Delaware 2026 Senate election preview: Coons seeks fourth term against former state Democrat
Delaware primary winners announced: Voters weigh in
Delaware’s primary saw nominees picked for Senate and House, with voters raising concerns about gas, electric costs and local oversight.
DOVER, Del. - We’re just weeks away from the 2026 midterm elections, and one of Delaware’s U.S. Senate seats is up for grabs.
What we know:
On the Democratic side is an incumbent seeking his third full term in office, while a former Delaware state senator has secured the Republican nomination.
The state hasn’t had a Republican senator since before Joe Biden served in the Senate — 53 years, to be exact.
Here’s who’s running for the U.S. Senate in Delaware in 2026.
Sen. Chris Coons
Chris Coons
Chris Coons is Delaware’s incumbent senator, and has represented the state since 2010. In the Senate, Coons serves on the Appropriations, Foreign Relations, Ethics, Judiciary and Small Business and Entrepreneurship committees. He is the vice chairman of the Ethics Committee.
In his reelection bid, Coons is campaigning on a platform of "Opportunity, security and justice." Specifically, Coons says on his campaign website, that means focusing on things like pushing back against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, defending the Affordable Care Act, transitioning to clean energy, and enacting immigration reform.
Before serving in the Senate, Coons was president of the New Castle County Council from 2001-2005 and a New Castle County Executive from 2005-2010.
Coons faced off against three other Democrats in a primary in September, but won handily, securing nearly 78% of the vote.
In this legislative session, Coons has introduced bills on combatting deepfakes, energy security, and national security, among others.
Dr. Mike Katz
Michael Katz
The other side:
Michael Katz is a pediatric anesthesiologist, the owner of a Delaware real estate company and a former Delaware state senator.
Katz represented Delaware in the state senate as a Democrat from 2009 to 2013. Shortly after that, he briefly sought the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election before withdrawing. Then in 2024, he ran for the U.S. Senate as an independent.
Katz says re-registering as a Republican "was not a change in principle—it was an alignment with the principles he had lived by for decades."
Katz is running on a familiar Republican platform that includes plans to bring manufacturing jobs to the U.S., "back the blue," complete the southern border wall, withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities, pass the SAVE Act, "protect women’s sports" and more.
He also has plans to protect Delaware’s coast, create incentives for first-time homebuyers and create a new advanced-care VA medical facility in the state.
Similar to Coons, Katz won by a massive margin in September’s primary with 77% of the vote, over John Shulli.
2026 Senate election
Featured
Delaware 2026 midterm election: Key dates and deadlines, early voting details
Early voting in Delaware begins this week. Here's everything you need to know about how to cast your ballot.
What's next:
Delaware voters will begin casting their ballots in this year's Senate race on Thursday, Oct. 22, with the beginning of early voting.
Early voting will continue until Nov. 1. Also on the ballot are Delaware's sole U.S. House seat and dozens of seats in the state's General Assembly.
Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The Source: Information in this story is from the campaign websites of Sen. Chris Coons and Michael Katz, Coons' congressional webpage, the Library of Congress' online legislation catalog and the Delaware Department of Elections.