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Three Republican candidates are competing for the nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride for Delaware’s lone congressional seat. The three will face off in the 2026 primary election.

The winner will face McBride, who is seeking a second term representing Delaware’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. McBride was first elected to Congress in 2024, after former U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester won her bid to become the state’s first woman, and first Black woman, elected to the U.S. Senate.

The Republican field includes businessman and former pastor Earl Cooper, businessman Joseph Arminio and attorney John Whalen III.

Here’s a look at what the job entails, where the candidates stand on key issues and more.

What’s at stake in the U.S. House race?

Delaware’s congressional district is a single at-large district that covers the entire state. It was first established during the 1st U.S. Congress in 1789, and remains the longest-acting and uninterrupted district in the nation.

Democrats have held the seat since 2010, when former Gov. John Carney -– and current  Wilmington mayor — won and remained in Congress for three terms until U.S. Sen. Blunt Rochester won the seat in 2016.

U.S. Rep. McBride holds one of the 435 congressional seats that make up the U.S. House of Representatives. The Republican Party currently holds the majority of seats, with 218. The Democrats hold 212, and U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley of California remains Independent. There are currently four vacant seats.

Democrats are expected to regain control of the House in the November general election, but McBride retaining her seat would certainly help in closing the six-seat difference. Three Republican hopefuls are looking to upset the incumbent and build on the GOP’s House majority.

What do representatives do in Congress?

A congressional leader represents all of those living within a congressional district. Delaware is the only U.S. state whose entire population is represented by a single district.

Congressional representatives’ main responsibilities are to write and introduce new bills and legislation, work on committees and provide constituents a voice in Congress.

What to know about Republican Earl Cooper

Business owner and former pastor Earl Cooper is making his first run for public office.

Cooper spent decades operating one of Delaware’s largest minority-owned heavy highway construction companies before closing the business earlier this year. Before entering the construction industry, he served as a pastor. He eventually stepped away from ministry to focus on growing his company and supporting its employees.

In an interview with WHYY News, Cooper pointed to his work mentoring young people, helping employees become homeowners and developing workforce training programs as experiences that prepared him to serve in Congress.

Rather than describing himself as a career politician, Cooper repeatedly framed his candidacy through his experience as a business owner and community leader.

“Everything that I’m telling you, I’ve already done,” Cooper said, pointing to his work in workforce development, housing and community initiatives.

“When it was fixing up homes in our community for those that needed homes, I did that before I thought about running,” he said. “Working with our communities, I’ve done that. [I] was working with our neighborhoods when we had deadly streets.”

What are Earl Cooper’s top priorities?

Education is among Cooper’s top priorities. He said he wants to create stronger partnerships between schools and businesses to expose students to career opportunities and skilled trades.

“We need to be able to bring businesses like myself and other businesses into the schools and be able to share with students how much we make, and to be able to give them hope,” he said. “And to reassure them that if they can build a very good resume while in school, hopefully graduate from school, that we would be interested in hiring them.”

Another point he highlighted was focusing on creating more opportunities for young people.

To Cooper, Delaware is known for its “school-to-prison pipeline.”

“I want to change that,” he said. “I want to change that whole ideology. This is not the time to be able to talk about school-to-prison pipelines; this is the time to be trying to build hope, build hope in young people.”

Cooper also said the state needs to do more to attract businesses and create higher-paying jobs. Drawing on his experience as a business owner, he said that recruiting employers back to the state is essential to strengthening the state’s economy and expanding opportunities for workers.

Another priority for Cooper is addressing the needs of older adults. He wants to help seniors facing rising energy and living costs, including through a proposed hotline that would connect residents with assistance.

What to know about Republican Joseph Arminio

Joseph Arminio is a Wilmington native, political scientist, author, educator and first-time congressional candidate.

Arminio said he has dedicated much of his career to public policy and political commentary. He holds a doctorate in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he focused on national defense policy and international relations. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University and has taught at American University and Lincoln University.

Arminio described himself as a conservative and said his decision to run is rooted in what he sees as serious economic and national challenges facing the country.

“The Republican country for that matter is in dire peril,” he said. ”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.”

What are Joseph Arminio’s top priorities?

Arminio’s campaign centers heavily on the economy. He said his first priority in Congress would be advancing the “American Prosperity Plan,” which would address what he sees as excessive private and public debt and stimulate economic growth. He said he wants to bring debt levels down and revive the private sector.

Inflation is the biggest challenge facing Delaware, Arminio said, citing the cost of groceries, gasoline and housing. He said that high private debt is contributing to the financial pressure on families, particularly younger people who are struggling to afford homes.

“They can’t afford to get the food they need. They can’t afford to get gasoline. They’re working several jobs,” he said. “In many cases, that has to stop. Again, it comes back to the private debt. It is too hard and too high. People are leveraged. They can’t afford to take out more credit.”

Beyond the economy, Arminio said he would work to stop what he describes as “endless wars,” address immigration and push for what he called a revival of the Constitution.

On immigration, Arminio said the federal government needs to enforce existing laws and increase the number of enforcement agents. He argued that the country’s economic condition limits the government’s ability to hire enough personnel to carry out that work.

“We have to enforce the rule of law. That’s very important,” Arminio said.

What to know about Republican John Whalen III

John Whalen III is a retired Delaware State Police officer, former residential construction company owner and longtime Delaware resident running for Congress for the first time.

According to his campaign website, Whalen grew up in the Wilmington suburbs and graduated from Thomas McKean High School in 1972. He studied political science and history at the University of Delaware before studying criminal justice at Delaware Technical & Community College.

Whalen joined the Delaware State Police in 1977 and spent 20 years in law enforcement, working in patrol, the K-9 unit, burglary and robbery investigations, major crimes and an FBI joint violent crimes task force.

After retiring in 1997, he started a residential construction company and spent more than two decades building homes and additions in Sussex County.

He currently lives in Millsboro with his wife, Valerie. They have three adult sons and six grandchildren.

WHYY News reached out to Whalen’s campaign for an interview about his candidacy and priorities but did not receive a response.

What are John Whalen’s top priorities?

Immigration is a central issue for Whalen. His website calls for stricter enforcement of federal laws and argues that illegal immigration poses economic and national security concerns. He also calls for reducing federal spending and debt, including greater scrutiny of government agencies, foreign conflicts and programs supporting undocumented immigrants.

He describes himself as pro-life, but supports exceptions for rape, incest and when a mother’s life is at risk. He also supports the Second Amendment and opposes additional gun restrictions.

On foreign policy, Whalen says Europe should take a greater role in supporting Ukraine and argues that the U.S. has spent too much money on European wars. He supports material assistance to Israel, but opposes sending American troops to the region.