Delaware state Senate election results: Big wins for incumbents

District 1- Wilmington and Bellefonte

State Sen. Dan Cruce cruised to victory in the general election after fending off a close challenge in the primary.

Cruce sailed past Republican Hildi Bachtle and Independent Steven Washington in the general election with more than 75% of the vote.

It will be Cruce's second term in the state Senate.

Cruce was running on lower health care and housing costs, as well as increased education access while reforming its funding. Bachtle was running in opposition to the Port of Wilmington's expansion into Edgemoor and for reassessment process reform. Washington was focused on public safety, education, housing, small businesses and improvements to parks and public transit.

District 5 - Claymont to Talleyville

Democrat Shay Frisby continued her winning ways in the general election and will represent parts of Brandywine Hundred, Arden, Ardentown and surrounding areas in Dover.

She rode a wave of progressive momentum into usurping incumbent Sen. Ray Seigfried in this year's primary. She had much less trouble holding off Republican Brent Burdge and Independent Carolyn Frank with about 68% of the vote.

Frisby, a Brandywine Hundred supervisor endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, is centering her campaign on reducing financial pressures facing working families. She called for universal child care, a higher minimum wage, lower health care costs and expanded affordable housing.

Burdge, a retired supply chain manager from Brandywine Hundred, said he was running because Delaware needs greater political balance after decades of Democratic control. Burdge identified affordability as the district's biggest challenge, particularly for seniors facing rising taxes and younger residents seeking better job opportunities.

Frank, an Independent candidate and registered nurse from Brandywine Hundred, called for more affordable housing, improvements to education funding, investments in teacher recruitment and infrastructure, and greater government accountability through legislative term limits.

Despite their differences, all three candidates pointed to housing affordability, infrastructure needs and the financial strain on Delaware families as issues requiring attention in the years ahead.

District 7 - Elsmere and Marshallton

Democratic Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos of Marshallton was re-elected for a third term representing State Senate District 7, defeating challenger Republican Chris Rowe.

Mantzavinos will continue to represent the suburban New Castle County district west of Wilmington, which includes Marshallton, Newport and Elsmere, after earning 67% of the vote.

Rowe, a U.S. Navy veteran, took in 33% of the vote.

Mantzavinos easily defeated Jose Lopez in the Democrat primary in September. He first came to office in 2020 by beating Republican incumbent Anthony Delcollo after he served one term.

Affordability has emerged as a central issue in the race and Mantzavinos, a 58-year-old full-time legislator, called it the most important issue facing his community.

He pointed to rising housing and energy costs as a major part of the problem.

He told Delaware Online/The News Journal that addressing housing costs would require collaboration between the state, counties and municipalities.

"We need to build a range of housing types at different price points. That means looking at zoning rules and other barriers that can make it harder to build homes in the places where people want to live," he said.

On energy costs, he said he would hold utilities like Delmarva Power accountable for unnecessary costs through constant rate increases. He referenced legislation he supported earlier this year "to strengthen oversight of utility spending and protect ratepayers."

He also ran on a property tax system that is fair and predictable, along with requiring large data centers to take responsibility for the energy they use, negating extra costs for residents.

District 8 - Newark, Pike Creek

For the first time in 36 years, Delaware State Senate District 8 will have a new senator. Voters selected Democrat Mara Gorman.

Gorman beat Republican Shane Cavanaugh with 66% of the vote. Cavanaugh earned 34% of the vote.

Sen. Dave Sokola, 71, decided not to run for a 10th term after representing the Newark area district since 1990.

District 8 includes Newark, North Star and Pike Creek. Key issues in District 8 included sending children to strong schools and concerns about AI data centers and data collection.

Gorman, 56, of Newark, was finishing her first term representing House District 23 as she campaigned for the open Senate seat. Her opponent, a fellow Newark resident, is a 38-year-old small-business owner who pointed to his experience meeting payroll and managing rising operating costs as preparation for serving in the Senate.

Gorman's campaign pushed for equity in education and broadening opportunities for high-quality early childhood learning: "Every child deserves a safe school where their needs, including mental health care and adequate nutrition, are provided," she told Delaware Online/The News Journal.

She also campaigned to increase the state's housing supply at every cost level in Delaware through creative reuse and higher-density housing projects.

"Changes like these require coordination among state, county and local governments as well as working with developers to incentivize genuinely affordable housing and responsible growth," she said.

District 12 - New Castle, Bear

Democrat Nicole Poore is headed back to Dover as the senator for this district after defeating Republican Mark Esposito with about 72% of the vote in this year's general election.

She has been in the state Senate for more than a decade, and she has served as majority leader in this position. Poore was seeking another term citing work on issues including free college access, workforce training, paid leave and child protections.

Esposito works as a project manager at J.P. Morgan and serves as the owner and managing partner of the thoroughbred racing partnership organization Black Cloud Racing Stable, according to his LinkedIn profile.

District 14 - Townsend to Leipsic

Incumbent Democrat Kyra Hoffner held off a challenge from Republican Mark Pugh to win Delaware's 14th Senate District race by 24%.

It will be a second four-year term for Hoffner, 55, of Leipsic.

District 14 covers southern New Castle County, including Townsend, Fieldsboro, Flemings Landing and Blackbird, and northeastern Kent County, including Smyrna, Clayton and Leipsic.

Hoffner, who moved to Leipsic in 2001, said she spent two decades as a community advocate before ever running for office, founding a drive-through food bank during the pandemic, working with the League of Women Voters on fair redistricting and organizing residents around issues that mattered to their lives.

Hoffner said she ran for office in 2022 "because I wanted to bring that same hands-on approach to Dover, and since taking office I've focused on housing stability, farmland protection and holding government accountable."

District 15 - Western Kent County

Political newcomer Republican Emily Thompson bested Democrat Nisha Lodhavia by more than 13% to win the District 15 seat that will soon be vacated by retiring state Sen. Dave Lawson.

Lawson, a Republican, is a retired state trooper. He was first elected in 2010 and has served four terms.

Senate District 15 includes Farmington, Harrington, Marydel and parts of Felton and Viola. Both candidates were unopposed in the September primary.

Thompson, 31, is Public Health Treatment Program Administrator for Delaware’s Home Visiting Program with the Division of Public Health. She emphasized small businesses, agriculture, early childhood programs and responsible government spending.

Thompson, a Delaware native, said she was proud "to still live on my family farm, where multiple generations of my family have called home. For more than a decade, I have also had the privilege of serving Delaware families through state government."

Lodhavia, a 53-year-old retired professor, focused on affordability, health care and support for farmers and first responders.

District 20 - Southeastern Sussex County

Republican Sen. Gerald Hocker won another term from his southeastern Sussex County district, defeating Democrat Harry S. Gold.

Hocker is the Senate minority leader, and has served in the Senate since 2012. The longtime Sussex County businessman has focused on fiscal policy, small businesses, agriculture, veterans and coastal communities.

Gold's priorities include managing Sussex County’s growth, improving education and health care, addressing housing costs and requiring developers to help pay for infrastructure, according to his responses filed with the League of Women Voters election site.