This story has been updated.

DOVER – The word of the night was “supermajority” in Delaware.

For the first time, Delaware Democrats have this status in both the House of Representatives and Senate.

Here are some takeaways from Tuesday:

The new supermajority

Democrats flipped three seats in the state House of Representatives, giving them 30 seats to Republicans' 11. House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown, D-New Castle, said Tuesday evening it is "the biggest House majority in recent years."

The biggest of those flips was in Kent County's District 34, where political newcomer and former state librarian Annie Norman, of Rising Sun, defeated Republican Lyndon Yearick, of Magnolia, by 150 votes. Yearick has been in the office since 2014.

In Sussex County’s District 4 (Millsboro area), Democrat Gregg Lindner collected 51% of the vote to defeat Republican Dan Zitkofsky. The winner replaces Jeff Hilovsky, who did not seek re-election.

The third was in District 9 (Odessa area) where Democrat Ayanna Khan-Flowers defeated Republican Jamar Money. The seat has been held by Kevin Hensley who stepped down after 12 years in the House.

A two-thirds supermajority is enough for a party to pass constitutional amendments. Recent proposed constitutional amendments by Democrats in the legislature include codifying the right to marry, reproductive health and same-day voter registration. The first, Senate Bill 100, will be brought back before this General Assembly for a second-leg vote. 

Constitutional amendments must first pass both chambers of the legislature and then be brought back before the next General Assembly.

The Democratic supermajority in the statehouse also includes several Working Families Party-endorsed candidates who won in September's primary.

This includes Michelle Booker, who ran unopposed for House District 2 in the general election; Branden Fletcher-Dominguez in House District 3, who easily won against his two opponents with 82% of the vote; Rae Krantz, for the open seat in House District 6; Pamela Salaam in House District 16; and Tye Grier in House District 28. 

Democratic incumbents who lost their primaries include Stephanie Bolden (RD 2), Josue Ortega (RD 3); Franklin Cooke (RD 16); and William Carson (RD 28).  

Democratic power statewide

Statewide races all went to Democratic Party incumbents – U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, U.S. Representative Sarah McBride and Attorney General Kathleen Jennings, each winning with about 64 percent of the vote.

Sussex County, which usually has greater results for Republicans, all had Democratic Party candidates winning in those races.

As of Sunday, the Department of Elections shared, there were 199,294 registered Republicans statewide, compared to 333,488 Democrats. Those who have not chosen a party are the second-largest voting bloc — 250,756 residents.

A Republican has not held a statewide office in Delaware since 2019, when Ken Simpler was the state treasurer. He served one term before losing to Democrat Colleen Davis.

Speaking of the treasurer, Democrat Ted Lauzen will replace Davis. He defeated Republican Michael Ramone with 62 percent of the vote.

Republicans in the state House

Although the open seat in Sussex County's House District 4 flipped, Republicans maintained control of the other two open seats in the county. 

Former state legislator John Atkins beat Democratic opponent Ryan Stuckey for House District 41 in the Millsboro area, with 53.1% of the vote. It was previously represented by Republican Rep. Rich Collins, who retired this year after 12 years in office.

In House District 38, in the Ocean View area, Carlie Carey beat Democrat Maureen "Mo" Madden with 54.9% of the vote. The seat had been held Republican Rep. Ron Gray since 2012.

There was also an open seat in Kent County's House District 33 (north Milford to Magnolia), following Republican Rep. Charles Postles' retirement. Republican Morgan Hudson beat Democrat Joshua Pennington with 54.5% of the vote.

Early voting

Some hints of how the election night would go came around 8:30 p.m. with the release of early voting and absentee numbers posted.

The state’s Department of Elections shared that 148,738 Delawareans — about 18% of eligible voters — had cast ballots via early-voting and absentee procedures.

Overall, more than 384,000 votes were cast.

By 11:15 p.m., the Department of Elections had posted numbers from 528 of 530 districts.

State Senate

The most prominent of Kent County races was in District 15 where Sen. Dave Lawson’s seat was vacant.

Political newcomer Emily Thompson, a Republican, won with 57% of the vote against Democratic Party challenger Nisha Lodhavia.

Lawson held the seat since 2010.

The race was the heaviest-funded campaign in the legislature this year, with the candidates bringing in a combined $177,497 (Lodhavia at $116,902, and Thompson at $60,595).

Other new senators include Democrats Mara Gorman of Newark and Shay Frisby of Claymont. Gorman won the retiring Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola's seat in Senate District 8, while Frisby had ousted Ray Seigfried in September's Democratic primary for Senate District 5.

County races

The only incumbent to lose a row office was Eugenia Thornton in Kent County.

Ramona Bracy, a Democrat, won the Recorder of Deeds race with 57% of the vote.