Hansen wins, preserves Democrats' control of Senate

Editor's Note: We're republishing the top stories of the last year. This was the 9th most-read story of 2017 on Delawareonline.com

Democrat Stephanie Hansen won the special election for the 10th District Senate seat Saturday, capturing 58 percent of the votes cast and preserving her party's control of the Legislature.

The race drew national attention and donations from across the country. Former Vice President Joe Biden and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley both campaigned on Hansen's behalf in the weeks leading up to the election.

"This was the first swing election in the country since the inauguration. It was the first chance for voters to rise up with one voice to say we’re bigger than the bullies," Hansen said during her victory speech at the Odessa Fire Company. "It was the first chance for voters to declare with one loud voice that we’re better than the politics of fear and division. What we accomplished together will have implications for our entire state and country, and I think tonight they’re hearing us loud and clear in all corners of this country – and certainly in D.C. and in Dover."

The picture perfect weather and heavy spending in the race between Hansen, Republican John Marino and Libertarian Joseph D. Lansendorfer helped draw a higher than typical special election crowd. Temperatures reached into the mid- to upper 70s in most of the state, until about 4:30 p.m. when a thunderstorm swept through the region.

As of 5 p.m., 11,203 votes were cast – 31.37 percent of registered voters, said Anthony J. Albence, director of the New Castle County Department of Elections. There are 35,673 registered voters in the district.

"That's a pretty good turnout," he said.

Thanks to donations from all over America, Hansen's campaign was able to spend more than $251,525, and an allied political action committee, First State Strong, dropped another $497,482, according to the Department of Elections.

That's a total of $749,008 — $102.40 per person who voted for Hansen.

Those numbers reflect the spending only from the latest reporting periods, so the final tally could be higher. They also don't count spending by unions and other groups that backed Hansen.

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The 10th Senate District includes Middletown, Glasgow and southern Newark.

Hansen's victory keeps Democrats in control of the state Senate and ensures President Pro Tempore David McBride, D-Hawks Nest, his job.

"As president pro tempore, I'm committed to working with all senators for the good of all Delawareans," McBride said.

He attributed the win in the 10th District to an outstanding candidate.

"She supported jobs, talked about the environment and education," McBride said.

Hansen, who lives in Middletown, is an environmental attorney in Wilmington. She served as New Castle County Council president from 1996 to 2001 and before becoming an attorney was an environmental scientist and hydrologist at the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

The seat was previously held by now-Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long. Her inauguration in January triggered Saturday's election and left the Senate split 10-10.

State Republican Chairman Charles Copeland, in a statement, commended Marino and his entire team.

"It's been truly amazing to watch this grassroots effort come together to work for a common cause in an effort to make our state better," Copeland wrote in the statement. "This evening, Delaware citizens have been able to see just how politically bankrupt Delaware is. Delaware Democrats, administratively, changed Delaware’s campaign finance laws in the middle of this campaign so that they could go on to raise $1 million to buy the 10th Senate District seat.

"Delaware’s Democrats spent over $100 per vote in a district that they already had a 60-to-40 registration advantage. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, you should be outraged that this kind of unethical behavior occurred. Once again, we are seeing what happens when one political party has absolute power ... corruption."

Sen. Greg Lavelle, R-Sharpley, said the Republicans knew it would be difficult to win the seat.

"John and his family ran a great race," he said. "We knew it would not be easy."

It was even more challenging because "from their side, it was absolutely a national race," he said.

Hansen's win could have major consequences for state policy.

Democrats will retain their majorities on all Senate committees and keep control of the Joint Finance Committee, which writes the state budget.

Democrats will have an 11-10 majority in the Senate on top of their comfortable control of the House. That means progressive policies like a minimum wage increase could still pass. Republican-backed policies like "right to work" laws, which would make union membership optional, will remain unlikely to pass. Marino and Hansen clashed on right-to-work laws during the campaign, with Marino arguing the policy would bring jobs and Hansen saying it would lower wages. Unions fiercely supported Hansen.

The stalled appointment by Gov. John Carney of Shawn Garvin, former federal Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator, to head the state environmental agency could also move forward. Senate Republicans blocked the nomination.

Hansen blasted Republicans for blocking Garvin, saying it showed the GOP wanted to bring Washington-style gridlock to Dover.

The race captured the attention of national news organizations. The New York Times and the Huffington Post wrote about the race, interviewing Democrats across the country who saw it as one of their first chances to fight back against an ascendant GOP and President Donald Trump. National Democrat-aligned groups like the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and EMILY's List solicited donations for Hansen.

Republicans didn't come close to matching Democrats financially. Marino's campaign spent $96,156 and a supportive PAC, FirstStateFirst, spent $40,785.

Both sides accused the other of breaking campaign finance laws, but Elections Commissioner Elaine Manlove ruled that neither side acted illegally.

The massive political spending meant residents of the district were deluged with mailers, calls and advertisements online and on TV.

Two complaints were lodged with election officials Saturday. Election officials received a report Saturday morning that voters in the district received phone calls advising them that Hansen had withdrawn from the race. That was untrue, and the complaint was turned over to the state Department of Justice for review.

The second complaint came from Lavelle.

He said voters under 18 were permitted to cast ballots in the race.

"This is outrageous," Lavelle said. 

Under state law, people under 18 are allowed to register to vote if they will be 18 by the next general election.

That allows them to vote in special elections even if they aren't already 18, said Howard G. Sholl Jr., deputy director of the New Castle County Department of Elections.

Lavelle said the legislation that allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to register when they got their driver's licenses was not intended to allow voters under 18.

"This was not the intent," he said.

Lavelle said he was unsure how many voters cast ballots in the under-18 category by 12:30 p.m., but "I don't know what we can do. … I guess we'll wait and see."

He complained that the state Elections Department was favoring the Democrat in this race through decisions that were made.

Marleen Oetzel of New Castle said she, for one, was sick of cronyism.

She runs an animal rescue agency and was upset when former Sen. Patricia Blevins was picked to lead the state's animal welfare operation after she lost a re-election bid in November. She feels Blevins wasn't qualified.

"I'm beyond furious," she said. "You can't complain to anyone" because Democrats control the governor's office and the General Assembly.

"And did I mention I'm a Democrat," she said.

The race is high stakes for both parties, and that word got out to Hansen supporter Chad Masso.

He said he is a regular voter but "all the hype" with this election raised his interest.

Thanks to donations from all over America, Hansen's campaign spent more than $251,525, and an allied political action committee, First State Strong, dropped another $497,482, according to the Department of Elections.

Those numbers reflect the spending from the latest reporting periods only, so the final tally could be higher. They also don't count spending by unions and other groups that backed Hansen.

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The campaign also saw volunteers flock into the district to knock on doors and place signs. Before Saturday, both campaigns were confident they had knocked on the door of any resident who was likely to vote for them.

Democrats have held a majority in the Senate for 44 years.

Contact Molly Murray at (302) 463-3334 or mmurray@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @MollyMurraytnj.

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RESULTS

State Senate 10th District                                                    Total Votes                                      Percentage

Stephanie Hansen, Democrat                                              7,314                                                58.13%

John Marino, Republican                                                     5.127                                                 40.75%

Joseph D Lanzendorfer, Libertarian                                      139                                                     1.12%