Senator Chris Coons easily won reelection, securing nearly 51% of Sussex County votes, according to the Associated Press. Representative Sarah McBride, first elected in 2024, received about 53% of the county's vote, after losing the county in 2024 to Republican John Whalen. Attorney General Kathy Jennings, who had previously lost Sussex County, including in her 2022 reelection, won about 52% of the vote. Treasurer-elect Ted Lauzen won his race in the county by a slim margin, receiving about 51% of votes.
The county, the southernmost in Delaware, had been a Republican stronghold since 2012, when it last voted for a Democrat for a statewide or federal position. In the 2024 presidential election, President Donald Trump took about 55% of the vote in Sussex. Its population grew nearly 17% from 2020 to 2025, while registered voters increased from about 182,500 to about 220,300. The growth coincided with a rise in unaffiliated voters, who now make up about 30% of registered voters, up from about 21% in 2020. The share of registered Republicans fell from about 40% to about 35%, while Democrats dropped from about 36% to about 31%.
Delaware Democratic Party chair Evelyn Brady called the outcome "absolutely amazing." She said the party was spending time in the fast-growing county to engage new residents. "It's growing so fast and we knew that there are opportunities in Sussex, and we as the state party wanted to be there to engage, expand, get to meet these new Delawareans who are coming into Delaware, and make sure that they feel a part of the party," Brady said.
Local races also saw shifts. Democrat Jill Hicks flipped a seat on the Sussex County Council, defeating incumbent John Rieley by less than 600 votes. Council President Doug Hudson held his District 4 seat by nearly 11 percentage points. The council will move from a 4-1 Republican majority to 3-2. In state House races, Democrat Gregg Lindner flipped District 4, and incumbent state Rep. Alonna Berry retained District 20 with 56% of the vote. Republican John Atkins won in District 41, and several Republican candidates ran unopposed.
Brady said she would like to get more involved in local elections and see how the party can "bring some of this excitement at the top of a ticket down to the local races."