This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Wednesday November 5, 2025.

With all Wilmington precincts reporting in – Mayor-Elect Bill Saffo can look forward to a city council controlled entirely by Democrats.  The results are numerically decisive  – Wilmington residents want the Democrats in power.  Add to these results the equally bad election outcomes in New York, Virginia, New Jersey and California as well as the beach towns in New Hanover County.  It was not a banner day for conservatives.

These results were not surprising as the numbers were against the GOP from the beginning in every race – including Wilmington.   There are simply more registered Democrats than Republicans in our city.  While independent voters outnumber both parties – history shows the unaffiliated vote generally breaks 60/40 toward Democrats.  The Republicans had a tough battle from the start.

However, out of over 103,000 registered voters in Wilmington, only slightly more than 27,000 – or less than 27% of the electorate -  decided to show up and vote.  Over 70,000 voters – many of them Republicans – decided this race was not worth 30 minutes at the polls.  If Republicans had not neglected their civic duty, these results would have been drastically different.

It is a failure that we will have to live with for the next two years.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample.  Thanks for listening.