The Independent Party of Delaware has nominated Austin Cassidy for state auditor, making him the party’s only statewide candidate for the November general election and, for now, the only challenger to Democratic incumbent Lydia York.
The Delaware Department of Elections announced on August 5 that it had added Cassidy to its candidate list, recognizing him as having officially qualified for the race. Under state election terminology, that means the department reviewed its required criminal history background check and confirmed that he satisfies state residency requirements. Barring a decision to withdraw, it also means he is now set to appear on the ballot this year.
Cassidy is set to face York, who was first elected to the office in 2022 after handily defeating then-incumbent Kathy McGuiness in the Democratic primary and later Republican Janice Lorrah in the general election. Unlike then, however, Delaware Republicans did not nominate an auditor candidate during their April state convention, and no Republican candidate has filed for the office this election cycle, at least as of this article’s publication.
The race could still change, as GOP leaders have time to nominate someone by the September 1 deadline, but no nominee has been publicly discussed. Unaffiliated candidates who collected the required signatures by July 15 likewise have until September 1 to complete the process, but Independent Political Report is unaware of any such candidate seeking the auditor’s office this cycle.
While a strong showing wouldn’t directly help the Independent Party meet its stated goal of becoming Delaware’s third major party behind the Republicans and Democrats, Cassidy’s status as its only statewide nominee—and one in what will likely be a two-way race—could help the party gain exposure and recruit new members. Delaware election law requires an organization looking to become a major party to have registered membership equal to at least 5 percent of statewide registration by December 31 of the year before a general election.
Based on the 801,762 voters registered at the end of 2025, the Independent Party needed at least 40,089 members to satisfy that requirement for the 2026 cycle. The party remains well below that threshold as of August 1, with state rolls showing it had 12,578 registered members.
Even if the party were able to reach that threshold before the end of this year, the qualifying date for 2026 has long passed, making it too late for the party to attain status as a major party this cycle. However, it still has time to work toward reaching 5 percent for the 2028 election cycle.
Cassidy is also the Independent Party’s second nominee overall this cycle, joining Dexter Bland, its candidate for Delaware’s 3rd state House district. Additionally, the organization endorsed two Republicans earlier this year, throwing its support behind Michael Katz in the U.S. Senate primary and Eugenia Thornton in her reelection campaign for Kent County recorder of deeds.
Editorial note: Austin Cassidy is a former owner of Independent Political Report. He did not contribute to this article and was not approached for comment.
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