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2020 United States Senate election in Delaware

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Nominee Chris Coons Lauren Witzke Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 291,804 186,054 Percentage 59.44% 37.90%

County results Precinct resultsCoons:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Witzke:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      No data

U.S. senator before election Chris Coons Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Chris Coons Democratic

Elections in Delaware
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The 2020 United States Senate election in Delaware was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Delaware, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Democratic senator Chris Coons ran for reelection to a second full term and won against Republican challenger Lauren Witzke with 59.4% of the vote. He outperformed Democratic presidential nominee and former Delaware Senator Joe Biden (whose seat Coons was elected to in a 2010 special election) by 0.7 percentage points, compared to the concurrent presidential election. Coons also won Kent County, a swing county, for the first time in his senatorial career.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chris Coons, incumbent U.S. senator

Eliminated in primary

• Jessica Scarane, technology executive

Withdrawn

• Scott Walker, Republican nominee for Delaware's at-large congressional district in 2018 (running for governor as a Republican)

Declined

• Kerri Evelyn Harris, former candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2018
• Lisa Blunt Rochester, incumbent U.S. representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district (running for re-election)

Endorsements

U.S. vice presidents

• Joe Biden, 47th Vice President of the United States (2009-2017), United States Senator from Delaware (1973-2009), Democratic nominee for the 2020 election

State executives

• Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware (2009-2017), Treasurer of Delaware (1999-2009)

State legislators

• Margaret Rose Henry, Member of the Delaware Senate from the 2nd District (1994-2019), Majority Leader of the Delaware Senate (2017-2019)
• Sean Lynn, Member of the Delaware House of Representatives from the 31st district (2014-present)
• Nicole Poore, Majority Leader of the Delaware Senate (2009-present), Member of the Delaware Senate from the district 12 (2013-present)

Individuals

• Sarah McBride, LGBTQ rights activist, National Press Secretary of the Human Rights Campaign and candidate for the Delaware State Senate

Organizations

• 314 Action
• American Bankers Association
• Brady Campaign
• Council for a Livable World
• Delaware AFL-CIO
• Delaware Bankers Association
• Delaware Building and Construction Trades
• Delaware Stonewall PAC
• Democratic Majority for Israel
• End Citizens United
• Everytown for Gun Safety
• Giffords
• Human Rights Campaign
• Humane Society of the United States Legislative Fund
• Jewish Democratic Council of America
• Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs
• League of Conservation Voters
• Moms Demand Action
• NARAL Pro-Choice America
• Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund
• Planned Parenthood
• Pro-Israel America
• Sierra Club

State legislators

• John Kowalko, Member of the Delaware House of Representatives from the 25th district (2006-present)

Organizations

• Brand New Congress
• Democratic Socialists of America
• Sunrise Movement - Newark Hub

Political parties

• Working Families Party

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Lauren Witzke, far-right activist and proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory

Eliminated in primary

• James DeMartino, attorney and nominee for the Delaware House of Representatives in 2016 & 2018

Declined

• Rob Arlett, former Sussex County councilman and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018

Endorsements

Organizations

• Delaware Colonial Region Republicans

Political parties

• Republican State Committee of Delaware

U.S. representatives

• Paul Gosar, U.S. representative from Arizona (2011–present)

Individuals

• Nick Fuentes, white nationalist activist

Results

Other candidates

Libertarian Party

Nominee

• Nadine Frost, Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018

Independent Party of Delaware

Nominee

• Mark Turley, small business owner

General election

Prior to the election, Chris Coons' re-election was considered to be a near certainty regardless of the Republican challenger. The choice of Lauren Witzke, a controversial extremist and believer of QAnon, as the nominee, only cemented this prediction. Networks declared Coons the winner as soon as voting ended, based on exit polling alone. Coons also outperformed Biden (who also once held this Senate seat) in terms of percentage, but underperformed in terms of raw vote, likely due to the lack of third-party Senate candidates.

Predictions

Endorsements

U.S. vice presidents

• Joe Biden, 47th Vice President of the United States (2009–2017), United States Senator from Delaware (1973–2009), Democratic nominee for the 2020 election

State executives

• Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware (2009–2017), Treasurer of Delaware (1999–2009)

State legislators

• Margaret Rose Henry, Member of the Delaware Senate from the 2nd District (1994–2019), Majority Leader of the Delaware Senate (2017–2019)
• Sean Lynn, Member of the Delaware House of Representatives from the 31st district (2014-present)
• Nicole Poore, Majority Leader of the Delaware Senate (2009-present), Member of the Delaware Senate from the district 12 (2013-present)

Individuals

• Sarah McBride, LGBTQ rights activist, National Press Secretary of the Human Rights Campaign and candidate for the Delaware State Senate

Labor unions

• International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers

Organizations

• 314 Action
• American Bankers Association
• Brady Campaign
• Council for a Livable World
• Delaware AFL-CIO
• Delaware Bankers Association
• Delaware Building and Construction Trades
• Delaware State Education Association
• Delaware Stonewall PAC
• Democratic Majority for Israel
• End Citizens United
• Everytown for Gun Safety
• Giffords
• Human Rights Campaign
• Humane Society of the United States Legislative Fund
• Jewish Democratic Council of America
• Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs
• League of Conservation Voters
• Moms Demand Action
• NARAL Pro-Choice America
• National Education Association
• Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund
• Planned Parenthood
• Pro-Israel America
• Sierra Club

Members of U.S. Congress

• Paul Gosar, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona (2011–present)

Individuals

• Nick Fuentes, far-right political commentator, podcaster and white nationalist

Polling

Results

By county

Notes

1. ^ Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. After being presented with a liberal set of arguments regarding Chris Coons
3. After being presented with a conservative set of arguments regarding Chris Coons
4. Voting intention without being presented with any arguments regarding Chris Coons
5. "None/other/undecided" with 11%; Turley (DI) with 4%; Frost (L) with 2%

References

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7. Rob Petree (November 8, 2018). "Scott Walker thanks Sussex County, announces 2020 run against Coons". Archived from the original on October 5, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
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13. Schmidt, Sophia (December 7, 2018). "Kerri Harris reflects on her U.S. Senate run and its impact". delawarepublic.org.
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15. ^ Levine, Marianne (June 23, 2020). "The Biden whisperer in the Senate". POLITICO.
16. ^ Markell, Jack Markell and Carla. "Jack and Carla Markell: We must re-elect Chris Coons to represent Delaware". The News Journal.
17. ^ Delaware, HOY en (August 18, 2020). "Retired State Sen. Margaret Rose Henry endorses US Sen. Chris Coons".
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External links

• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Delaware", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Delaware: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of Delaware". (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• Delaware at Ballotpedia

Official campaign websites

• Chris Coons (D) for Senate
• Mark Turley (I) for Senate
• Lauren Witzke (R) for Senate

• United States Senate elections in Delaware
• 2020 United States Senate elections
• 2020 Delaware elections