Delaware
Delaware closer to allowing public campaign expenses to cover security
When will Delaware’s 2026 midterm elections take place?
Delaware’s midterm elections are coming up. Here’s what voters need to know before heading to the polls.
- A Delaware bill would allow candidates and elected officials to use campaign funds for security.
- The measure comes amid a national rise in threats and violence against public officials.
- Covered expenses would include security systems and personal security, but not firearms.
- Funding for these protections would come from voluntary campaign contributions, not taxpayer money.
Delaware candidates and elected officials may soon be able to use campaign funds to protect themselves on and off the campaign trail.
A House bill introduced June 4 would allow funding for security costs for Delaware officials and candidates. Lawmakers said those expenses would be covered through voluntary contributions, not taxpayer dollars.
Nationally, the bill arrives during a fraught period for public officials. In recent years, several lawmakers in other states have been targets of politically motivated violence, resulting in serious injuries, property damage and, in some cases, deaths.
In Delaware, lawmakers didn’t point to any local examples, but said many legislators are on edge. A 2024 research report from the Brennan Center for Justice found that 43% of interviewed state lawmakers experienced threats, as well as 18% of local officials.
Some public officials in that research said they were less likely to hold public events, work on contentious topics or even run for higher office.
The Delaware bill mirrors similar proposals introduced across the country aimed at improving safety. At the federal level, candidates and officeholders — along with their families and staff — are already allowed to receive such protections.
To advance, the bill will need to clear its final committee and the Senate floor before June 30. Otherwise, lawmakers start all over again next session, after the midterms.
‘A responsibility to act’
Campaign expenditures in Delaware are currently limited to mostly advertising, food and refreshments, as well as attendance at political events and travel expenses.
If passed, House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown’s bill would cover several security-related expenses, include:
- Electronic security systems located in a candidate’s home or office
- “Personal security,” a category the Delaware Department of Elections said it would further define if the bill passes.
- Cameras, fences or “other comparable security-related equipment”
These funds can also be used to help protect their families in certain circumstances, Minor-Brown told Delaware Online/The News Journal.
They cannot be used to pay for firearms, however.
House Minority Whip Jeff Spiegelman raised a concern about this during the bill’s June 11 hearing in his chamber, calling guns another matter of defense.
Fellow sponsor House Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris said the choice was not to include firearms in the bill, saying this could lead to discomfort for many, and potentially do more harm than good.
Minor-Brown also said candidates covered in this bill must have filed for office and currently be campaigning. Additionally, the New Castle Democrat said money must come from voluntary contributors.
No officeholder or candidate is required to abide by this measure, Harris told lawmakers, as the use of funds will remain “entirely optional.”
The bill comes as lawmakers nationwide have faced rising intimidation and violence in recent years.
This includes former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who, alongside her husband Mark, were shot and killed in what officials described as “a politically motivated assassination” last year, as reported by USA TODAY.
In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro’s home was the target of an arson attack last April.
And just a few weeks before, New Mexico Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque was vandalized, almost a year after it was damaged in an arson attack.
Minor-Brown also pointed toward the 2022 attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, the assassination of conservative politico Charlie Kirk last year, as well as the attempts on the life of President Donald Trump.
“This is not about politics. It’s not about partisanship,” Harris said ahead of the floor vote. “It’s about safety.”
Minor-Brown said lawmakers should not have to choose between their safety and performing their elected responsibilities. As such, lawmakers have “a responsibility to act” now, she said.
Several other states – including New Jersey and Maryland – have proposed similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Other states have also enacted laws on the safety of candidate families and staff, cybersecurity and using campaign funds to pay for home security systems. Minor-Brown told Delaware Online/The News Journal she expects to see measures regarding cybersecurity in Delaware.
This bill passed the House on June 11. It is now scheduled to be heard in Senate committee on June 25.
Olivia Montes covers state government and community impact for Delaware Online/The News Journal. If you have a tip or a story idea, reach out to her at omontes@delawareonline.com.