Delaware Republicans chose political scientist Joseph “Dr. Joe” Arminio as their nominee for the state’s lone U.S. House seat on Tuesday, passing over both the state party’s endorsed candidate and its 2024 nominee. Arminio will now face Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride in the November 3 general election.
Arminio’s primary win came against Rev. Earl Cooper, who had the Delaware Republican Party’s backing, and John Whalen, who ran as the party’s nominee against McBride in 2024. McBride made history in that race, becoming the first openly transgender person elected to Congress after beating Whalen by roughly 16 percentage points.
McBride is now seeking a second term in a seat Republicans have not held since 2008. Democrats have controlled Delaware’s at-large House seat since John Carney succeeded former Rep. Mike Castle, a Republican who left the seat in 2010 to run for the U.S. Senate.
Who Is Joseph Arminio?
Arminio is a Wilmington native, author and educator who holds a doctorate in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his focus was national defense policy and international relations, according to WHYY. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University and has taught at American University and Lincoln University.
Tuesday’s primary marked Arminio’s first congressional campaign in Delaware, but not his first bid for office. He previously ran for the Republican nomination in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District in 2008, taking about 1.6% of the vote in a four-way primary that Andy Harris won, according to WHYY.
An Economic Message
Arminio built his campaign around economic concerns, pointing to what he described as excessive public and private debt weighing on American households. He named inflation and the rising cost of groceries, gasoline and housing as the biggest economic challenges facing Delaware families.
“The Republican country for that matter is in dire peril,” Arminio told WHYY. “The economy’s in very bad shape. We’re suffering from crushing private and public debt. So your typical family is having a hard time making ends meet. The young cannot afford to buy a home. They’re having difficulty in their relationships, getting married. It’s very, very serious.”
With the primary now settled, Arminio faces a steep climb to unseat McBride and end nearly two decades of Democratic control over Delaware’s only House seat.
