Delaware is the place of the latest showdown between the Democratic establishment and the left — this time over a US Senate seat.
Three-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, a former governor who’s been in the Senate since 2001, is up for reelection, and he rarely faces a serious primary challenger.
This year, he is squaring off against Kerri Evelyn Harris, a community activist and veteran who has national progressive groups excited. Carper is known for being a centrist Democrat who represents a state where pharmaceutical companies, credit card companies, and other financial institutions have an outsize presence. Three Republicans are also competing in the GOP primary to face the Democratic nominee in the fall.
While progressives acknowledge that defeating Carper will be difficult, they are excited by the prospect of winning such a high-profile seat — Delaware is a blue enough state that the winner of the primary would likely prevail in November.
Polls close at 8 pm ET. Live results are below, powered by Decision Desk.
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Delaware US Senate primary
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A normally sleepy primary for US Senate in Delaware has been shaken up this year, as 71-year-old Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) faces a challenge from progressive candidate Kerri Evelyn Harris. Harris is an Air Force veteran, a community activist, and a woman of color who identifies as queer. It will be an uphill battle for her; she has far less money and is polling well behind Carper, but progressives have been on a winning streak of late — and winning a Senate primary in a blue state would be a huge achievement for national progressive groups.
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There’s a three-way Republican race for Senate between Sussex County Council member Rob Arlett, finance attorney Gene Truono, and perennial candidate Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente (who has run for Senate in multiple other states and ran for president on the Reform ticket). There’s not a lot of polling on the Republican side, but a July Gravis poll found Arlett with a slim lead. Still, Delaware is a pretty solidly blue state, and most forecasters rate the seat Safely Democratic.
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Author: Ella Nilsen
