The 2010 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware was held on November 2, 2010, to determine who would represent the state of Delaware in the United States House of Representatives for the 112th United States Congress. Democratic nominee former Lieutenant Governor, John Carney defeated Republican nominee Glen Urquhart, giving Delaware an all Democratic congressional delegation for the first time since before the 1942 midterms.Elections 2010:Delaware This is the first open-seat election since 1992 and only the second since 1976.
Background
The state of Delaware is completely contained in a single at-large district. The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+7. Since 1993, the district had been represented by Republican Michael Castle.
Castle announced in 2009 he would run for the United States Senate seat held by Ted Kaufman (D) who had been appointed to the seat when his predecessor, Joe Biden (D), resigned to become Vice President. Castle was defeated by Christine O'Donnell in the Delaware Republican Senate primary.
Democratic primary Candidates John Carney, former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
Results Carney announced his candidacy on April 15, 2009, and was unopposed in the primary after Scott Spencer, a transportation consultant, dropped out.
Republican primary Candidates Glen Urquhart, businessman Michele Rollins, businesswoman and former Miss District of Columbia USA and former Miss World America 1963 Rose Izzo, columnist
Results
General election Campaign According to a September 2010 poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind, "likely voters in Delaware split 45%-40% on whether they prefer[ed] to have the U.S. Congress controlled by the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, suggesting that the First State's open congressional seat might be hotly contested," yet in the same poll, Carney led Urquhart by 51%-36%."Delaware Republicans Losing House Seat," FDU PublicMind, Oct. 5, 2010. Retrieved 2/24/11. Peter Woolley, the poll director, remarked that "candidates matter, not just parties" and that in Delaware candidates matter "more than in most states."
Polling Poll source Date(s) administered GlenUrquhart (R) JohnCarney (D)Monmouth UniversityMonmouth University October 25–27, 2010 44% 51%Fairleigh DickinsonFairleigh Dickinson October 20–26, 2010 36% 53%Monmouth UniversityMonmouth University October 8–11, 2010 44% 53%Fairleigh DickinsonFairleigh Dickinson September 27 – October 3, 2010 36% 51%University of DelawareUniversity of Delaware September 16–30, 2010 31% 48%Wilson Research Strategies September 27–28, 2010 41% 45%Grove InsightGrove Insight September 15–18, 2010 32% 50%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling September 11–12, 2010 37% 48%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling August 7–8, 2010 30% 48%
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 1, 2010 Rothenberg November 1, 2010 Sabato's Crystal BallCrystal Ball, November 1, 2010RCPRealClearPolitics, November 1, 2010CQ PoliticsOctober 28, 2010New York Times November 1, 2010FiveThirtyEight November 1, 2010
Results
By county CountyJohn CarneyDemocraticGlen UrquhartRepublicanAll Others#%#%#%New Castle121,76465.5%60,40432.5%3,8072.1%Kent23,17347.3%24,51750.1%1,2632.6%Sussex28,60640.5%40,52157.3%1,5812.2% Totals173,54356.8%125,44241.0%6,6512.2% Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic New Castle (largest city: Wilmington)
References
External links Election Commissioner at the Delaware Secretary of State Official candidate listings U.S. Congress candidates for Delaware at Project Vote Smart Delaware U.S. House from OurCampaigns.com Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Delaware from OpenSecrets 2010 Delaware General Election graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
House - Delaware from the Cook Political Report from CQ Politics Race profile at The New York Times Election 2010 at The News Journal