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The 2026 Election

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped me during my recent campaign running for Delaware State Representative for District 6. I was helped in so many different ways: financially, designing my flier and signs, putting up signs, following me on social media or liking and sharing my posts and videos, and handing out flyers. Thanks to all of you!

While we did not get the results that we hoped for either in Delaware or in the nation as a whole, we should not get discouraged or give up. We must remember that God is sovereign and in control of every detail of our lives, state, country, and world. He has a plan and He knows what He is doing.

The Democrats are currently being largely controlled by Socialists both in Delaware and in the country as a whole and we all know what happens when socialist regimes are in charge. We will look at Venezuela as one example in a few moments.

Americans who are angry at the Republicans who have been in power wanted to send a message to those Republicans but they will soon see that even with all of the troubles the Republicans have given us on a national scale, socialism will be far worse. Once people see what it is like with socialists in control they will change their mind and swing back toward the middle or the right.

Delaware’s History of Party Control

While it seems unimaginable right now that there were ever Republicans in power in Delaware this is simply not true. There have been many Republican Governors in Delaware. Here is a list of a few of the most recent ones:

• Dale Edward Wolf (1992–1993)
• Michael Newbold Castle (1985–1992)
• Pierre Samuel Du Pont IV (1977–1985)
• Russell W. Peterson (1969–1973)
• David Penrose Buckson (1960–1961)
• James Caleb Boggs (1953–1960)

The Republican Party last held control of the Delaware House of Representatives between 1984 and 2008. This was a 24-year streak that ended 18 years ago. Since regaining power, Democrats have maintained continuous control of the House chamber, most recently, in the 2026 election, they expanded their lead to a two-thirds supermajority. 

Republicans won control of the Senate during the 1968 election cycle and maintained their majority across three consecutive election cycles before ultimately losing control to the Democratic Party in the 1974 election. Since that time, Democrats have continuously held the majority in the state senate. In this last election they were able to maintain their supermajority.

This supermajority in both houses is of course what Delaware Republicans wanted to avoid. In addition to a supermajority in both the House and Senate, Delaware has a Democrat Governor who supports the socialists.

With the Democrats holding two-thirds of all seats in both the House and the Senate, they are able to amend the state Constitution without Republican support, a move that further solidifies Democrats’ monopoly on state politics.

Running as a Republican in Delaware right now - especially in New Castle County - tends to feel Sisyphean. In fact there was only one Republican on the ballot in New Castle County at the July deadline to declare one’s intention to run for office. Thus the Northern New Castle Republican party nominated 6 or 7 New Castle County Republicans to run for senate and representative offices by September 1st in order to not leave the Republican side of the ballot empty and to give Delawareans an option other than a socialist. 

Does Socialism Really Work?

Socialists say that they care about “the working people” but the truth is that those who call themselves socialists and especially those who lead the socialist movement are often wealthy and entitled people who have never held a non-government job. Consider Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, or the leaders of Black Lives Matter who were behind the George Floyd riots.

Socialism has been tried many times in many countries and over many years and each time it has led to disastrous results. Yet those who are its proponents today claim that when they implement socialism it will somehow be different.

A recent example is Venezuela’s experiment with "21st-century socialism" launched by President Hugo Chávez in 1999 and continued under Nicolás Maduro. This socialism transformed the country from one of Latin America's wealthiest nations into an economic and humanitarian crisis. 

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela, founded in 2007 by Chávez systematically nationalized major private industries, including oil, electricity, cement, telecommunications, and agriculture, while also seizing private land and businesses.

The socialist programs, widespread public subsidies, and “free” social welfare initiatives were almost entirely funded by state oil revenues. When global oil prices dropped and mismanagement set in, state revenue collapsed.

Price and currency controls, combined with the expropriation of private enterprises, crippled domestic production. This triggered severe hyperinflation and forced a de facto dollarization of the economy to keep commerce functioning. The official legal tender is still the bolivar but the U.S. dollar functions as the primary medium of exchange and pricing.

Chronic shortages of food, medicine, and basic utilities have resulted in massive poverty rates and the largest migration crisis in the history of the Western Hemisphere, with roughly 8 million Venezuelans fleeing the country. Critics and international monitors widely condemn the regime for dismantling democratic checks and balances, rigging elections, and cracking down on political opposition. 

Free-market economists and political analysts argue that Venezuela is a modern case study of how centralized socialist planning, the destruction of property rights, and state intervention inevitably cause economic ruin and authoritarian drift. 

The socialist regime and its supporters, on the other hand, attribute the collapse not to socialist ideology itself, but to severe U.S. economic sanctions, foreign "class warfare," and economic sabotage orchestrated by domestic and international opponents.

Regardless of how one interprets the various contributing factors, Venezuela's experience should remind us to examine carefully the promises made by politicians who advocate expanding government control over the economy. 

What Believers Are Called to Do

As socialism takes a stronger hold in our state and country, more people will see that socialism and Christianity are not compatible. Socialist governments either make atheism the official state religion or they co-opt the church to make it promote the state’s ideology. Socialism and Communism replace God with government.

Instead of looking to Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection to return us to the Garden of Eden at the end of time, Socialists believe that their redistribution of wealth can create an Eden or Utopia on earth. Unfortunately they do not look carefully enough to see that this never works. 

Mankind is sinful. If we are not rewarded for our work we stop working. Would you go to work if you weren’t paid to do so? Or what if everyone is paid the same regardless of how hard they work? 

This is what is happening in public schools around the country and particularly in Delaware. How? The teachers unions defend and hold on to ineffective teachers and the good teachers see this and are less motivated to produce academic results such as effectively teaching students to read using phonics.

Another problem with socialism is that when the government determines how much of each item to produce or how much to charge for each item rather than letting the free market guide this decision, stores run out of items or end up with too many of other unneeded items such as boots. When this happens people starve and millions die. 

We can already see a foretaste of this when we look at our modern welfare system which discourages people from having jobs by taking away benefits when people work and thus creates more and more people who are dependent on the government and unmotivated to improve their lives. (And thus vote to keep those who give them free stuff in power.)

This information is essential to share with those who are currently supporting socialism in Delaware and in the U.S. as a whole. People are being lied to and told that money will be taken from the wealthy to give healthcare, food, housing, and other “rights” to the people. 

What is not being said is that when the government steps in to redistribute people’s money everyone will have less, not more. Plus, no matter how much money is taken from the wealthy it won’t be enough to pay for all of the things that socialists want to give people. Additionally, the government is far less efficient than private companies. The government (including public schools) hires more and more bureaucrats every year who push papers rather than actually producing a product (or rather than effectively teaching our children how to read).

For example, the universal healthcare that Bernie Sanders and others promote will take away the healthcare that Americans currently have through their jobs in order to provide for those who do not have healthcare. What is not said is that only 7% of people in the U.S. do not have health insurance and are already subsidized by the high cost of medical care that the rest of us pay so that when someone cannot pay they still receive healthcare. Bernie and friends do not want you to know this.

These are important issues that deserve an honest discussion. We should not assume that a government program is better simply because it promises to provide something at little or no direct cost to the recipient. Someone ultimately pays for every service, and we need to understand who pays and what the consequences will be.

How Should We Respond?

You may be thinking that, given Delaware's movement toward the political left, perhaps relocating to a state with more conservative leadership would be a wise decision.

But consider this: If everyone who understands the dangers of socialism and wants to preserve our Christian heritage and constitutional freedoms moves away, who will remain to help guide Delaware back in a better direction?

I know someone who is very involved in Delaware politics and is also an evangelical Christian. She encourages those who are discouraged by the direction our state is moving to view their presence here as an opportunity to "Be a Missionary to Delaware."

What a wonderful way to look at our circumstances!

We do not need to move to a foreign country to share the Gospel with people who have never heard it or who have never embraced its truth. There are people right here in our own communities who need to hear about Jesus Christ.

Some Americans have little understanding of who Jesus really is. Others may know His name but have never learned about His perfect life, His death on the cross in our place, or His resurrection. Even many people who identify as Christians believe, mistakenly, that they can somehow earn their own salvation through good works.

It is our responsibility as believers to share the truth: We are sinners who cannot save ourselves. Salvation is a gift of God's grace, made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is the message our neighbors, friends, and coworkers need to hear.

What the Bible Says

God encouraged Israel while she was in exile in Babylon due to a lack of obedience (sounds a bit like today, does it not?) to seek the well-being of the country in which they were living. Through the prophet Jeremiah God instructed the Jewish exiles not to withdraw from society but to build homes, plant gardens, raise families, and pray for the prosperity of Babylon.

We read these instructions in Jeremiah 29:4–7:

“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’ ” (Jeremiah 29:4-7)

As Delawareans and Americans, we too need to seek the well-being of our state and our country. We should be involved in our communities, pray for our elected officials, participate in the political process, and encourage policies that promote freedom, responsibility, and the common good.

Hopefully, as people see the consequences of decisions being made in our state legislature and in Washington, D.C., they will begin to reconsider the direction in which our country is headed.

But our most important responsibility is to share the Gospel with our fellow citizens and pray that the Holy Spirit will open their eyes and hearts to the truth.

At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives what is commonly called the Great Commission. These instructions were given to His disciples and remain central to the calling of all who follow Him.

“Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ ” 

This is the calling Jesus has given us as His people living in a state and a country that are continually moving away from Him. 

We may not have achieved the political results we hoped for in the 2026 election, but that does not mean our work is finished. We must not lose heart or give up.

Let us remain faithful to Jesus and to the mission He has given us. Let us pray for Delaware, pray for our nation, become involved in our communities, and faithfully share the Gospel and Biblical truth with those around us.

Our hope is not ultimately in elections, political parties, or government leaders. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. Let us never forget that!

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”