Delaware voters face real choices in picking a new governor. Here are our impressions

5-minute read

Delaware’s 2024 primary election is upon us.

Voters in both parties have begun the task of selecting their nominees in the race for governor. Voting in the Sept. 10 primary began Wednesday, Aug. 28 and continues this week, running through Sunday, Sept. 8.

In recent weeks, the Editorial Board of DelawareOnline.com and The News Journal met with five of the six candidates seeking the state’s highest office. Each candidate brings strengths to their campaigns; each offers a different vision for the First State’s future.

In our conversations, each candidate acknowledged — and in some cases, shared — our ongoing frustrations about the pace at which legislation and change alike move in Dover. Most acknowledged that Delaware can do far better on issues like government transparency. And each of the five candidates we spoke with expressed a strong desire to move the Delaware electorate forward from the political polarization that has defined national politics over the last decade.

While we will not endorse in the primary race — most Delawareans in both parties already likely know their own minds, we believe — we do offer undecided readers these impressions of the candidates we interviewed.

Meet the candidates: These 4 statewide races have contested primaries in Delaware

The Democrats

Delaware Democrats have managed through a summer that has been defined by a highly competitive contest for the top of the state ticket. Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, the political veteran who enjoys the support of the Delaware state party and many other establishment organizations within the Democratic milieu, faces competitive challengers in New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and former state environmental secretary Collin O’Mara.

An August poll, conducted by Citizens for a New Delaware Way PAC, found Meyer leading the race, with the support of 27% of likely Democratic voters. Hall-Long netted the support of 23% and O’Mara followed with 11%. Still, some 31% of voters in the poll, conducted Aug. 8, were undecided. A later poll found Hall-Long’s support slipping while O’Mara gained.

The Democratic race has been bruising, by all accounts. Hall-Long has faced bruising questions about her campaign finance and its history. In addition, developers unions and a New York compant with a longtime grudge have amplified attacks and pressure on all sides. The race has attracted considerable interest from donors — both in Delaware and outside the First State. In all, the campaigns have collectively raised more than $7 million, making the campaign one of the most expensive in state history.

Here are some of our impressions of each candidate:

Collin O’Mara

The former Delaware Secretary of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, O’Mara is a Bear resident who is now the CEO of the National Wildlife Federation in Washington. He left DNREC in 2014 and has waged an uphill battle with Democratic voters as a relative outsider.

That said, O’Mara represents a breath of fresh air for a Delaware Democratic Party steeped in custom and power. While Meyer and Hall-Long have gone on the offensive, O’Mara has preferred to position himself as a candidate who would challenge the First State’s long-held political norms.

We were especially taken with O’Mara’s interest in redefining the so-called Delaware Way. He supports — as do we — a rethinking of the way businesses is conducted in Dover both in terms of speed and transparency.

O’Mara also said he’d use the powers of the Delaware governorship — among the more powerful in the country — to set an agenda that would tackle education funding, increased investment in climate change mitigation and clean energy jobs.

Doing so, he said, would quicken the pace in Dover.

“There’s not a will to get it done here if there’s pushback,” O’Mara said of the dynamic between the General Assembly and the administration of outgoing Gov. John Carney. “We don’t look at the benefits, so everything looks more expensive but that’s weaponized.” 

Bethany Hall-Long

The lieutenant governor is always happy to share the story of her Sussex County roots and how they have shaped her perspectives as a leading Delaware Democrat. In our conversation, she cited her long experience as a nurse, educator, research scientist and politician and said her background and her longstanding service to the First State would guide her as governor.

Indeed, Hall-Long’s command of the systems that deliver progress in Dover and Washington are strengths. Again and again, she mentioned collaborative efforts she’s mounted with lawmakers across the state and the nation to point to her capacity for success.

To her credit, too, she met our questions about the scrutiny she’s faced over questions about the history of her campaign finance. Forward-looking, Hall-Long said there was “no fraud” and expressed her hopes that Democratic voters would join her in an effort to “move forward.”

On policy, Hall-Long said she would focus on job growth and supporting Delaware’s small business. She spoke of her goal for Delaware to deliver on universal childcare and said she would create a cabinet-level position to address the needs of First State veterans and active-duty military personnel.

“It’s not just about the policy,” Hall-Long told Delaware Online/The News Journal’s editorial board members on Wednesday, Aug. 28. “It’s about having the capacity and the leadership to know where to take Delaware next.”

Matt Meyer

The New Castle County Executive, first elected to office in 2016 as a political newcomer, is now the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Meyer’s ambitions for Delaware and for his own potential term as governor, shone through clearly in a conversation with our editorial board. He pledged to tackle education funding, to expand access to child care and affordable housing and discussed his desire to see Delaware become home to a medical school.

Meyer also expressed frustration about the political culture in Dover — which he characterized as overly focused on catering to the needs of special interests rather than to cause of progress for average Delawareans.

“It takes elected leaders who understand that our job, and my job, is to represent the people who don’t have a seat at the table, who don’t have a moneyed special interest in some decision making,” Meyer told us.

Acknowledging that his resume does not include service in Dover, Meyer pointed to his success in building relationships with the New Castle County Council and with key players in county government to deliver progress. If elected, he said he would work quickly to build relationships with leaders in the General Assembly and in state government to build consensus around an agenda to drive progress.

The Republicans

Republicans also face a three-way choice as they select a nominee for governor. Members of the Delaware GOP will chose between state House Rep. Mike Ramone, former New York City police officer Jerrold Price and lifelong Bridgeville resident Bobby Williamson.  

Our editorial board met with two of the three candidates as voting got underway in the primary: Ramone and Price. Williamson, after repeated inquiry, did not respond for requests for an interview until this week — and cited his campaign’s inability to meet with us virtually due to bad WiFi access, an issue Williamson said was central to his campaign.

Given the Democratic Party’s longstanding grip on power across statewide office, the Republican race has attracted less attention — and far less financial support. Still, both Ramone and Price expressed their hopes to cool partisan rancor if elected. Neither mentioned former President Donald Trump in our conversations, even when asked about partisan alliances.

Here are some of our impressions of each candidate:

Mike Ramone

A veteran legislator in Dover who has long served in the state House of Representatives — he is now the House Minority Leader — Mike Ramone enjoys the endorsement of the Delaware Republican Party.

Ramone takes deep pride in his roots as a native Delawarean and said he believed his many — and sometimes controversial — experiences as an entrepreneur, along with his capacity for building relationships his party and across the aisle, would make him an effective governor. Indeed, at times, Ramone openly harkened back to a pre-Trump Delaware in which a socially moderate, fiscally conservative mindset prevailed among Delaware Republicans. Ramone said he believed that truly is still the case, even now.

“I’m not deep blue, and I’m not scarlet red,” Ramone said, echoing stump speeches. “I’m Delaware yellow,” which he explained to be squarely in the middle of the political spectrum.

Ramone’s challenge, as we see it, will be to prove himself right — that Delaware Republicans, many in the thrall of the former president for much of the last decade — will accept a turn back to the political center.

Ramone made reasonable assertions about the state’s need to rethink its funding for education, investment in youth and in job growth when we talked policy. In addition, Ramone talked about what he characterized as an ongoing need for Delaware: he is committed to making the state more friendly to business at every level by reconsidering tax policy.

Jerry Price

A former New York city police officer who retired to Lewes, Jerry Price told us his top priority as governor would be to focus on what he described as an ever-present crisis in public safety.

Price, who largely veered away from partisanship during our conversation, said that, if elected, he would work to convice Dover lawmakers to make significant investments in public safety and proposed adding police officers in departments across the state in an effort to create a more responsive and collaborative public safety network that could respond situationally to shootings and narcotics-related crimes, especially in Dover and Wilmington.

On social issues, though, it’s clear that Price is aligned with Republican culture warriors who want to roll back the clock on social issues like transgender rights. Price said he could not support transgender athletes competing in Delaware.

On policy, Price talked about the need for the First State to significantly reconsider the way it handles education funding and expressed his belief that schools are essential to building public safety. He has supported access to reproductive healthcare and for higher salaries for Delaware teachers.

Bobby Williamson

Williamson, who was unable to meet with our editorial board, has framed his candidacy around his deep roots in the First State. The Bridgeville resident is a fourth-generation Delawarean, according to his campaign website.

As DelawareOnline.com and The News Journal have reported, he has billed his candidacy around his identity as a political outsider who advocates for parental freedoms, children and small business. He has also said he supports preservation efforts across the state.

When is the state primary election day in Delaware?

The primary election is Tuesday, Sept. 10.

When is Election Day 2024?

The general election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.

Is there early voting in Delaware?

Early voting continues until Sunday, Sept. 8.

What do I need to vote early in Delaware?

At the polling site, a worker will ask you for proof of identity. Permitted forms of ID include:

• Valid Photo ID
• Copy of utility bill
• Bank statement
• Government check, paycheck, or other government document that displays your address

Early voting sites in Delaware

New Castle County

• Appoquinimink State Service Center, 122 Silver Lake Road, Middletown
• Christina Crossing, 501 S. Walnut St., Suite 13, Wilmington
• Claymont Community Center, 3301 Green St., Claymont
• Department of Elections Warehouse, 220 Lisa Drive, New Castle
• Hudson State Service Center, 501 Ogletown Road, Newark
• Police Athletic League, 3707 N. Market St., Wilmington

Kent County

• BPOE #1903 Elks Lodge, 200 S. Saulsbury Road, Dover
• Crossroad Christian Church, 4867 N. Dupont Highway, Dover
• Frederica Senior Center, 216 Market St., Frederica
• Harrington Parks & Recreation, 114 E Liberty St., Harrington

Sussex County

• American Legion Post 28 Millsboro, 31768 Legion Road, Millsboro
• Department of Elections Warehouse, Georgetown, 542 S. Bedford St., Georgetown
• Department of Elections Warehouse, Seaford, 200 Allen St., Seaford
• Ellendale Fire Hall, 302 Main St., Ellendale
• Laurel Fire Hall, 205 W. 10th St., Laurel
• Margaret H. Rollins Community Center, 101 Adams Ave., Lewes
• Millville Community Center, 32517 Dukes Drive, Millville
• Roxana Fire Hall, 35943 Zion Church Road, Frankford