DE-HD36: Milford statehouse race grows contentious over developer donations
One of Delaware’s most contentious statehouse races has heated up in Milford, pitting an incumbent Republican against an upstart Democrat with a local family of developers weighing into the fray.
House District 36, which covers south Milford to Ellendale and down to Broadkill Beach, has been represented by Republicans for 40 years, but Rep. Bryan Shupe only narrowly held his seat by 12 votes in a primary challenge in September.
He now faces Democrat Rony Baltazar-Lopez in a district that has become increasingly purple, with Republicans only holding a 154-voter edge in registrations as of Oct. 1, according to Department of Elections data. Unaffiliated voters make up nearly 30% of voters in the district.
On top of that difficult race, Shupe now also faces continued opposition from the Fannins, a family of prominent Sussex County homebuilders who backed his Republican challenger Patrick Smith and are now supporting Baltazar-Lopez.
https://spotlightdelaware.org/2024/10/16/district-36-donations/