Sussex County Votes Blue in Historic Shift

Sussex County, a longtime GOP bastion, flips to Democrats in midterms

Something historic happened in Delaware this week, and it wasn’t just that Democrats easily held onto statewide power. In an unexpected upset, conservative stronghold Sussex County voted Democratic in this week’s midterm elections, delivering victories for several key federal and state candidates. WHYY reported that this marked a dramatic and unexpected shift in one of the state’s most politically resistant regions.

The results tell the story in stark numbers. U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, who had never before won Sussex County in his career, secured nearly 51% of its votes in Tuesday’s election. And Attorney General Kathy Jennings, who had previously struggled in the county, also took it with roughly 52% of the vote. Even State Treasurer-elect Ted Lauzen won Sussex by a slim margin, capturing about 51% of the local vote.

“When I ran for Congress, I made two fundamental promises: that I would work with anyone who would work with me to deliver for Delaware and that I would stand up to anyone I believed was hurting Delaware,” McBride said in a released statement. “After two years of showing up in our communities, defending all of our neighbors, and getting results, I am honored that Delawareans have once again placed their trust in me to continue serving them in Congress.”

A Hard Left Turn for a Conservative Stronghold

Delaware has long been a blue state, but its southernmost county, Sussex, has consistently been a red outlier. The last time the county voted in favor of a Democrat for any statewide or federal position was in 2012, when it backed former U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, former U.S. Rep. John Carney, and former Gov. Jack Markell. Since then, Republicans had a firm lock on the county, a fact that made this week’s results all the more shocking.

Historical data from the Delaware Department of Elections shows just how deep this Republican streak was. In the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump received about 55% of the Sussex County vote compared to his 42% statewide total. He also won the county in both 2016 and 2020. Coons’ own history reflects this divide; when he was first elected in 2010, he only secured about 40% of the Sussex County vote. Jennings also lost Sussex in her 2022 race, winning statewide with just 41% of the county’s vote.

For Evelyn Brady, chair of the Delaware Democratic Party, the outcome was a cause for celebration and a sign of a larger national trend. “While we were confident [statewide candidates] would win their races, Sussex has over the past several cycles not been in [Democrats’] favor,” she told WHYY News. “But to see them win all of [the counties] is just absolutely amazing.” Brady framed it as part of a nationwide “blue wave.”

“I think with the Trump administration, and as we’ve seen around the country, Democrats are winning in places that before this cycle no one thought that they could,” Brady said. “I think Sussex is just showing that Delaware is a microcosm of the country.”

So, what drove this sudden and significant shift? While the source material doesn’t provide a single definitive answer, the election results themselves offer clues. The Democratic candidates who succeeded in Sussex this week—Coons, McBride, and Jennings—have all won the county after previous losses.

Who stands to gain from this political realignment?

Of course, the other side of the coin presents a counter-argument.

The full extent of this political shift is visible when looking at the official results. The Delaware Department of Elections provides a clear breakdown of the numbers, confirming the scale of the change.

Candidate	Party	% of Sussex County Vote
Chris Coons (U.S. Sen.)	Democrat	~51%
Sarah McBride (U.S. Rep.)	Democrat	~53%
Kathy Jennings (Attorney Gen.)	Democrat	~52%
Ted Lauzen (State Treasurer)	Democrat	~51%

The question now is whether this is a one-time anomaly or the beginning of a new political era for Sussex County. The last time the county voted blue for statewide candidates was 2012, a different political world by almost any measure. The results show that the old certainties can be broken.