Politics and Government
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 38.8% 115,013 | 60.2% 178,264 |
| 2004 | 42.3% 120,425 | 57.1% 162,601 |
| 2000 | 42.7% 105,836 | 54.4% 134,861 |
| 1996 | 39.5% 92,628 | 49.5% 115,946 |
| 1992 | 40.8% 108,587 | 41.8% 111,210 |
| 1988 | 59.9% 147,656 | 39.0% 96,144 |
| 1984 | 61.8% 161,754 | 37.4% 98,027 |
| 1980 | 55.8% 143,282 | 34.4% 88,314 |
| 1976 | 54.9% 148,679 | 43.3% 117,252 |
| 1972 | 63.9% 175,414 | 34.3% 94,144 |
| 1968 | 50.2% 133,777 | 40.0% 106,695 |
| 1964 | 42.9% 111,189 | 56.8% 147,189 |
| 1960 | 52.0% 135,672 | 47.8% 124,629 |
As of November 2008, there are 406,352 registered voters in Delaware County .
- Republican: 190,716 (46.93%)
- Democratic: 172,405 (42.43%)
- Other Parties: 43,231 (10.64%)
Politically, Delaware County has traditionally been a Republican stronghold. It voted for the Republican candidate in nearly every election since 1854 through 1988. As was the case in most of the Philadelphia suburbs, however, the brand of Republicanism that prevailed in the area was traditionally a moderate one. It has operated under a home-rule charter with five at-large councilmembers since 1972. Republicans remain in control of all county council seats and row offices.
In recent elections, however, Delaware County has been trending Democratic and the Republican registration edge has declined rapidly from over twice as many voters as Democrats had in 2002. It narrowly voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, but has gone Democratic in every Presidential election since then by 10 points or more by progressively-increasing margins. In the 2004 election Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won the county by 14 points. In the 2004 US Senate election, Republican Arlen Specter defeated Joe Hoeffel but Democrat Bob Casey, Jr. defeated Rick Santorum in the 2006 Senate election. In the 2008 presidential election, Democratic Senator Barack Obama defeated Republican Senator John McCain resoundingly, by over 21 points. All three Democratic state row office candidates also carried it in 2008.
Most of Delaware County is located in the state's 7th congressional district, represented by Republican Pat Meehan. The district had been held for 20 years by Republican Curt Weldon until he was ousted by Joe Sestak, a retired admiral, in the 2006 U.S. House of Representatives election. Also in the 2006 election, Democrat Bryan Lentz unseated Republican incumbent State Representative Tom Gannon in the 161st House district. In 2010 Sestak ran for the senate seat vacated by Arlen Specter and was replaced by Meehan, defeating Lentz, who ran as the Democrat. Lentz was replaced in the State House by Joe Hackett, a Republican. A small portion of the county, mostly consisting of the areas around Chester, Yeadon and Darby, is in the Philadelphia-based 1st district, represented by Democrat Bob Brady.
Read more about this topic: Delaware County, Pennsylvania
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