Delaware

Congressional Race

Senatorial Race

Population (1994): 705,000 (up 6% from 1990), 0.3% of U.S. total

Voting-age population: 534,000; 1994 turnout, 37%

Median age: 32.9 years

Median household income: $35,873 ($3,609 above U.S. median)

Unemployment: 4.5% (1.1% below U.S. average, March 1996)

Last presidential election:

Clinton (D): 44%

Bush (R): 35%

Perot (I): 20%

Congressional delegation: One Democrat, two Republicans

Given its streak of choosing the winning presidential candidate 11 times in a row, Delaware would seem to be a perfect microcosm of America. It has ethnic neighborhoods, wide swaths of farmland, wealthy suburbs, military bases and resort towns. Candidates for statewide office actually meet a large segment of the electorate during the campaign, and in tiny Georgetown, the Thursday after the election, the losing candidate rides alongside the winner in the "Return Day" parade. This intimacy may explain why the major statewide offices are evenly split between the parties. It seems Delaware, the First State, pays more attention to personality than partisanship.

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