Yes, Delaware is a liberal state. Democrats have carried every presidential race there since 1992, hold the governorship, both U.S. Senate seats, the lone U.S. House seat, and comfortable majorities in both chambers of the legislature. The policy record matches the voting record: codified abortion rights, an assault weapons ban, legal recreational marijuana, same-sex marriage passed by statute two years before Obergefell, a $15 minimum wage, and a paid family leave program now in effect.
How Delaware Votes
The electoral pattern is lopsided and long-running. Delaware has backed the Democratic presidential nominee in nine consecutive general elections, from 1992 through 2024. Republicans have not won a U.S. Senate seat in the state since 1994. Both current senators, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chris Coons, are Democrats. The state’s single at-large U.S. House seat has been held by Democrats since 2010, and Sarah McBride won it in 2024 with roughly 58 percent of the vote.
At the state level, Democrats hold a trifecta. Governor Matt Meyer, a Democrat, took office in January 2025.1Ballotpedia. Governor of Delaware No Republican has been elected governor since Mike Castle won reelection in 1988.2National Governors Association. Former Governors of Delaware In the legislature, Democrats hold 15 of 21 Senate seats and 27 of 41 House seats, enough to pass bills without any Republican votes.
Voter Registration
As of April 1, 2025, Delaware had 815,642 registered voters. Democrats accounted for about 43 percent (352,063), unaffiliated voters for about 28 percent (231,338), and Republicans for about 26 percent (209,316), with the remaining 3 percent registered under third parties or other affiliations.3State of Delaware Department of Elections. Voter Registration Totals By Political Party Summary The unaffiliated bloc has grown past the Republican bloc in recent years, but those voters have not produced competitive Republican results in statewide races.
The Policy Record
What a state does with its majorities matters as much as how it votes. Delaware has used its Democratic control to enact a stack of policies that line up with the liberal agenda nationally.
Guns
Delaware bans the sale, purchase, and possession of assault weapons as defined by statute.4Delaware General Assembly. Delaware Senate Bill 68 – 150th General Assembly The minimum age to purchase most firearms is 21, and any magazine capable of accepting more than 17 rounds is illegal.5Delaware General Assembly. Delaware Senate Bill 6 Buying a handgun now requires a permit, a safety training course with live fire, fingerprints, and a background check.6Delaware State Police. Permit to Purchase
Abortion
Delaware wrote abortion rights into state law in 2017, five years before the Dobbs decision. A physician, physician assistant, or qualified nurse practitioner may perform an abortion before fetal viability. After viability, the procedure is permitted to protect the pregnant person’s life or health, or in cases of a fetal anomaly with no reasonable likelihood of sustained survival outside the uterus. Physician assistants and advanced practice nurses may prescribe medication abortion, including mifepristone and misoprostol. Because the right sits in state statute rather than federal precedent, Dobbs had no practical effect on access in Delaware.7Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 24 Chapter 17 Subchapter IX – Termination of Human Pregnancy
LGBTQ+ Rights
Delaware was the eleventh state to legalize same-sex marriage, enacting the Civil Marriage Equality and Religious Freedom Act on May 7, 2013, two years before Obergefell.8Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs. Delaware’s First Same-Sex Marriage License The state also bans conversion therapy for minors, citing findings from the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association that sexual orientation change efforts are medically invalid and pose serious health risks.9Delaware General Assembly. Delaware Senate Bill 65 – An Act to Amend Titles 24 and 29 of the Delaware Code Relating to Conversion Therapy
Marijuana and the Death Penalty
Recreational marijuana is legal under the Delaware Marijuana Control Act. The state began accepting license applications in mid-2024, and by December 2025 the industry had generated more than $31 million in combined adult-use, medical, and wholesale sales across 14 retail locations.10Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 4 Chapter 13 – The Delaware Marijuana Control Act
The death penalty has been unenforceable since the Delaware Supreme Court struck down the capital sentencing statute in 2016. The legislature formally repealed capital punishment in September 2024, replacing it with mandatory life without parole for first-degree murder. In June 2025, lawmakers passed the first leg of a constitutional amendment that would permanently prohibit the death penalty; it must pass again in the next General Assembly to take effect.
Labor
Delaware’s minimum wage reached $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2025.11Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 19 Chapter 9 – Minimum Wage Delaware Paid Leave took full effect on January 1, 2026, providing up to 80 percent of wages (capped at $900 per week) for qualifying leave. Workers can take up to 12 weeks a year for a new child, and up to six weeks every 24 months for their own serious health condition, to care for a family member, or for matters tied to a loved one’s military deployment, with a 12-week combined ceiling in any single year. Participation is mandatory for most Delaware employers with 10 or more workers, though the scope of required coverage depends on employer size. Funding comes from contributions of less than 1 percent of weekly wages, split up to 50/50 between employer and employee.12Delaware Department of Labor. Delaware Paid Leave
Environment
Lawmakers introduced House Bill 210 in 2025 to quadruple fines for major commercial polluters, raising the maximum penalty to $40,000 per day for chronic violators and increasing the share of penalty funds routed to affected communities. Senate Bill 159, enacted in 2025, supports utility-scale renewable energy by making substations for generation projects of 250 megawatts or more a conditional use in heavy industrial zones.13Delaware General Assembly. Delaware Senate Bill 159 The state’s Open Space Program draws $10 million a year from the Realty Transfer Tax for land acquisition and park infrastructure.14Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Open Space Program 5-Year Report
Where the Lean Doesn’t Fully Reach
Two caveats are worth knowing. First, the courts. Delaware’s constitution caps any single major party at a bare majority on the Supreme Court, Superior Court, and other state courts. No more than three of the five Supreme Court justices can share a party, and the governor must appoint from both parties to maintain the balance.15Delaware Code Online. Delaware Constitution Article IV – Judiciary The judiciary is structurally bipartisan even when the elected branches are not.
Second, the minimum wage does not index to inflation. The $15 figure holds until the legislature passes a new increase, so the real value will erode in the meantime.