Delaware’s election will decide governor, could pave the way for U.S. House of Representatives history

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. John Carney hopes to continue his long political career by winning his party’s nomination for mayor of Wilmington.

Polling stations are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Let’s take a closer look at these key races:

Democratic primaries for the US House of Representatives

State Sen. Sarah McBride would move a step closer to becoming the first openly transgender person elected to the U.S. Congress by winning the Democratic primary on Tuesday. Delaware’s only U.S. House seat is being vacated by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who is unopposed in the primary as she seeks the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, who has held the seat since 2001.

McBride faces only token opposition in the primary from businessmen Earl Cooper and Elias Weir, neither of whom has reported raising money for his campaigns. Cooper is a political newcomer, while Weir finished last in the 2016 congressional primary with less than 1 percent of the vote. McBride, meanwhile, has raised nearly $3 million in contributions from across the country.

McBride gained national recognition at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly transgender person to speak at a major party convention in the United States.

The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face either Donyale Hall, a Dover businesswoman and Gulf War veteran of the U.S. Air Force, or James Whalen III, a retired state trooper and construction company owner from Millsboro, who will face off in the GOP primary. The Democrats have held the seat since 2010.

Meanwhile, if Blunt Rochester wins in November, she could become one of two black women in the Senate next year, joining Angela Alsobrooks of neighboring Maryland if she also wins her campaign.

Democratic Gubernatorial Primary

Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, who has held public office since winning a state House seat in 2002, is hoping to overcome a campaign finance scandal and replace Carney, who cannot run for governor again because of term limits. Hall-Long has won the endorsement of Carney and the Delaware Democratic Party establishment.

But the two-term lieutenant governor faces a stiff primary challenge from New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, who has raised significantly more money and has repeatedly called out Hall-Long for campaign finance violations. Former state Environment Secretary Collin O’Mara is also seeking the Democratic nomination but has been overshadowed by the other two candidates.

Hall-Long’s campaign finance scandal came to light last September when she abruptly postponed a campaign event with Carney, saying she had to attend to a “personal, private matter.”

In reality, her campaign was in disarray when people hired to run it discovered major discrepancies while reviewing years of financial reports. The scandal led to a series of resignations among top campaign staff and prompted election officials to order a forensic audit. The audit found that Hall-Long and her husband received payments totaling $33,000 more than she allegedly lent her campaign over several years — many of which were never reported in the first place.

Hall-Long’s husband and former campaign treasurer, Dana Long, was also found to have issued 112 checks to herself or cash. The total amount of the checks was just under $300,000 and should have been reported as expenses. Instead, 109 of the checks were never reported on initial financial reports, and the remaining four, made out to Dana Long, were reported as being made out to someone else.

Despite the violations, Delaware’s attorney general and election commissioner, both Democrats, declined to file criminal charges against Hall-Long.

Wilmington Democratic Mayoral Primary

Carney is barred by law from seeking a third term as governor, but he wants to continue serving in public office as head of government and is seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city.

His opponent is Velda Jones-Potter, a former Wilmington city treasurer who lost the mayoral race four years ago. Potter served a two-year term as Delaware state treasurer after being appointed in 2008, but lost an election to a four-year term as treasurer in 2010.

The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face no opposition in November. Carney said that as mayor, he will continue the investments his gubernatorial administration has made in Wilmington, with a focus on improving public schools, expanding affordable housing and helping small businesses.