Incumbent upset, narrow races: How Tuesday's school board elections shook out

Over 5,600 Delawareans turned out to vote in Tuesday's school board elections across the state, according to the unofficial results from the Delaware Department of Elections. Contested races were held in seven districts: Appoquinimink, Colonial, Red Clay Consolidated, Indian River, Delmar and Woodbridge.

While other districts throughout the state did have seats up for grabs, Delaware Code states that elections will not be held if there is only one person running.

Here are the preliminary results posted by the Delaware Department of Elections, in alphabetical order by county:

NEW CASTLE COUNTY

Appoquinimink

Incumbent Norm Abrams has been reelected to his at-large seat on the Appoquinimink School Board, which he has held for 15 years. He received 54% of the 880 total votes cast, beating opponents Britney Mumford and Candace Justino.

Mumford, executive director of the public education equity-focused nonprofit DelawareCAN, was the runner-up with 32% of votes. Justino, who works with the nonprofit "Public Allies of Delaware" program at the University of Delaware, received the fewest votes.

Colonial

Incumbent Robin Crossan was narrowly reelected to represent District G on the Colonial School Board, a position he's held for six years. He received 52% of the 362 total votes cast, beating opponent Tanya Kerns, a retired financial analyst with Amtrak, by just 12 votes.

Red Clay Consolidated

Susan Sander has been elected to represent District E on the Red Clay Consolidated School Board, beating incumbent Jason Casper, who has held the position for almost seven years. Sander, a community volunteer and former executive assistant for assisted living communities, earned 72% of the 2,043 total votes cast.

KENT COUNTY

Lake Forest

Incumbent Sarah R. Starkey has been reelected to her at-large seat on the Lake Forest School Board, which she has held for almost five years. She received 77% of the 290 total votes cast, beating opponent David Mazur, a former behavior modification specialist in New Jersey.

SUSSEX COUNTY

Delmar

Russell Smart has been elected to fill the at-large seat on the Delmar School Board. Smart, whose son is a student in the district, received 68% of the 563 total votes cast, beating opponent Dawn Turner, who was previously appointed to fill a vacant seat on the school board in 2021 and served through June 2023.

Woodbridge

John Campbell has been elected to fill the at-large seat on the Woodbridge School Board. Campbell, who has two children in the district and coaches youth sports, received 59% of the 684 total votes cast, beating opponents Brian Swain and Kristie Thomas.

Swain, a former teacher and principal, was the runner up with 34% of the votes. Thomas, who served on the boards of a government tax ditch program and the Woodbridge Little League, received the fewest votes.

Indian River

Anita West-Werner has been elected to represent District 4 on the Indian River School Board. West-Werner, a U.S. Air Force colonel and parent of two children in the district, received 59% of the total 835 votes cast, beating opponent Joshua Hudson, a captain with DNREC's Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police.

BACKGROUND: Delaware's school board election guide: Who's running in your district?

Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: School board election results are in: Who won races across Delaware