GEORGETOWN, Del. -- The midterm election signifies a historic holiday in Delaware. Return Day has taken place in Georgetown for 200 years, but this year the Democratic Party of Delaware has called on it's candidates to refrain from riding the carriages in the event parade.
The Return Day tradition is a way for Delawareans to celebrate the end of the recent election. It it celebrated two days after every November election. Opposing candidates literally and metaphorically bury a hatchet to show that they are unified despite their differences.
"It's such a beautiful sight to see," says Georgetown Mayor Bill West. "Republicans, Democrats, Independents, all coming together to celebrate that the election is over."
However, the ongoing controversy surrounding a confederate flying on the grounds of the Marvel Carriage Museum in Georgetown has caused more divisiveness than unity this year. Some of the carriages used in the parade belong to the museum. To protest the confederate flag and the society behind it, the Democratic Party of Delaware and affiliated candidates are choosing not to ride in carriages during the parade.
"The spirit of return day is that we are coming together after an election cycle where things could have been divisive and we are coming back together to do work for everyone in the state," says Travis Williams, executive director of the Democratic Party of Delaware. "The confederate flag kind of arms us against each other and I cant think of anything more divisive than that."
Delaware Republicans disagree with the democrats' choice and feel as if they have other motivations.
"This is just not a story because they are trying to create a fake narrative of racism," says former U.S. Senate nominee Rob Arlett. "That flag is a historical context of what occurred right here in Sussex County and right here in Delaware."
According to Williams, most democratic candidates have chosen to still attend and participate in the Return Day festivities, but they will not ride carriages. Instead, candidates will walk or ride in cars. Congresswoman Lisa Blunt-Rochester is one of them.
"I want to participate in a way that honors the tradition of burying the hatchet, but at the same time makes clear that there is no place for symbols that are felt deeply by many of us," says Blunt Rochester. "That doesn't feel right in my spirit."