck Boyce, businessman (endorsed Rob Arlett)
Declined
- Ken Simpler, State Treasurer (running for re-election)
- Kevin Wade, businessman and candidate for Senate in 2012 and 2014 (endorsed Rob Arlett)
Endorsements
Debates
Councilman Rob Arlett and businessman Gene Truono had four debates in total. They were normally live streamed on Facebook and uploaded to YouTube. A fifth debate was planned, but Truono withdrew from the debate because he the organizers refused to give him control over what questions could not be asked. Instead organizers held a forum with all the other candidates for the U.S. Senate and other state offices. Five candidates attended that forum.
- First debate, YouTube
- Second debate, Part 1, YouTube
- Second debate, Part 2, YouTube
- Third debate, Part 1, YouTube
- Third debate, Part 2, YouTube
- Fourth debate, YouTube
Polling
Results
Green primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Demitri Theodoropoulos, small business owner
Declined
- Andrew Groff, businessman and perennial candidate
Endorsements
Libertarian primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Nadine Frost, New Castle County chairwoman of Libertarian Party of Delaware and Libertarian nominee for Wilmington City Council in 2016
Independents
Not to be confused with the Independent Party of Delaware, which did not run a candidate for the 2018 United States Senate election.
Candidates
Declared
- Barry Eveland (write-in)
- Todd Farina, ticket company owner (write-in)
- Matthew Water Stout, write-in presidential candidate in 2016 (write-in)
General election
Endorsements
Bold text indicates endorsement was given before the primary.
Debates
with Kerri Evelyn Harris and Gene Truono
On August 20, 2018, the Greater Hockessin Area Development Association (GHADA) hosted a two-hour debate at the Hockessin Memorial Hall between Democratic candidate Kerri Evelyn Harris and Republican candidate Gene Truono. Tom Carper and Rob Arlett were also invited to the debate, but did not attend. Carper was not present because of the U.S. Senate's extended session due to session ceasing early the Thursday prior because of the death of former governor and U.S. Senator of Nevada, Paul Laxalt. Arlett declined and claimed he had a scheduling conflict.
- Full video of debate, Facebook August 20, 2018
with Tom Carper and Rob Arlett
The debate gained national attention after Republican candidate Rob Arlett brought up Democratic senator Tom Carper’s past controversy of domestic abuse.
- Full video of debate, C-SPAN October 17, 2018
with Tom Carper, Rob Arlett, Nadine Frost, and Demitri Theodoropoulos
- Full video of debate, WHYY October 30, 2018
Predictions
Polling
Results
By county
See also
- 2018 United States Senate elections
- Elections in Delaware
References
External links
- Candidates at Vote Smart
- Candidates at Ballotpedia
- Campaign finance at FEC
- Campaign finance at OpenSecrets
Official campaign websites
- Rob Arlett (R) for Senate
- Tom Carper (D) for Senate
- Demitri Theodoropoulos (G) for Senate
