Delaware 2024 Election Overview
There is much to cover since the end of Delaware’s 2023 Session!
Leadership Changes:
This is how it went down last June:
- Speaker of the House, Peter Schwartzkopf who served as Speaker for a decade, stepped down.
- He recommended Majority Leader Longhurst, and that night, she was elected to Speaker position
- This left a vacancy in Majority Leader role
- Democratic caucus members elected Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown as House Majority Leader
House Democrats Elect All-Female Leadership Team, Setting Historic Firsts in Delaware
Valerie LonghurstSpeaker of the House
District 15
Valerie J. Longhurst is the first female Speaker of the House in Delaware history. She was first elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in November 2004 to represent the 15th District. The district consists of 24,000 people living in Bear and St. Georges. In 2008, she was elected as the House Majority Whip and served for four years. After the 2012 election, her caucus elected her House Majority Leader. In June 2023, she was elected Speaker of the House. – https://housedems.delaware.gov/members/house-district-15/
Melissa Minor Brown
Majority Leader
District 17
Rep. Melissa ‘Mimi’ Minor-Brown is determined to make a difference by using her platform as a springboard for change, advocacy, and empowerment for her community. Rep. Minor-Brown knows what it means to work hard. She is an American success story, pulling herself up as a single teenage mother to evolve into a licensed practical nurse, to a registered nurse with a master’s degree in Executive Leadership, graduating Cum Laude from Wilmington University, to now serving as a legislator in Delaware’s House of Representatives. On a broader scale, Rep. Minor-Brown serves as the Region III Chair for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. – https://housedems.delaware.gov/members/house-district-17/
Governor’s Race
Governor John Carney’s two terms as Delaware Governor ends in 2024! Below are the candidates for Governor in Delaware.
Bethany Hall Long
Lt. Governor (2017-2024)
Dr. Bethany Hall-Long has served as Delaware’s 26th Lieutenant Governor since 2017. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Delaware House of Representatives from 2002-2008 and in the Delaware Senate from 2008-2017. –https://ltgov.delaware.gov/biography/
In the news:
How Hall-Long’s refusal to release audit findings sparked elections reform talks
Check out her campaign website here.
Matt MeyerNewcastle County Executive (2017-2024)
Lt. Governor’s Race
Kyle Evans GayDE State Senator
District 5
After becoming a vocal advocate for the successful Equal Rights Amendment to the Delaware Constitution, Sen. Gay was elected to the Delaware Senate in 2020, becoming the first Democrat to represent the Fifth Senate District in more than 40 years.She currently serves as the chair of the Senate Elections & Government Affairs Committee, vice-chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, co-chair of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee, and a member of both the Senate Transportation Committee and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. – https://legis.delaware.gov/AssemblyMember/151/Gay
Debbie HarringtonRetired Army Colonel
Sherry Dorsey WalkerDE State Representative
Congressional Race to Watch
Colleen DavisDE State Treasurer
Sarah McBrideDE State Senator
District 1As a state senator, McBride has passed legislation expanding access to health care, requiring mental health and media literacy education in public schools, promoting green technologies, and protecting workers and families. In just her first term, McBride also passed the landmark Healthy Delaware Families Act, providing paid family and medical leave to workers throughout the First State and marking the largest expansion of Delaware’s social safety net in decades. She currently serves as chair of the Senate Health & Social Services Committee, and a member of the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology, Education, Executive and Judiciary committees. – https://senatedems.delaware.gov/members/senate-district-1/
Check out her campaign website here.
Director of Housing Authority
his current position by Governor John Carney in May of 2021. In cooperation with other state agencies and advocates, Director Young drives DSHA’s mission to provide and assist others to provide, quality, affordable housing opportunities and appropriate supportive services to low- and moderate-income Delawareans. – https://leadershipdelaware.org/teams/eugene-young-jr/
Check out his campaign website here.
