2008 Delaware House of Representatives election

An election was held on November 4, 2008, to elect all 41 members to Delaware's House of Representatives. The election coincided with elections for other offices, including for U.S. President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and state senate. The primary election was held on September 9, 2008.^[1] Democrats regained control of the House after 24 years after gaining seven seats, winning 25 seats compared to 16 seats for the Republicans. Representative Dianna Williams (D - District 6) announced immediately after the election that she would be resigning. A special election was held on December 20, 2008, to fill the seat at which Tom Kovach gained the seat for the Republicans.

2008 Delaware House of Representatives election

← 2006 November 4, 2008 (2008-11-04) 2010 →
All 41 seats in the Delaware House of Representatives 21 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Robert Gilligan Terry Spence (lost re-election) Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 19th - Wilmington 18th- New Castle Last election 18 23 Seats before 19 22 Seats won 25 16 Seat change 6 6 Popular vote 208,990 156,832 Percentage 56.87% 42.68%
Results:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold
Speaker before election Terry Spence Republican Elected Speaker Robert Gilligan Democratic

Results

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Representative	Party
1st	Dennis Williams		Dem	Dennis Williams		Dem
2nd	Hazel Plant		Dem	Hazel Plant		Dem
3rd	Helene Keeley		Dem	Helene Keeley		Dem
4th	Gerald Brady		Dem	Gerald Brady		Dem
5th	Melanie George Marshall		Dem	Melanie George Marshall		Dem
6th	Diana McWilliams		Dem	Diana McWilliams		Dem
7th	Bryon Short		Dem	Bryon Short		Dem
8th	Bethany Hall-Long		Dem	Quinn Johnson		Dem
9th	Richard Cathcart		Rep	Richard Cathcart		Rep
10th	Robert Valihura		Rep	Dennis Williams		Dem
11th	Gregory Lavelle		Rep	Gregory Lavelle		Rep
12th	Deborah Hudson		Rep	Deborah Hudson		Rep
13th	Larry Mitchell		Dem	Larry Mitchell		Dem
14th	Peter Schwartzkopf		Dem	Peter Schwartzkopf		Dem
15th	Valerie Longhurst		Dem	Valerie Longhurst		Dem
16th	J.J. Johnson		Dem	J.J. Johnson		Dem
17th	Michael Mulrooney		Dem	Michael Mulrooney		Dem
18th	Terry Spence		Rep	Michael Barbieri		Dem
19th	Robert Gilligan		Dem	Robert Gilligan		Dem
20th	Nick Manolakos		Rep	Nick Manolakos		Rep
21st	Pamela Maier		Rep	Michael Ramone		Rep
22nd	Joseph Miró		Rep	Joseph Miró		Rep
23rd	Teresa Schooley		Dem	Teresa Schooley		Dem
24th	William Orbele Jr.		Rep	William Orbele Jr.		Rep
25th	John Kowalko Jr.		Dem	John Kowalko Jr.		Dem
26th	John Viola		Dem	John Viola		Dem
27th	Vincet Lofink		Rep	Earl Jaques Jr.		Dem
28th	William Carson Jr.		Dem	William Carson Jr.		Dem
29th	Pamela Thornburg		Rep	Pamela Thornburg		Rep
30th	William Outten		Rep	William Outten		Rep
31st	Nancy Wagner		Rep	Darryl Scott		Dem
32nd	Donna Stone		Rep	Brad Bennett		Dem
33rd	Robert Walls		Dem	Robert Walls		Dem
34th	Donald Blakey		Rep	Donald Blakey		Rep
35th	J. Benjamin Ewing		Rep	David Wilson		Rep
36th	V. George Carey		Rep	V. George Carey		Rep
37th	Joseph Booth		Rep	Joseph Booth		Rep
38th	Gerald Hocker		Rep	Gerald Hocker		Rep
39th	Daniel Short		Rep	Daniel Short		Rep
40th	Clifford Lee		Rep	Clifford Lee		Rep
41st	Gregory Hastings		Rep	John Atkins		Dem

Statewide

Party		Candi- dates	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	37	208,990	56.87%	25	7
	Republican	32	156,832	42.68%	16	7
	Independent	2	642	0.17%	0
	Working Families	5	431	0.12%	0
	Blue Enigma	3	346	0.09%	0
	Libertarian	2	243	0.07%	0
Total		81	367,484	100%	41

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Stateline[2]	Lean D (flip)	October 15, 2008

Detailed Results

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41

Results of the 2008 Delaware House of Representatives election by district:^[3][4]

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Dennis Williams has represented the 1st district since 1994.

Delaware House of Representatives 1st district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis Williams (incumbent)	7,422	91.09%
	Republican	James McClain Jr.	726	8.91%
Total votes			8,148	100%
	Democratic hold

District 2

Incumbent Democrat Hazel Plant has represented the 2nd district since 2000.

Delaware House of Representatives 2nd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hazel Plant (incumbent)	5,729	94.26%
	Independent Party	Robert Brown	349	5.74%
Total votes			6,078	100%
	Democratic hold

District 3

Incumbent Democrat Helene Keeley has represented the 3rd district and its predecessors since 1996.

Delaware House of Representatives 3rd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Helene Keeley (incumbent)	5,419	100%
Total votes			5,419	100%
	Democratic hold

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Gerald Brady has represented the 4th district since 2006.

Delaware House of Representatives 4th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gerald Brady (incumbent)	7,174	73.36%
	Republican	Tyler Patrick Nixon[a]	2,605	26.64%
Total votes			9,779	100%
	Democratic hold

District 5

Incumbent Democrat Melanie George Marshall has represented the 5th district since 2002.

Delaware House of Representatives 5th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Melanie George Marshall (incumbent)	7,212	100%
Total votes			7,212	100%
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent Democrat Diana McWilliams has represented the 6th district since 2004.

Delaware House of Representatives 6th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Diana McWilliams (incumbent)	8,331	100%
Total votes			8,331	100%
	Democratic hold

District 7

Incumbent Democrat Bryon Short has represented the 7th district since winning a 2007 special election.

Delaware House of Representatives 7th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bryon Short (incumbent)	6,281	58.57%
	Republican	James Bowers	4,443	41.43%
Total votes			10,724	100%
	Democratic hold

District 8

Incumbent Democrat Bethany Hall-Long has represented the 8th district since 2002. Hall-Long retired to run for the state senate and fellow Democrat Quinn Johnson won the open seat.

Delaware House of Representatives 8th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Quinn Johnson	7,524	57.24%
	Republican	Martha Sturtevant	5,621	42.76%
Total votes			13,145	100%
	Democratic hold

District 9

Incumbent Republican Richard Cathcart has represented the 9th district since 1998.

Delaware House of Representatives 9th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard Cathcart (incumbent)	7,436	53.84%
	Democratic	Rebecca Walker	6,375	46.16%
Total votes			13,811	100%
	Republican hold

District 10

Incumbent Republican Robert Valihura Jr. has represented the 10th district since 1998. Valihura lost re-election to Democrat Dennis Williams.

Delaware House of Representatives 10th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis Williams[b]	5,091	50.97%
	Republican	Robert Valihura Jr. (incumbent)	4,898	49.03%
Total votes			9,989	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 11

Incumbent Republican Gregory Lavelle has represented the 11th district since 2001.

Delaware House of Representatives 11th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gregory Lavelle (incumbent)	6,731	63.34%
	Democratic	Charles Old Jr.	3,895	36.66%
Total votes			10,626	100%
	Republican hold

District 12

Incumbent Republican Deborah Hudson has represented the 12th district since 1994.

Delaware House of Representatives 12th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Deborah Hudson (incumbent)	7,428	100%
Total votes			7,428	100%
	Republican hold

District 13

Incumbent Democrat Larry Mitchell has represented the 13th district since 2006.

Delaware House of Representatives 13th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Larry Mitchell (incumbent)	6,547	96.14%
	Blue Enigma	Jeffrey Brown	263	3.86%
Total votes			6,810	100%
	Democratic hold

District 14

Incumbent Democratic Majority Leader Peter Schwartzkopf has represented the 14th district since 2002.

Delaware House of Representatives 14th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter Schwartzkopf (incumbent)	10,616	100%
Total votes			10,616	100%
	Democratic hold

District 15

Incumbent Democrat Valerie Longhurst has represented the 15th district since 2004.

Delaware House of Representatives 15th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Valerie Longhurst (incumbent)	10,570	100%
Total votes			10,570	100%
	Democratic hold

District 16

Incumbent Democrat J.J. Johnson has represented the 16th district since 2004.

Delaware House of Representatives 16th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J.J. Johnson (incumbent)	7,078	100%
Total votes			7,078	100%
	Democratic hold

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Michael Mulrooney has represented the 17th district since 1998.

Delaware House of Representatives 17th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Mulrooney (incumbent)	6,981	83.41%
	Republican	David Lee Osborn	1,388	16.59%
Total votes			8,369	100%
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Republican House Speaker Terry Spence has represented the 18th district and its predecessors since 1980. Spence lost re-election to Democrat Michael Barbieri.

Delaware House of Representatives 18th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Barbieri	4,164	51.99%
	Republican	Terry Spence (incumbent)[c]	3,845	48.01%
Total votes			8,009	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 19

Incumbent Democrat House Speaker Robert Gilligan has represented the 19th district since 1972.

Delaware House of Representatives 19th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Gilligan (incumbent)	6,482	78.38%
	Republican	Joseph Sakeley	1,729	20.91%
	Blue Enigma	Stephen Michael Annand	59	0.71%
Total votes			8,270	100%
	Democratic hold

District 20

Incumbent Republican Nick Manolakos has represented the 20th district since 2006.

Delaware House of Representatives 20th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Nick Manolakos (incumbent)	8,045	99.70%
	Blue Enigma	Daniel Rappa Jr.	24	0.30%
Total votes			8,069	100%
	Republican hold

District 21

Incumbent Republican Pamela Maier has represented the 21st district since 1994. Maier didn't seek re-election and fellow Republican Michael Ramone won the open seat.

Delaware House of Representatives 21st district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael Ramone	5,474	55.14%
	Democratic	Patricia Creedon	4,454	44.86%
Total votes			9,928	100%
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent Republicans Joseph Miró has represented the 22nd district since 1998.

Delaware House of Representatives 22nd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph Miró (incumbent)	6,999	66.13%
	Democratic	Rebecca Young	3,585	33.87%
Total votes			10,584	100%
	Republican hold

District 23

Incumbent Democrat Teresa Schooley has represented the 23rd district since 2004.

Delaware House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Teresa Schooley (incumbent)	6,098	74.95%
	Republican	Jesse Priester IV[d]	2,038	25.05%
Total votes			8,136	100%
	Democratic hold

District 24

Incumbent Republican William Orbele Jr. has represented the 24th district since 1976.

Delaware House of Representatives 24th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Orbele Jr. (incumbent)[e]	4,057	54.01%
	Democratic	Daniel Basara	3,455	45.99%
Total votes			7,512	100%
	Republican hold

District 25

Incumbent Democrat John Kowalko Jr. has represented the 25th district since 2006.

Delaware House of Representatives 25th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Kowalko Jr. (incumbent)	5,008	73.39%
	Republican	James Gates	1,816	26.61%
Total votes			6,824	100%
	Democratic hold

District 26

Incumbent Democrat John Viola has represented the 26th district since 1998.

Delaware House of Representatives 26th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Viola (incumbent)	6,316	79.93%
	Republican	Jeremy Filliben	1,586	20.07%
Total votes			7,902	100%
	Democratic hold

District 27

Incumbent Republican Vincet Lofink has represented the 27th district since 1990. Lofink lost re-election to Democrat Earl Jaques Jr..

Delaware House of Representatives 27th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Earl Jaques Jr.	4,708	48.72%
	Republican	Vincet Lofink (incumbent)[f]	4,662	48.25%
	Independent Party	James Spencer	293	3.03%
Total votes			9,663	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 28

Incumbent Democrat Bruce Ennis has represented the 28th district since 1982. Ennis retired to run for the state senate and fellow Democrat William Carson Jr. won the open seat.

Delaware House of Representatives 28th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William Carson Jr.	7,198	100%
Total votes			7,198	100%
	Democratic hold

District 29

Incumbent Republican Pamela Thornburg has represented the 29th district since 2000.

Delaware House of Representatives 29th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pamela Thornburg (incumbent)	5,624	50.22%
	Democratic	Charles Paradee	5,574	49.78%
Total votes			11,198	100%
	Republican hold

District 30

Incumbent Republican William Outten has represented the 30th district since 2004.

Delaware House of Representatives 30th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Outten (incumbent)	6,921	100%
Total votes			6,921	100%
	Republican hold

District 31

Incumbent Republican Nancy Wagner has represented the 31st district since 1992. Wagner lost re-election to Democrat Darryl Scott.

Delaware House of Representatives 31st district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Darryl Scott	4,372	52.64%
	Republican	Nancy Wagner (incumbent)	3,934	47.36%
Total votes			8,306	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 32

Incumbent Republican Donna Stone has represented the 32nd district since 1994. Stone lost re-election to Democrat Brad Bennett.

Delaware House of Representatives 32nd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brad Bennett	3,742	57.03%
	Republican	Donna Stone (incumbent)	2,820	42.97%
Total votes			6,562	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 33

Incumbent Democrat Robert Walls has represented the 33rd district since 2006.

Delaware House of Representatives 33rd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Walls (incumbent)	5,546	53.66%
	Republican	Harold Peterman	4,790	46.34%
Total votes			10,336	100%
	Democratic hold

District 34

Incumbent Republican Donald Blakey has represented the 34th district since 2006.

Delaware House of Representatives 34th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donald Blakey (incumbent)	6,229	61.30%
	Democratic	G. Bruce Hamilton	3,933	38.70%
Total votes			10,162	100%
	Republican hold

District 35

Incumbent Republican J. Benjamin Ewing has represented the 35th district since 1986. Ewing didn't seek re-election and fellow Republican David Wilson won the open seat.

Delaware House of Representatives 35th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Wilson	5,174	60.98%
	Democratic	L. Aaron Chaffinch	3,311	39.02%
Total votes			8,485	100%
	Republican hold

District 36

Incumbent Republican V. George Carey has represented the 36th district since 1984.

Delaware House of Representatives 36th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	V. George Carey (incumbent)	8,963	100%
Total votes			8,963	100%
	Republican hold

District 37

Incumbent Republican Joseph Booth has represented the th district since 2002.

Delaware House of Representatives 37th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph Booth (incumbent)	6,242	64.20%
	Democratic	Helen Truitt	3,480	35.80%
Total votes			9,722	100%
	Republican hold

District 38

Incumbent Republican Gerald Hocker has represented the 38th district since 2002.

Delaware House of Representatives 38th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gerald Hocker (incumbent)	9,769	72.08%
	Democratic	Mary Ryan	3,784	27.92%
Total votes			13,553	100%
	Republican hold

District 39

Incumbent Republican Daniel Short has represented the 39th district since 2006.

Delaware House of Representatives 39th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Daniel Short (incumbent)	5,185	68.79%
	Democratic	Jerry Semper[g]	2,352	31.21%
Total votes			7,537	100%
	Republican hold

District 40

Incumbent Republican Clifford Lee has represented the 40th district since 1990.

Delaware House of Representatives 40th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Clifford Lee (incumbent)	5,191	58.85%
	Democratic	Barbara Hudson	3,630	41.15%
Total votes			8,821	100%
	Republican hold

District 41

Incumbent Republican Gregory Hastings has represented the 41st district since winning a special election in May 2007. Hastings lost re-election to his predecessor, John Atkins, now a member of the Democratic Party. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 41st district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Atkins	1,095	53.86%
	Democratic	Barbara Lifflander	938	46.14%
Total votes			2,033	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 41st district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Atkins	5,665	52.99%
	Republican	Gregory Hastings (incumbent)	5,025	47.01%
Total votes			10,690	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Notes

1. Also nominated by the Libertarian Party.
2. Also nominated by the Working Families Party.
3. Also nominated by the Working Families Party.
4. Also nominated by the Libertarian Party.
5. Also nominated by the Working Families Party.
6. Also nominated by the Working Families Party.
7. Also nominated by the Working Families Party.