Delaware
Delaware Democrats prepare for new Trump administration
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Democrats in Delaware are seeking answers and preparing for President-elect Donald Trump to take office for another four years. Meanwhile, Republicans are hopeful the former president will enact the promises he made during his campaign.
Emotions ranged from joy to shock at Return Day, held just days after last week’s election. It’s a centuries-old First State tradition where every election cycle, candidates and Delawareans of all political affiliations come together to bury an actual hatchet to show there are no hard feelings — even after a divisive election.
Sussex County Republican Committee Vice Chair Tom Molnar had a booth set on the fairgrounds last week, with a cardboard copy of Trump people took pictures with and a large red hat with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan on it.
“This is the best week that we’ve had in a long time,” Molnar said. “Trump won, and we had a lot of Republicans win the election.”
Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris lost the popular vote and the Electoral College to Trump. Republicans gained control of the U.S. Senate; the House is still undecided to date, but Republicans are inching towards victory there as well.
Former Rep. Debbie Harrington, who unsuccessfully sought the lieutenant governor position in the Democratic primary earlier this year, said she thinks some people were uncomfortable electing a Black woman as president.
“When you talk about the differences in the two of them, it just didn’t cross my mind that he had the ability to win,” she said. “I just didn’t believe that.”
Millville resident Sherrena Williams said she’s worried the rights of Black people will erode under the next Trump administration.
“I personally grew up during segregation, and I’m starting to have flashbacks,” Williams said. “When we look at the television and he gave his [acceptance] speech, nobody looked like us on that stage.”
While Harris carried Delaware, turnout and Trump’s ability to broaden his appeal contributed to his overall win.
Delaware’s turnout was down from 68% four years ago, when President Joe Biden was running to 65% this year, state Department of Elections data shows. That’s similar to results nationally, where overall turnout was 65%, two points lower than in 2020.
Trump also increased his share of votes in the First State this election cycle, garnering 214,184 in 2024 compared with 200,184 in 2020.
Former Rep. Ruth Briggs King, a Republican who lost a bid for lieutenant governor against Democrat Kyle Evans Gay, said she saw more Black and Latino voters support her than in prior races.
“They like direct speech, not a lot of legalese, not a lot of political jargon,” she said. “They want that real and sincere conversation. And I think that must have resonated with them.”
Williams said the Democratic Party is not doing enough to represent the Black community.
Trump gained support from more Black voters, particularly men, this year than in 2020, according to data from AP VoteCast.
“The Democratic Party has to step up and be more proactive in supporting Black people,” Williams said. “They like us, but they’re not putting forth policy to show that. So that’s very important, and I think that is why Black men voted for the Republican Party. They see the Democratic Party as being friendly towards us as a people, but not friendly towards us with their policies.”
Delaware voters elected Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Tom Carper, making her the state’s first woman and Black candidate elected to that chamber.
Delaware
Delaware state police trooper killed in active shooter incident at DMV facility; suspect also dead
This story originally appeared on 6abc.
Delaware state police say a trooper was killed in what officials said was an active shooter situation at a DMV facility in New Castle on Tuesday afternoon.
The suspect in this incident is also dead, Gov. Matt Meyer said.
State police said they are “are continuing to assess additional injuries.” There is no official word yet on the exact number of people injured.
Police say the active shooter incident is now over.
The incident happened around 2 p.m. at the facility on Hessler Boulevard.
No further details have been made available.
Police are asking residents to avoid the area.
Stay with Action News and 6abc.com as this story develops.
Delaware
2 hurt after car crashes into building in Talleyville, Delaware
Two people were hurt after a car crashed into a building in Talleyville, Delaware, Monday morning.
The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. along the 100 block of Brandywine Boulevard. Police said a woman was driving a light-colored vehicle when she somehow lost control and crashed through the first floor of a realty company.
A fire station is located across the street from where the crash occurred. Firefighters responded in less than a minute and the driver as well as another person were both taken to the hospital. Investigators told NBC10 both victims suffered minor injuries and are expected to be OK.
Crews removed the vehicle and boarded up the damaged building. They continue to investigate the cause of the crash.
Delaware
Delaware-based dark money group ‘Alabama Patients First’ unleashes TV, digital attack on Blue Cross Blue Shield
A brand-new, out-of-state dark-money group launched an attack on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama over the past week, and has already invested over $320,000 in negative television advertising alone.
During some of this weekend’s largest SEC football matchups, including Alabama vs. Oklahoma, the group ran a shock-style message that is now being pushed to Alabama voters more aggressively than any political campaign could afford to spend on television at this point in the 2026 election cycle.
According to business filings, “Alabama Patients First LLC” was formed in Delaware on December 11. The state is known for its Teflon business privacy laws. LLCs are not required to publicly list their ownership or members, making it an ideal vehicle for dark money to reach its target.
Since its formation, the group has been busy in Alabama.
Using a “Paid for by Alabama Patients First” disclaimer, the group aired television advertisements, launched a website, and directed SMS marketing campaigns directly to voters, igniting a costly media attack against the state’s leading insurer.
“They make a killing off telling you ‘No.’ Blue Cross Blue Shield: ‘No.’ That’s Blue Cross “B*******,” the ad says.
A station-by-station breakdown of the Alabama Patients First TV buy across multiple Montgomery-area outlets, including WSFA, WAKA, WCOV-TV, WNCF, and others, totals $226,071.
The group also spent $102,000 across Birmingham, Huntsville, and Dothan media markets.
The buy spans six weekends, ranging from its first airing on December 14, with a much smaller spend scheduled after January 1, to a wind-down on January 18, 2026.
By comparison, in the Montgomery media market, the group spent $211,633 in December and just $14,438 in January.
In total, the out-of-state group has spent at least $328,071 on pushing the TV spot to Alabama residents.
Alabama Patients First’s TV spend isn’t the whole tab, either. The professional fees required to deploy such an operation likely reach into the millions – and the timing is striking.
The attack on Alabama began the same week that Jackson Hospital and Clinic, Inc. initiated a high-visibility litigation campaign against BCBS of Alabama.
Jackson Hospital and its lender, Atlanta-based Jackson Investment Group, are on the clock for a December 31, 2025 bankruptcy court deadline to secure $100 million in public funding, which would help satisfy a debtor-in-possession (DIP) agreement the two signed earlier this year.
Yellowhammer News requested information from officials at Jackson Investment Group, Jackson Healthcare, and Jackson Hospital to confirm or deny a connection between the hospital’s lending relationship and the creation of Alabama Patients First.
At the time of publication, those requests went unanswered.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama did respond to the negative ad blitz in a statement on Monday afternoon.
“The ads are an intentional misrepresentation of how we do business,” Sophie Martin, Director of Corporate Communications for BCBS of Alabama, said.
“Based on the timing of the ads, we believe they are nothing more than an improper attempt by Jackson’s investor-lender to improperly influence litigation.”
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
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