2012 Delaware House of Representatives election

An election was held on November 6, 2012, to elect all 41 members to Delaware's House of Representatives. The election coincided with the elections for other offices, including for U.S. President, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and state senate. The primary election was held on September 11, 2012.^[1]

2012 Delaware House of Representatives election

← 2010 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06) 2014 →
All 41 seats in the Delaware House of Representatives 21 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	65%
Majority party Minority party   Leader Robert Gilligan (retired) Gregory Lavelle (retired) Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 19th - Wilmington 12th[a] - Wilmington Last election 26 15 Seats before 26 15 Seats won 27 14 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 220,822 130,711 Percentage 62.22% 36.83%
House results by district      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold
Speaker before election Robert Gilligan Democratic Elected Speaker Peter Schwartzkopf Democratic

Overview

Open seats

District 1: Democratic incumbent Dennis P. Williams is running for mayor of Wilmington.^[2]

District 11: Republican incumbent and Minority Leader Greg Lavelle is running for the 4th district state Senate seat.^[3]

District 19: Democratic incumbent and Speaker of the House Robert Gilligan is retiring.^[4]

District 20: This is a new seat, with no current incumbent.^[5]

District 23: Democratic incumbent Teresa Schooley is retiring.^[6]

District 32: Democratic incumbent E. Bradford "Brad" Bennett is retiring.^[7]

District 38: Republican incumbent Gerald Hocker is running for the 20th district state Senate seat.^[8]

District 40: Republican incumbent Biff Lee is retiring.

Results

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Representative	Party
1st	Dennis Williams		Dem	Charles Potter Jr.		Dem
2nd	Stephanie Bolden		Dem	Stephanie Bolden		Dem
3rd	Helene Keeley		Dem	Helene Keeley		Dem
4th	Gerald Brady		Dem	Gerald Brady		Dem
5th	Melanie George Smith		Dem	Melanie George Smith		Dem
6th	Debra Heffernan		Dem	Debra Heffernan		Dem
7th	Bryon Short		Dem	Bryon Short		Dem
8th	Quinn Johnson		Dem	Quinn Johnson		Dem
9th	Rebecca Walker		Dem	Rebecca Walker		Dem
10th	Dennis Williams		Dem	Dennis Williams		Dem
11th	New Seat			Jeffrey Spiegelman		Rep
12th	Deborah Hudson		Rep	Deborah Hudson		Rep
	Gregory Lavelle[b]		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	Michael Barbieri		Dem	Michael Barbieri		Dem
19th	Robert Gilligan		Dem	Kimberly Williams		Dem
20th	New Seat			Stephen Smyk		Rep
21st	Michael Ramone		Rep	Michael Ramone		Rep
22nd	Joseph Miró		Rep	Joseph Miró		Rep
	Nick Manolakos[c]		Rep
23rd	Teresa Schooley		Dem	Paul Baumbach		Dem
24th	Edward Osienski		Dem	Edward Osienski		Dem
25th	John Kowalko Jr.		Dem	John Kowalko Jr.		Dem
26th	John Viola		Dem	John Viola		Dem
27th	Earl Jaques Jr.		Dem	Earl Jaques Jr.		Dem
28th	William Carson Jr.		Dem	William Carson Jr.		Dem
29th	Lincoln Willis		Rep	Charles Paradee		Dem
30th	William Outten		Rep	William Outten		Rep
31st	Darryl Scott		Dem	Darryl Scott		Dem
32nd	Brad Bennett		Dem	Andria Bennett		Dem
33rd	Harold Peterman		Rep	Harold Peterman		Rep
34th	Donald Blakey		Rep	Donald Blakey		Rep
35th	David Wilson		Rep	David Wilson		Rep
36th	Harvey Kenton		Rep	Harvey Kenton		Rep
37th	Ruth Briggs King		Rep	Ruth Briggs King		Rep
38th	Gerald Hocker		Rep	Ronald Gray		Rep
39th	Daniel Short		Rep	Daniel Short		Rep
40th	Clifford Lee		Rep	Timothy Dukes		Rep
41st	John Atkins		Dem	John Atkins		Dem

Statewide

Party		Candi- dates	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	35	220,822	62.22%	27	1
	Republican	26	130,711	36.83%	14	1
	Libertarian	7	3,116	0.88%	0
	Independent	1	268	0.08%	0
Total		69	354,917	100%	41

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Governing[9]	Safe D	October 24, 2012

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 2012 Delaware House of Representatives election by district:^[10][11]

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Dennis Williams has represented the 1st district since 1994. Williams retired to run for Mayor of Wilmington and fellow Democrat Charles Potter Jr. won the open seat. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 1st district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Potter Jr.	2,546	63.91%
	Democratic	Rourke Moore	941	23.62%
	Democratic	Victoria Kent	497	12.47%
Total votes			3,984	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 1st district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Potter Jr.	9,321	100%
Total votes			9,321	100%
	Democratic hold

District 2

Incumbent Democrat Stephanie Bolden has represented the 2nd district since 2010. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 2nd district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stephanie Bolden (incumbent)	1,400	62.11%
	Democratic	Arthur Scott	854	37.89%
Total votes			2,254	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 2nd district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stephanie Bolden (incumbent)	6,253	100%
Total votes			6,253	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, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Helene Keeley (incumbent)	6,341	100%
Total votes			6,341	100%
	Democratic hold

District 4

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

Delaware House of Representatives 4th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gerald Brady (incumbent)	9,133	100%
Total votes			9,133	100%
	Democratic hold

District 5

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

Delaware House of Representatives 5th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Melanie George Smith (incumbent)	8,057	100%
Total votes			8,057	100%
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent Democrat Debra Heffernan has represented the 6th district since 2010.

Delaware House of Representatives 6th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Debra Heffernan (incumbent)	7,502	62.36%
	Republican	Eric Taylor	4,529	37.64%
Total votes			12,031	100%
	Democratic hold

District 7

Incumbent Democrat Bryon Short has represented the 7th district since 2006.

Delaware House of Representatives 7th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bryon Short (incumbent)	7,280	68.22%
	Republican	Daniel Lepre	3,204	30.02%
	Libertarian	C. Robert Wilson	188	1.76%
Total votes			10,672	100%
	Democratic hold

District 8

Incumbent Democrat Quinn Johnson has represented the 8th district since 2008.

Delaware House of Representatives 8th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Quinn Johnson (incumbent)	6,937	69.21%
	Republican	Matthew Brown	3,086	30.79%
Total votes			10,023	100%
	Democratic hold

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Rebecca Walker has represented the 9th district since 2010.

Delaware House of Representatives 9th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rebecca Walker (incumbent)	7,565	100%
Total votes			7,565	100%
	Democratic hold

District 10

Incumbent Democrat Dennis Williams has represented the 10th district since 2008. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 10th district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis Williams (incumbent)	705	52.81%
	Democratic	Sean Matthews	630	47.19%
Total votes			1,335	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 10th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis Williams (incumbent)	5,553	52.11%
	Republican	Robert Rhodunda	5,104	47.89%
Total votes			10,657	100%
	Democratic hold

District 11

The new 11th district is an open seat which strectches from Townsend to Chapeltown and has no incumbent. Republican Jeffrey Spiegelman won the open seat. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 11th district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lynne Newlin	565	66.71%
	Democratic	David Brown Jr.	282	33.29%
Total votes			847	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 11th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeffrey Spiegelman	4,337	50.32%
	Democratic	Lynne Newlin	4,127	47.89%
	Libertarian	Margaret McKeown	154	1.79%
Total votes			8,618	100%
	Republican win (new seat)

District 12

The new 12th district includes the homes of incumbent Republicans Deborah Hudson, who has represented the 12th district since 1994, and Gregory Lavelle, who has represented the 11th district since 2001. Lavelle retired to run for the State Senate, while Hudson was re-elected here.

Delaware House of Representatives 12th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Deborah Hudson (incumbent)	9,669	100%
Total votes			9,669	100%
	Republican hold

District 13

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

Delaware House of Representatives 13th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Larry Mitchell (incumbent)	7,384	100%
Total votes			7,384	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, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter Schwartzkopf (incumbent)	8,250	89.92%
	Libertarian	Margaret Melson	925	10.08%
Total votes			9,175	100%
	Democratic hold

District 15

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

Delaware House of Representatives 15th district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Valerie Longhurst (incumbent)	665	57.93%
	Democratic	James Burton	483	42.07%
Total votes			1,148	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 15th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Valerie Longhurst (incumbent)	8,385	93.48%
	Libertarian	Amy Merlino	585	6.52%
Total votes			8,970	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, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J.J. Johnson (incumbent)	7,613	96.49%
	Libertarian	John Machurek	277	3.51%
Total votes			7,890	100%
	Democratic hold

District 17

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

Delaware House of Representatives 17th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Mulrooney (incumbent)	7,297	81.15%
	Republican	Laura Brown	1,695	18.85%
Total votes			8,992	100%
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Democrat Michael Barbieri has represented the 18th district since 2008.

Delaware House of Representatives 18th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Barbieri (incumbent)	7,501	100%
Total votes			7,501	100%
	Democratic hold

District 19

Incumbent Democratic House Speaker Robert Gilligan has represented the 19th district since 1972. Gilligan didn't seek re-election and fellow Democrat Kimberly Williams won the open seat. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 19th district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kimberly Williams	710	54.28%
	Democratic	William Dunn	598	45.72%
Total votes			1,308	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 19th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kimberly Williams	6,088	65.55%
	Republican	Dennis Cini	3,200	34.45%
Total votes			9,288	100%
	Democratic hold

District 20

The new 20th district is based in Sussex County and has no incumbent. Republican Stephen Smyk won the open seat. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 20th district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	M. Marie Mayor	1,177	64.88%
	Democratic	Lynn Rogers	525	28.94%
	Democratic	Thomas Jones Sr.	112	6.17%
Total votes			1,814	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 20th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stephen Smyk	6,469	53.21%
	Democratic	M. Marie Mayor	5,689	46.79%
Total votes			12,158	100%
	Republican win (new seat)

District 21

Incumbent Republican Michael Ramone has represented the 21st district since 2008.

Delaware House of Representatives 21st district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael Ramone (incumbent)	7,629	100%
Total votes			7,629	100%
	Republican hold

District 22

The new 22nd district includes the homes of incumbent Republicans Joseph Miró, who has represented the 22nd district since 1998, and Nick Manolakos, who has represented the 20th district since 2006. Miró defeated Manolakos in the Republican primary and went on to win the general election. Republican primary

Delaware House of Representatives 22nd district Republican primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph Miró (incumbent)	977	60.80%
	Republican	Nick Manolakos (incumbent)	630	39.20%
Total votes			1,607	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 22nd district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph Miró (incumbent)	8,333	63.44%
	Democratic	David Ellis	4,803	36.56%
Total votes			13,136	100%
	Republican hold

District 23

Incumbent Democrat Teresa Schooley has represented the 23rd district since 2004. Schooley didn't seek re-election and fellow Democrat Paul Baumbach won the open seat. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 23rd district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Baumbach	546	38.86%
	Democratic	Gerald Grant Jr.	491	34.95%
	Democratic	Claudia Bock	368	26.19%
Total votes			1,405	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Baumbach	4,770	57.27%
	Republican	Mark Doughty	3,559	42.73%
Total votes			8,329	100%
	Democratic hold

District 24

Incumbent Democrat Edward Osienski has represented the 24th district since 2010.

Delaware House of Representatives 24th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edward Osienski (incumbent)	7,445	100%
Total votes			7,445	100%
	Democratic hold

District 25

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

Delaware House of Representatives 25th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Kowalko Jr. (incumbent)	5,674	100%
Total votes			5,674	100%
	Democratic hold

District 26

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

Delaware House of Representatives 26th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Viola (incumbent)	7,476	100%
Total votes			7,476	100%
	Democratic hold

District 27

Incumbent Democrat Earl Jaques Jr. has represented the 27th district since 2008.

Delaware House of Representatives 27th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Earl Jaques Jr. (incumbent)	8,581	100%
Total votes			8,581	100%
	Democratic hold

District 28

Incumbent Democrat William Carson Jr. has represented the 28th district since 2008.

Delaware House of Representatives 28th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William Carson Jr. (incumbent)	6,104	71.13%
	Republican	Christopher Sylvester	2,478	28.87%
Total votes			8,582	100%
	Democratic hold

District 29

Incumbent Republican Lincoln Willis has represented the 29th district since 2010. Willis lost re-election to Democrat Charles Paradee.

Delaware House of Representatives 29th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Paradee	5,183	54.32%
	Republican	Lincoln Willis (incumbent)	4,358	45.68%
Total votes			9,541	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 30

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

Delaware House of Representatives 30th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Outten (incumbent)	5,906	91.91%
	Libertarian	Gordon Smith	520	8.09%
Total votes			6,426	100%
	Republican hold

District 31

Incumbent Democrat Darryl Scott has represented the 31st district since 2008.

Delaware House of Representatives 31st district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Darryl Scott (incumbent)	5,231	62.63%
	Republican	Samuel Chick	3,121	37.37%
Total votes			8,352	100%
	Democratic hold

District 32

Incumbent Democrat Brad Bennett has represented the 32nd district since 2008. Bennett didn't seek re-election and his wife Andria Bennett won the open seat. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 32nd district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Andria Bennett	421	61.64%
	Democratic	William McGlumphy	262	38.36%
Total votes			683	100%

Republican primary

Delaware House of Representatives 32nd district Republican primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ellis Parrott	295	73.57%
	Republican	William McVay	106	26.43%
Total votes			401	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 32nd district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Andria Bennett	4,097	63.33%
	Republican	Ellis Parrott	2,372	36.67%
Total votes			6,469	100%
	Democratic hold

District 33

Incumbent Republican Harold Peterman has represented the 33rd district since 2010.

Delaware House of Representatives 33rd district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harold Peterman (incumbent)	4,825	53.42%
	Democratic	John Robbins	4,207	46.58%
Total votes			9,032	100%
	Republican hold

District 34

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

Delaware House of Representatives 34th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donald Blakey (incumbent)	5,680	56.68%
	Democratic	Theodore Yacucci	4,074	40.65%
	Independent Party	Douglas Beatty	268	2.67%
Total votes			10,022	100%
	Republican hold

District 35

Incumbent Republican David Wilson has represented the 35th district since 2008.

Delaware House of Representatives 35th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Wilson (incumbent)	5,836	92.59%
	Libertarian	Ronnie Fitzgerald Jr.	467	7.41%
Total votes			6,303	100%
	Republican hold

District 36

Incumbent Republican Harvey Kenton has represented the 36th district since 2010.

Delaware House of Representatives 36th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harvey Kenton (incumbent)	6,298	100%
Total votes			6,298	100%
	Republican hold

District 37

Incumbent Republican Ruth Briggs King has represented the th district since 2009.

Delaware House of Representatives 37th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ruth Briggs King (incumbent)	5,026	54.84%
	Democratic	Elizabeth McGinn	4,139	45.16%
Total votes			9,165	100%
	Republican hold

District 38

Incumbent Republican Gerald Hocker has represented the 38th district since 2002. Hocker retired to run for the State Senate and fellow Republican Ronald Gray won the open seat.

Delaware House of Representatives 38th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ronald Gray	7,902	61.08%
	Democratic	Shirley Price	5,035	38.92%
Total votes			12,937	100%
	Republican hold

District 39

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

Delaware House of Representatives 39th district Republican primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Daniel Short (incumbent)	1,046	80.15%
	Republican	Patrick Murray	259	19.85%
Total votes			1,305	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 39th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Daniel Short (incumbent)	6,191	100%
Total votes			6,191	100%
	Republican hold

District 40

Incumbent Republican Clifford Lee has represented the 40th district since 1990. Lee didn't seek re-election and fellow Republican Timothy Dukes won the open seat. Democratic primary

Delaware House of Representatives 40th district Democratic primary election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Benjamin Lowe	416	65.41%
	Democratic	Raymond Adkins	220	34.59%
Total votes			636	100%

General election

Delaware House of Representatives 40th district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Timothy Dukes	5,552	62.68%
	Democratic	Benjamin Lowe	3,306	37.32%
Total votes			8,858	100%
	Republican hold

District 41

Incumbent Democrat John Atkins has represented the 41st district since 2008.

Delaware House of Representatives 41st district general election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Atkins (incumbent)	4,421	50.39%
	Republican	Richard Collins	4,352	49.61%
Total votes			8,773	100%
	Democratic hold

Notes

1. Redistricted from the 11th district.
2. Redistricted from the 11th district.
3. Redistricted from the 20th district.