Michael Rodriguez of Newark thought Delaware’s two leading gubernatorial candidates – Matt Meyer and Bethany Hall-Long – led campaigns that were too distasteful to vote for.
So the 34-year-old voted for environmentalist Colin O’Mara in Tuesday’s primary elections at North Star Elementary School in Hockessin.
“I’m a Democrat, but I absolutely respect bipartisanship,” he said. “I think that’s the most important thing more than just a dividing party line.”
He was one of thousands hitting the primary election polling places Tuesday after they opened at 7 a.m. They close at 8 p.m.
Those at the polls said there had been a steady stream of voters all day.
Voters said they came out for a variety of reasons.
“If I don’t vote, I can’t complain,” said Donna Beltz, a 71-year-old Republican resident of New Castle who voted at the Nur Shrine Temple in New Castle.
Her motive to vote was the high prices of food and other items, as well as immigrants and “other people coming across the border.”
Campaign signs crowded the lawn in front of the Wilmington PAL Center Sunday during early voting.
Linda Benson-Fleming, a Democrat in her 50s who lives in Bear, said she’s concerned with education and incarceration.
Specifically, she said after voting at Nur Shrine Temple, she would like to see more funding and resources for early education, which she says often gets ignored in the political realm.
In addition, she feels America has a mass incarceration problem and many people don’t deserve the mandatory minimums of jail time they’re given.
“I’m looking for a candidate who will take into consideration that other people do make mistakes,” she said. “I’m not for forgoing anybody’s pain that has suffered from people committing crimes, but I feel like prisons should be a rehabilitation, it shouldn’t be a permanent place for anybody to stay.”
The primary election features candidates running against fellow party members to secure a nomination in November’s general election.
The dozens of races include both state senate and representative districts as well as city and county council seats.
In total, there are nine Republicans and 77 Democrats on the ballot for Tuesday’s primaries.
Many are waiting to see the results in the races for governor and mayor of the city of Wilmington.
RELATED: Del. primary is Tuesday, with early voting until Sunday
Those aiming to replace Democratic Governor John Carney – who’s vying to become the mayor of Wilmington – include New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and Collin O’Mara, former secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Retired NYPD officer Jerrold A. Price, State Rep. Mike Ramone and businessman Bobby Williamson are competing in the Republican primary for governor.
In Wilmington, current Gov. John Carney is running for mayor against former city treasurer Velda Jones-Potter in a race that’s raised eyebrows and questions of race and class.
The lieutenant governor race includes four women. Three are Democrats – Sherry Dorsey Walker, Kyle Evans Gay and Debbie Harrington – and one Republican, Ruth Briggs King.
With Lisa Blunt Rochester running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retiring Tom Carper, businessman Earl Cooper, state Sen. Sarah McBride and financier Elias Weir are seeking the Democratic nomination, while Donyale Hall and John J. Whalen III trying for the Republican nomination.
Issues and voting
With the U.S. presidential candidates settled, Delaware voters were happily focused on local races
“It was important to me to vote for my candidate in both State senate and house,” said John Montgomery of Milford. “Both races had primary candidates in my party, so I wanted to be sure I cast my vote to be sure the person I wanted in office could head to the general election.”
Shirley Washington of Milford, who voted at Morris Early Childood Center, said she came to specifically vote on election day itself.
“I don’t care for early voting or mail in voting,” said Washington. “I feel like that opens up for voter fraud. I think there just needs to be one day for the primary and one for the general election.”
Larry, who requested that his last name not be used, said this election was the time to get career politicians out of office and move in people who might make better decisions.
“It is time to clean house,” Larry said. “I am not voting for anyone who is in office now and casting my votes for those who are brand new.”
Michael Rodriguez wasn’t too concerned with hot-topic national issues like abortion, immigration and education, but rather the needs of his immediate community.
He wants to see the county strengthened, notably by bolstering its police force, ensuring taxes are allocated and used properly, and upkeeping and improving the county’s parks and playgrounds.
Sarah McBride, Kyle Evans Gay and Marcus Henry were the candidates who stood out to him in races for U.S. Congress, lieutenant governor and New Castle County executive, respectively.
Mostly, he said, voting in local elections is especially important because that’s when a citizen has the most direct influence.
Marianne Fugeman and her husband Patrick, both Democrats in their 70s who live in Hockessin, came out to vote for candidates who they believe will protect reproductive rights and the environment.
“It’s not a government issue,” Marianne said after voting at North Star Elementary. “It’s between the woman and the doctor and the discussion.”
Patrick said it’s a shame that his wife had more reproductive rights than his daughter might have if the wrong people are elected.
“I think it’s important to vote in every election, whether it be a school board or primaries or the general election,” he said. “The old saying from when I was younger was ‘If you don’t vote, don’t bitch’ and that’s the one time that you have to make your voice known.”
Monitoring elections
Delaware has 782,495 registered voters, according to the state Department of Elections – this includes 351,454 registered Democrats and 205,687 registered Republicans.
More than 35,000 people have already voted early or sent in absentee ballots.
The Department of Elections, supported by the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, the Delaware Department of Justice and other state agencies will run a Joint Information Center all day to ensure a safe and secure election.
The center also aims to maintain public health and safety leading up to, during and following Election Day.
It will field all election-related reports, complaints and media inquiries for the election.
Delaware has a closed primary, meaning only registered Democrats and Republicans can participate in the primary election and only for their party.
You can only declare a party at the poll if you have registered to vote in the state’s automatic registry system since the last primary and have not yet declared a party.
Those registered as independents or for other parties may not vote in the primary.
Matt Meyer, candidate for governor of Delaware, puts an ‘I voted” sticker on his son, Levi, after taking him into the booth to vote Sunday at the Wilmington PAL Center.
Primary polling places
Click here for polling locations.
Staff writer Terry Rogers contributed to this report.
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz
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