Delaware became the first U.S. state to ratify the constitution on December 7, 1787, and has participated in every presidential election contested in U.S. history. The state has voted for the winning candidate in 38 out of 59 presidential elections, giving it a success rate of 64 percent (although it sided with the winning candidate in all-but-three elections in the twentieth century). Delaware has consistently voted for a major party candidate, siding with the Democratic nominee in 25 elections, and the Republican nominee in 18 elections. Today, Delaware is considered a "safe" blue state, having voted Democrat since 1992; its former Senator, Joe Biden, won Delaware's popular vote comfortably in 2020 election, by a margin of almost twenty percent.
Biden makes history
By securing the Democratic nomination in the 2020 election, Joe Biden became the first major party candidate to come from the First State. Although he was born and spent his early childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden's family moved to Delaware when he was ten years old. Joe Biden then attended college at the University of Delaware in the 1960s, and represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009, before assuming the role of vice president.
Electoral vote allocation
Over the past two centuries, Delaware has consistently had one of the smallest populations of any state in the United States. Apart from the elections between 1812 and 1820, when it was raised to four, Delaware's designated number of electoral votes has remained at three throughout election history, which is the joint-lowest number of any state.
Number of electoral votes from Delaware designated to each party's candidate in U.S. presidential elections from 1789 to 2020
Year and candidate
Democrat
Republican
Federalist
Democratic-Republican
National Republican
Whig
Unaffiliated
Vote not cast**
2020: Joe Biden*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2016: Hillary Clinton
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2012: Barack Obama*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2008: Barack Obama*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2004: John Kerry
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2000: Al Gore
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1996: Bill Clinton*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1992: Bill Clinton*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1988: George H. W. Bush*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1984: Ronald Reagan*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1980: Ronald Reagan*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1976: Jimmy Carter*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1972: Richard Nixon*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1968: Richard Nixon*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1960: John F. Kennedy*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1956: Dwight D. Eisenhower*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1952: Dwight D. Eisenhower*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1948: Thomas E. Dewey
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1944: Franklin D. Roosevelt*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1936: Franklin D. Roosevelt*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1932: Herbert Hoover
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1928: Herbert Hoover*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1924: Calvin Coolidge*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1920: Warren G. Harding*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1916: Charles Evans Hughes
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1912: Woodrow Wilson*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1908: William Howard Taft*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1904: Theodore Roosevelt*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1900: William McKinley*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1896: William McKinley*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1892: Grover Cleveland*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1888: Grover Cleveland
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1884: Grover Cleveland*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1880: Winfield Hancock
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1876: Samuel J. Tilden
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1872: Ulysses S. Grant*
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
1868: Horatio Seymour
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1864: George B. McClellan
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1860: John C. Breckenridge
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1856: James Buchanan*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1852: Franklin Pierce*
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1848: Zachary Taylor*
-
-
-
-
-
3
-
-
1844: Henry Clay
-
-
-
-
-
3
-
-
1840: William Henry Harrison*
-
-
-
-
-
3
-
-
1836: William Henry Harrison
-
-
-
-
-
3
-
-
1832: Henry Clay
-
-
-
-
3
-
-
-
1828: John Quincy Adams
-
-
-
-
3
-
-
-
1824: John Quincy Adams* (1), William H. Crawford (2)
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270towin.com. (December 16, 2020). Number of electoral votes from Delaware designated to each party's candidate in U.S. presidential elections from 1789 to 2020 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 10, 2024, from https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/1129660/delaware-electoral-votes-since-1789/
270towin.com. "Number of electoral votes from Delaware designated to each party's candidate in U.S. presidential elections from 1789 to 2020." Chart. December 16, 2020. Statista. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/1129660/delaware-electoral-votes-since-1789/
270towin.com. (2020). Number of electoral votes from Delaware designated to each party's candidate in U.S. presidential elections from 1789 to 2020. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 10, 2024. https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/1129660/delaware-electoral-votes-since-1789/
270towin.com. "Number of Electoral Votes from Delaware Designated to Each Party's Candidate in U.S. Presidential Elections from 1789 to 2020." Statista, Statista Inc., 16 Dec 2020, https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/1129660/delaware-electoral-votes-since-1789/
270towin.com, Number of electoral votes from Delaware designated to each party's candidate in U.S. presidential elections from 1789 to 2020 Statista, https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/1129660/delaware-electoral-votes-since-1789/ (last visited November 10, 2024)
Number of electoral votes from Delaware designated to each party's candidate in U.S. presidential elections from 1789 to 2020 [Graph], 270towin.com, December 16, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/1129660/delaware-electoral-votes-since-1789/