Earl Cooper says Arminio is “setting us back” as he launches a write-in campaign
Earl CooperThird-place finisher in the Republican U.S. House primary and write-in candidate, speaking to WHYY News
Earl Cooper, who finished third in the Republican primary for Delaware’s U.S. House seat, told WHYY that he began a write-in campaign because he found Arminio’s comments about McBride discriminatory. He said, “I am a man of color. I am an African American, and I felt like he’s setting us back”, and that people who back Arminio are making clear “that they are in line with him”, which he disagreed with.
“I am a man of color. I am an African American, and I felt like he’s setting us back … I see a lot of the people who back him. They are really kind of making it very clear that they are in line with him and I disagreed with that. So for that reason, I went today to give Delawareans a choice.”
Original post
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Joe Arminio’s misgendering of Sarah McBride warrant his removal from a Delaware candidate forum?
On September 17, 2026, at a candidates forum at the Siegel Jewish Community Center in Wilmington, Joseph Arminio, the Republican nominee for Delaware’s at-large U.S. House seat, referred to his opponent, Rep. Sarah McBride, with male terms, including “his” in his opening statement, which the audience met with boos, and “gentlemen” later. McBride is the first openly transgender member of Congress. After the first instance the moderator, Ken Grant, told Arminio: “This is your final warning. If you fail to show respect to anyone else on this stage, you will be asked to leave.” Arminio said in a later answer that he had “committed an error.” After the second instance his microphone was cut and he was removed. McBride said on stage that she did not want Arminio to be unable to speak. Mike Katz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, who was on the same stage, has said he called for Arminio’s removal, and afterward called on him to withdraw from the race. Grant later said the rule was applied “as they would have been for any candidate, of any party, on any subject.” Whether Arminio’s conduct warranted his removal from the forum, and whether it warrants his withdrawal from the race, is the matter in dispute. In his first public statement since the forum, issued September 22, Arminio said he appreciated McBride defending his freedom of speech and that he is “a firm supporter of freedom of speech and the Constitution in its entirety.”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post from the Delaware Department of Elections’ verified X account announcing that Earl Cooper filed as a declared write-in candidate for the U.S. House.
Reporting
About this source
WHYY News report on the write-in candidacies that followed the forum. It reports that Earl Cooper and John Shulli each filed as write-in candidates on Monday, September 21, and quotes both about the forum. It also reports that Delaware Republican Party chairman Gene Truono said the party remains supportive of both Arminio and Katz, and quotes McBride saying she welcomes everyone into the races.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Cooper finished third in the September 15 Republican primary for the seat, which Arminio won. He said he began his write-in run on Monday, September 21, and the Delaware Department of Elections announced his filing that day.
After the quotation
WHYY also reported that Delaware Republican Party chairman Gene Truono said the party remains supportive of both Arminio and Katz.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to whether Arminio’s conduct warranted removal from the forum and withdrawal from the race, Cooper rejects the conduct, saying it is “setting us back”, and acts on that view by launching a write-in challenge. That is an express criticism of the conduct, not a comment on tone or coverage, so condemns fits better than “Mixed or conditional”.
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More from this case
Read the full caseArminio invokes free speech in later response to the candidates-forum incident
“I myself am a firm supporter of freedom of speech and the Constitution in its entirety. That, of course, extends to one’s right to assert the “gender identity” of one’s choosing, as well as to assert the facts as one sees them.”Read statement
Delaware Republican Party says no forum should “substitute enforced language for open political argument”
Delaware Republican Party
“Delawareans deserve a real debate, not a debate that ends the moment a Republican nominee refuses to recite the other side’s talking points. We stand with the First Amendment. Candidates should be able to speak, voters should be able to hear them, and no forum should substitute enforced language for open political argument.”Read statement
Nancy Mace calls Arminio’s removal “The Left policing biology and speech”
“The Left policing biology and speech...”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Earl Cooper says Arminio is “setting us back” as he launches a write-in campaign". First published: 2026-09-24. Last updated: 2026-09-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/2171-earl-cooper-who-finished-third-in-the-republican