PHILADELPHIA – Delaware’s primary elections will take place on Tuesday, with several hotly contested races on the ballot for both Democrats and Republicans.

Voters will go to the polls to choose from a slate of candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Carney will leave state office next year after two terms as governor, two terms as lieutenant governor and three terms as the state’s only representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. His departure has set off competitive primaries for both the Democratic and Republican candidates.

The Democratic candidates are Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and Collin O’Mara, CEO of the National Wildlife Federation and former state natural resources secretary. The Republican candidates are retired police officer Jerry Price, state House Minority Leader Michael Ramone and small business owner Bobby Williamson.

Hall-Long, endorsed by Carney, is the only candidate in the race who has previously won statewide office. But the two-term lieutenant governor has endured a difficult summer after a state-ordered forensic audit of her campaign finances uncovered irregularities spanning eight years.

Emails reviewed by the Associated Press also showed that the lieutenant governor’s staff conducted campaign activities on her behalf during work hours, which is prohibited under state law. Hall-Long has disputed the forensic audit’s findings, saying the problems identified in the report were the result of minor accounting errors. Still, Meyer, her main rival, called for a federal investigation into the matter.

Carney is barred from running for a third term as governor, but will still appear on some state ballots as a candidate for mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s most populous city. His opponent in the Democratic primary is another former state official, Velda Jones-Potter, who was appointed state treasurer in 2009 and served for about two years before losing her bid for a full term.

Long-Hall’s term as lieutenant governor is also limited, and four women have filed to succeed her. State Rep. Sherry Dorsey-Walker, state Sen. Kyle Evans-Gay and state party vice chair Debbie Harrington are running for the Democratic nomination. Former state Rep. Ruth Briggs King is unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Carper’s announcement in 2023 that he would not run for a fifth term created the first open race for a U.S. Senate seat since 2010, when U.S. Sen. Chris Coons was elected to the seat vacated by Biden to assume the vice presidency. Democratic U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester is seeking to replace Carper, as is Republican former Walmart executive Eric Hansen. Both are unopposed in their parties’ nominations and will not appear on Tuesday’s ballot.

Blunt Rochester is running to replace Carper in the U.S. Senate. Both Democrats and Republicans will hold competitive primaries to fill the seat she has held since 2017. Democratic Senator Sarah McBride is the most well-known and best-funded candidate in both primaries. She is backed by Carper, Coons and Rochester and had $1.7 million in the bank at the end of June. Her only competitor from either party to disclose her funds raised was Republican Donyale Hall, who reported a campaign fund of just under $7,500. If elected, McBride would be the first openly transgender member of Congress.

Although the majority in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives could come down to a handful of closely contested races, Delaware’s seats are expected to remain firmly in Democratic hands. Once a reliable predictor of presidential elections, Delaware has trended strongly Democratic since the 1990s. Republicans have not won a governorship since 1988, a U.S. Senate seat since 1994, and a U.S. House seat since 2008.

About half of Delaware’s 21 Senate seats and all 41 seats in the state’s House of Representatives are up for election in 2024, although only 12 districts will hold contested primaries on Tuesday. Democrats hold a roughly two-to-one majority in each chamber.

When are the Delaware primaries?

Delaware will hold its primary election on Tuesday, September 10

When do polls open for the Delaware primary?

The polling stations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Where can I find my polling station?

Delaware residents who are unsure where to vote can use this handy polling place locator on the state’s website.

Who is on the ballot?

Democratic primaries for governor

• Bethany Hall-Long
• Collin O’Mara
• Matt Meyer

Democratic primary for lieutenant governor

• Debbie Harrington
• Kyle Gay
• Sherry Walker

Democratic primary for the US House of Representatives

• Pauline
• Elias Weir
• Sarah McBride

Republican primary for governor

• Bobby Williamson
• Jerrold Price
• Mike Ramone

Republican primary for the US House of Representatives

Who is allowed to vote?

Delaware voters who are registered with a political party may only vote in that party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary, and vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not vote in any of the primaries.

What about voter turnout and early voting?

As of August 1, there were about 780,000 registered voters in Delaware. Of these, 45% were Democrats, 26% were Republicans, and about 22% were not registered with any party.

In the 2022 primary election, turnout was about 16% of registered voters, according to the Delaware Department of Elections. About 27% of Democratic primary voters and 12% of Republican primary voters cast their ballots before primary day.

As of Thursday, a total of 22,293 votes had been cast before primary day, with about 72% in the Democratic primary and 28% in the Republican primary.

How long does the vote count usually take?

In the 2022 primary, the AP first reported results at 8:30 p.m. ET, 30 minutes after polls closed. Election night counting ended at 12:38 a.m. ET after all votes were counted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report