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Primary election results in Sussex County saw at least two major upsets, as Sam Wilson Jr. and Mark Baker, both of whom were relatively late entrants in their respective county council races, beat out higher-profile candidates to earn a spot in the general election.
While Baker held a relatively-steady lead over Jud Bennett for most of the evening, Georgetown councilman Bob Ricker saw an early double-digit lead get whittled down to 4 percent, with only one of 10 districts left to report.
Sussex County Council (District 2):
The final numbers, which came from the 01-35 district that encompasses Greenwood, near the county's northwest corner, were easily going to decide the race for either Wilson or Ricker, with Wilson only 70 votes (4 percent) behind and former county sheriff Robert Reed running a relatively-distant third.
The numbers swung the race Wilson's way, as he took nearly 53 percent of the district's 302 votes (160), closing the gap and pulling ahead by 29 votes for a 1.5-point margin of victory.
Governor's primaries:
Jack Markell grabbed a 514-vote lead over John Carney in Sussex, taking 51.9 percent of the county vote, and Bill Lee gained a 4,500-vote edge over Mike Protack with 72.3 percent of the vote. Both were within 1 percent of the candidates' statewide margins.
“I think I had an amazing team," Markell said following the win. "I really think this victory belongs more to my incredible campaign staff and the volunteers that I had than it does to me.”
Markell campaign manager Andrew Roos told DelawareLiberal.net that there were approximately 900 Markell volunteers on the ground statewide on primary day.
"[Jack] approached the campaign with a plan," Roos said. "He wanted to build a grassroots campaign, and it paid off."
By district, Carney took Sussex County, with five of eight major districts apiece (there are also two small northern districts, 08-30 and 09-33), but the final Sussex numbers gave Markell a a lead of more than 500 votes, just under a third of his final statewide margin of victory (1737 votes) over John Carney.
Markell had a strong showing in central and eastern Sussex, with the outlying western and southern districts going Carney's way (see map at left).
Carney congratulated Markell on the win. "I intend to work with Jack. I said it all along and I intend to honor that commitment," he said.
On the GOP ticket, Bill Lee easily handled perennial challenger Mike Protack, with Lee's home county handing him a 4,500-vote lead over Protack. Lee's average margin of victory in Sussex was more than 580 votes per district, and his final tally was 72.3 percent of the county vote to Protack's 27.7, nearly identical to the statewide numbers.
41st Representative District:
Barbara Lifflander narrowed the previous gap in her contests against John Atkins by a considerable margin in the primary (in their prior two races, Atkins had won 70-30 and 65-35), taking just over 46 percent of the 41st District's 2,033 votes. Lifflander won the eighth and ninth districts in the 41st, which comprise Long Neck and Pot Nets, as well as the second district, just south of Millsboro, but Atkins' strong showing will give him a chance to win back his hold seat in November.
Primary election results in Sussex County saw at least two major upsets, as Sam Wilson Jr. and Mark Baker, both of whom were relatively late entrants in their respective county council races, beat out higher-profile candidates to earn a spot in the general election.
While Baker held a relatively-steady lead over Jud Bennett for most of the evening, Georgetown councilman Bob Ricker saw an early double-digit lead get whittled down to 4 percent, with only one of 10 districts left to report.
Sussex County Council (District 2):
The final numbers, which came from the 01-35 district that encompasses Greenwood, near the county's northwest corner, were easily going to decide the race for either Wilson or Ricker, with Wilson only 70 votes (4 percent) behind and former county sheriff Robert Reed running a relatively-distant third.
The numbers swung the race Wilson's way, as he took nearly 53 percent of the district's 302 votes (160), closing the gap and pulling ahead by 29 votes for a 1.5-point margin of victory.
Governor's primaries:
Jack Markell grabbed a 514-vote lead over John Carney in Sussex, taking 51.9 percent of the county vote, and Bill Lee gained a 4,500-vote edge over Mike Protack with 72.3 percent of the vote. Both were within 1 percent of the candidates' statewide margins.
“I think I had an amazing team," Markell said following the win. "I really think this victory belongs more to my incredible campaign staff and the volunteers that I had than it does to me.”
Markell campaign manager Andrew Roos told DelawareLiberal.net that there were approximately 900 Markell volunteers on the ground statewide on primary day.
"[Jack] approached the campaign with a plan," Roos said. "He wanted to build a grassroots campaign, and it paid off."
By district, Carney took Sussex County, with five of eight major districts apiece (there are also two small northern districts, 08-30 and 09-33), but the final Sussex numbers gave Markell a a lead of more than 500 votes, just under a third of his final statewide margin of victory (1737 votes) over John Carney.
Markell had a strong showing in central and eastern Sussex, with the outlying western and southern districts going Carney's way (see map at left).
Carney congratulated Markell on the win. "I intend to work with Jack. I said it all along and I intend to honor that commitment," he said.
On the GOP ticket, Bill Lee easily handled perennial challenger Mike Protack, with Lee's home county handing him a 4,500-vote lead over Protack. Lee's average margin of victory in Sussex was more than 580 votes per district, and his final tally was 72.3 percent of the county vote to Protack's 27.7, nearly identical to the statewide numbers.
41st Representative District:
Barbara Lifflander narrowed the previous gap in her contests against John Atkins by a considerable margin in the primary (in their prior two races, Atkins had won 70-30 and 65-35), taking just over 46 percent of the 41st District's 2,033 votes. Lifflander won the eighth and ninth districts in the 41st, which comprise Long Neck and Pot Nets, as well as the second district, just south of Millsboro, but Atkins' strong showing will give him a chance to win back his hold seat in November.
