Nate Iglehart | 1/19/2026
Announced Delaware Democrat Senate Candidates: Chris Coons (incumbent) and Christopher Beardsley
Announced Delaware Democrat House Candidates: Sarah McBride (incumbent)
The primary elections will take place on September 15, with the general election happening on November 3rd
Senate
Chris Coons, 63, is the incumbent Senator in this race, and he will be a tough opponent to beat. He is an experienced Congressman, serving on the Appropriations, Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Small Business & Entrepreneurship, and Ethics committees since his election to the seat in 2010. He also ranked fairly regularly among the most productive Senators in Congress, which has led him to enjoy a +20 approval rating. Before becoming a Senator, he served as New Castle County Council President and County Executive, and practiced law in Delaware. His platform is fairly progressive, highlighting gun safety, civil rights, criminal justice reform, climate change, and economic policies that are fairly popular, although Delaware has one of the oldest average ages of any U. state. Nonetheless, he is likely to win in large part due to his popularity, his massive $4,714,517 war chest, and his finger on the pulse of the most pressing issues, as shown by his leading position of the Congressional bipartisan delegation to Denmark in January. Unless there is some major scandal that hits Coons, it is highly likely that he will continue to be a Senator for Delaware.
Recent Interviews
American Conversations: Senator Chris Coons
Sen. Chris Coons: Nobody Knows Trump’s Plan to Help Iran
Christopher Beardsley, 33, is a former federal worker and Fulbright scholar looking to unseat Coons with a platform focused on housing, healthcare, and accountable governance. He is looking to leverage his experience in the Peace Corps and as a Management and Program Analyst for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. With his belief that quality housing and healthcare are human rights, his support for raising the minimum wage, his defense of progressive social values, and his stance against increased military funding, his platform will likely resonate with younger voters. However, he has not raised much, if any, funding thus far, and his opponent is an experienced and popular candidate. Additionally, his lack of media interviews and general presence outside a campaign page may indicate that, so far, he hasn’t mounted the extensive media campaign he would likely need to unseat Coons. The primary is still a long way out, but for the moment, Beardsley has a lot of ground to cover if he wants a shot at taking the seat.
House
Sarah McBride, 35, is the incumbent representative for Delaware’s only district. She was elected in 2024 with a comfortable 16% lead and became the first openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress. She serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and has focused on LGBTQIA+ rights, protecting reproductive rights, expanding access to healthcare, and addressing economic insecurity. This time around, she has no primary challengers, and unless there is a late addition to the race, she will go straight to the general election unchallenged. This means that her $2,419,367 fundraising number will be saved entirely for this election, dwarfing the currently published numbers of any declared Republican candidate so far (Donyale Hall has raised the most, with $534). As a result, it seems equally likely that she will continue to be the representative for Delaware, especially given her name recognition, her successful pushes to establish paid leave and expand Medicaid, and her progressive social values in a consistently blue stronghold.
Recent Interviews:
Congresswoman Sarah McBride in Conversation with David Axelrod
Sarah McBride on Why the Left Lost on Trans Rights | The Ezra Klein Show