Delaware

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

Published

1 year ago

September 8, 2024

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

5-minute read

A News Journal Editorial | USA TODAY Network Delaware Editorial Board
| Delaware News Journal

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

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Delaware

Some Delaware lawmakers question Education Department program cuts

Published

1 hour ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Some Delaware lawmakers question Education Department program cuts

What are journalists missing from the state of Delaware? What would you most like WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

The Delaware Department of Education has requested $2.4 billion in taxpayer funding for fiscal year 2027, a nearly 4% increase over last year. But members of the state budget writing committee expressed frustration about students’ poor academic outcomes and questioned some of the cuts Gov. Matt Meyer has recommended.

Delaware public and charter schools serve 142,495 students. Nearly 60% of that population are low-income, students with disabilities or are multilingual learners.

National test scores from 2024 show that overall student academic performance remained below prepandemic levels and the national average. Eighth-grade reading scores in the First State hit a 27-year low, leading Meyer to declare a “literacy emergency” last year.

Education Secretary Cindy Marten presented the Joint Finance Committee with a strategic plan to improve student success — the first time the department has produced such a plan in more than a decade, she said. It lays out priorities, including expanding early education, improving test scores and implementing a new hybrid school-funding formula to direct more dollars to low-income and multilingual learners.

“Everything in this proposal reflects our guiding promise,” she said. “Start with students, build for impact. Outcomes matter.”

The Education Department’s budget cuts spending for several programs. That includes slashing 80% of the Wilmington Learning Collaborative’s funding. The WLC, which was receiving $10 million a year, aims to support city students across the Christina, Brandywine and Red Clay school districts. Its budget request currently stands at $2 million, with the organization projecting that it will have an additional $1.6 million in fiscal 2026 carryover dollars.

Wilmington Mayor John Carney said he wants to review the group’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget, but with the Redding Consortium moving forward to redraw school district boundaries in northern New Castle County, the learning collaborative was more important than ever. Redding members voted in December to combine the area’s school districts into one.

“If Wilmington families are going to have a strong say, as they should, then the Wilmington Learning Collaborative needs to be part of it,” he said. “Particularly now, if we’re talking about going to essentially a county-wide school district, obviously the percentage of families that are from the city of Wilmington is lower, and so I just want to make sure that their voices are heard.”

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Delaware

Delaware education outlines boosts, program cuts – in a $2.5B budget

Published

13 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Delaware education outlines boosts, program cuts – in a .5B budget

Delaware’s Department of Education has introduced its first strategic plan in a decade, alongside a proposed $2.5 billion budget.
The plan focuses on five key areas, including early education, teacher retention, literacy and funding reform.
A major school redistricting plan for northern New Castle County is expected to be delayed until the end of the calendar year.
Wilmington Learning Collaborative is one education program facing sharp possible cuts.

Delaware’s Department of Education unveiled its first “strategic plan” in a decade on March 3, as lawmakers sifted through its roughly $2.5 billion proposed budget.

That’s about one-third of the state’s draft spending plan, up nearly 4% from last year.

Lawmakers discussed those infusions – from reading support to early education and more – alongside some $22 million in various proposed program cuts, which could include lessened support for the Wilmington Learning Collaborative.

“It’s the first plan the Delaware Department of Education has had in at least a decade,” Secretary Cindy Marten said ahead of her remarks before the Joint Finance Committee. “There’s an opportunity here. This is not another initiative that we’re just going to layer on top of one more thing and one more thing. … We’re building on the capacity that’s already here.”

The department sculpted budget requests around five “building blocks” in this plan:

Bright beginnings: Expanding early education, with aims to raise early care enrollment from 25% to 40% by September 2028.
Safe supportive schools: Boosting teacher retention rates, with a goal to raise the three-year retention rate for all early career educators from 72% to 75% by June 2028, alongside reducing chronic absenteeism and more.
Great teaching and learning: That’s boosting early literacy, improving student achievement, growing graduation rates and college/career readiness. A key benchmark here is boosting third-grade reading proficiency from 38% to 53% by 2028.
Fair opportunities for every learner: DDOE leaders seek to implement a new public education funding model by August 2027, in step with the Public Education Funding Commission.
Families and communities as partners: The department intends to launch a family and community portal that enhances transparency and connection to learning tools, support and updates.

For Delaware state test scores, average English proficiency rates across all tested third to eighth graders came in at 41% in 2025, while math reaching 34%. Pre-pandemic 2019 scores remain around 10 points higher in each bucket.

On the Nation’s Report Card, scores released in 2025 revealed eighth grade reading scores had hit a 27-year low.

“It’s been decades where we have let that fall,” said committee Vice Chair Rep. Kim Williams, as statistics joined the budget hearing backdrop. “It took us decades to get where we’re at today. It’s going to take us some time to pull ourselves out.”

Literacy and Delaware’s youngest learners

The plan should sound pretty familiar.

Delaware’s “literacy emergency” has been an ongoing call from the Meyer administration. For Marten, a fixture benchmark is that third grade reading proficiency growing from 38% to 53% by 2028.

Alongside some $97.4 million proposed for state personnel cost, the department may also see one-time infusions of $8 million to maintain support for the “Literacy Emergency Fund” and $3 million in direct-to-teacher grants to fuel literacy gains.

Meanwhile, the plan calls for all K-3 teachers to complete professional learning in the science of reading, as mandated by Senate Bill 4 back in 2022.

The secretary also called early childhood education a “first priority” after a year of plan crafting.

Roughly $8 million in one-time spending could fuel the “Delaware Early Childhood Care & Education Alliance” next fiscal year. That’s a pilot “hub” to support child care providers across the state, while also fueling an estimated 480 additional seats in the state’s Early Childhood Assistance Program, per DDOE, or state-sponsored pre-K.

By fall 2028, the department aims to grow birth-to-five enrollment overall from 25% to 40%. She hopes a hub like this can simplify and consolidate the process for providers and families alike.

DDOE’s Office of Child Care Licensing has also been working to digitize electronic record systems to elevate the office’s public database, while tracking compliance and investigating complaints across Delaware’s licensed providers. A combined $2.4 million has been pledged to make it happen, in the last two years, and the department is aiming for launch this summer.

More investment lined budget spreadsheets, and lawmaker questions, as Marten and her team echoed back to their strategic plan. The department pledged to have regular, public reporting on the goals outlined.

After all, there’s much more to come.

Foundational funding change still in the works

To get anywhere, Marten said Delaware needs funding reform.

A one-time infusion of about $2.8 million is proposed to help launch a new funding formula, including support for public communication. So far, that pales in comparison to investment eyed by the Public Education Funding Commission’s hybrid model.

That model will tweak the state’s current unit-count system, while also adding a “weighted” approach based on student needs, as should be proposed to the General Assembly later this spring.

One commission work group projected a baseline infusion of roughly $70 million just to “hold harmless.” That’s allowing Delaware to launch a new formula, without taking existing funds away from school districts.

“That doesn’t bring us near adequacy,” said Commission Chair Sen. Laura Sturgeon, back in January. One independent research report recommended an infusion from $600 million to $1 billion in total.

While that infusion remains “the gold standard,” Sturgeon said, members think they can meaningfully implement the formula with less. She said a figure closer to $200 million has been in discussion, though nothing is final.

This reform will also likely be implemented in phases, if it clears the chambers above this JFC hearing room.

The next commission meeting is at 4 p.m. on March 16, online.

What didn’t make the cut?

The Wilmington Learning Collaborative was only listed on Meyer’s proposed DDOE spending plan as an $8 million cut.

The collaborative launched in 2022 under then-Gov. John Carney with aims to correct fractured education inside the state’s largest city, combating issues like low achievement, absenteeism and teacher retention. It fused across three school districts touching Wilmington – Red Clay, Brandywine and Christina – and pushed in programming and staff positions in about nine of their city schools.

DDOE initially described the reduction as “carryover” funds, aligned with recommendations from the governor. However, collaborative leadership said it likely wouldn’t shake out that way.

“We’re projecting a little less than $2 million carryover,” Laura Burgos said, moments after her presentation to the committee. That meets an allocation of $2 million eyed for next fiscal year, according to her presentation, compared to $10 million allocations in previous funding cycles.

“That’s still a significant reduction in total,” she continued. “But we’ll have a better idea as we reconcile the budget and see how far we go with our advancement of the STEM learning labs and better understand the number of students being served over the summer months.”

Burgos highlighted these projects and more in her presentation, while she expects more specifics on the funding cut impact to come in its council meeting, March 4.

In his questioning, Sen. Darius Brown pressed that the cut could end up being more than $6 million. In response, chair Sen. Trey Paradee said his committee could have more “conversations as a group” on those cuts, before final markup.

In Red Clay Consolidated School District alone, the collaborative fuels about a dozen teachers and five paraprofessionals, as the school board discussed in its February meeting. Burgos roughly estimated that investment at about $1 million in Red Clay.

Total impact is unclear, as local districts must consider covering positions in local budgets. The same is echoed in cuts to certain block grants.

The administration proposed cuts to a $2 million grant for substitute teachers and another $2.3 million for athletic trainers. Some districts will be able to pick up the cost locally, lawmakers noted, though the department was unable to speak to overall estimates Tuesday.

Sturgeon hopes coming reform will allow districts more flexibility for such coverage.

“What we’re moving toward is a system where all those positions will be able to be grouped together and then funded based on the priorities of the individual district,” she said.

Major redistricting effort signals further delay

The Redding Consortium – a coalition charged with improving education in and around Wilmington, as well as redistricting schools in the same boundaries – caught renewed attention in late 2025, as it voted to center planning on a consolidated district in northern New Castle County.

That’s a pending plan to convert Brandywine, Christina, Colonial and Red Clay into one school district, which would serve students from Newark to Wilmington and the suburbs north and west.

But that wasn’t the sole focus on March 3.

“Redistricting planning” has reflected about 1% of the group’s allocations in the past five years. Supports in student health centers, at $27.6 million, have made up 54% of that budgeting, while full-day pre-K support has seen about $14.8 million in the Wilmington area.

The consortium’s request this year remained consistent, as Majority Whip Sen. Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman said, at about $10.2 million.

But her colleagues should not expect a redistricting plan this session.

“Having reviewed the project scope, AIR’s best estimate for us is that putting together a thoughtful plan, with robust public input, will take the remainder of the calendar year,” the consortium co-chair said. “Again, we’re committed to delivering a robust proposal – but are very aware that students are in schools of concern every day and eager to see them better served.”

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.

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Delaware

Attention Ag Insurance Agents: Subsidy issues subject of Monday, March 9 virtual Q&A with USDA Risk Management Agency – State of Delaware News

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The Delaware Department of Agriculture is encouraging agricultural insurance agents to attend a virtual Q&A session with the USDA Risk Management Agency on crop insurance subsidy issues on Monday, March 9 at 2 p.m.

Crop insurance is a critical component of the farm safety net, protecting farmers from weather, environmental, and economic conditions that can result in low crop yields and income concerns.

The March 9 event is an important opportunity for Delaware agriculture representatives to receive answers and guidance before the First State’s peak planting and growing season begins.

“It is critical that Delaware agricultural insurance agents have all the facts before their clients make critical crop insurance decisions,” said Secretary of Agriculture Don Clifton. “In addition, we need input from crop insurance agents on the performance of the program in 2025 and how we can pursue more improvements.”

For the 2025 crop year, 318 Delaware policies received more than $3.45 million in Risk Management Agency loss payments out of more than 1,400 active policies statewide. In total, after all subsidies, Delaware policies received $1.03 for every $1 paid in premiums.

Agricultural insurance agents should contact Michael Lewis at michael.w.lewis@delaware.gov for direct meeting links and more details.