and house of Representatives, or the Democrats completely absent from federal politics. With the power of industry overriding agriculture, the Democratic Party was not be able to regain an equal footing in the state until Franklin D. Roosevelt came into office. 1950s-1990s Following its period of weakness, the Democratic Party of Delaware began to regain an equal foothold with its Republican rival following World War II. Democrat Elbert N. Carvel served two terms as the governor of the state and helped keep his party relevant when they did not control the state legislature. The Democrats of the late 1970s to 2000 held an equal footing in the state, neither party gaining serious ground on the other. Democrats would end up holding the Governor position in the state for 30 years. 2000s-present Initial regaining of power (2000s-mid 2010s) In the 21st century, the Democratic Party has risen to become the most popular party in Delaware. The party has control at the state level over the executive branch and the legislative branch. In 2000, incumbent Democratic Governor Tom Carper defeated Delaware's last Republican United States Senator to date, William Roth, by a 12-point margin. Incumbent Republican United States Representative Mike Castle retired in 2010 to run for U.S. Senate. The seat switched from Republican to Democratic when then-Lieutenant Governor John Carney won the seat that year, which was one of three congressional seats that Democrats gained in 2010. Progressive movement and ideological factions (late 2010s-present) Preceding the late-2010s, the progressive faction of the Democratic Party held little power in Delaware politics, with the party being primarily dominated by the centrist and conservative wings. In 2018, incumbent centrist U.S. Senator Tom Carper faced an unexpected progressive primary challenge from Dover activist Kerri Evelyn Harris, who received 35% of the vote, which was the highest percentage against a statewide incumbent in 20 years. In the 2020 state Democratic primaries, the progressive movement made unexpected significant gains on the state and local level. The most powerful Democrat in the Delaware Senate, President Pro Tempore David McBride, lost to challenger Marie Pinkney by nearly 5 points. Among other notable wins was progressive Eric Morrison's 22-point landslide defeat of conservative Democrat incumbent state representative Earl Jaques Jr., who faced controversy over homophobic comments he made towards Morrison, who is gay. Other progressive insurgents in the Delaware legislature in the 2020 primaries included Larry Lambert and Madinah Wilson-Anton.