Why Should Delaware Care?
Democrats in the Delaware House of Representative have maintained a comfortable majority in recent years, but are still one seat shy of a supermajority needed to pass constitutional amendments. But Republican will have a chance to shrink the majority during a special election later this summer.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the Aug. 5 election date and that District 20 also encompasses the greater Milton area and a statement from the Governor’s office.
Lewes and Milton-area Democrats will choose a candidate on Thursday to run in an Aug. 5 special election for the legislative seat previously held by Rep. Stell Parker Selby.
Five Democrats have entered the intra-party race to become their party’s candidate. Those include nonprofit director Alonna Berry, Lewes Councilman Joe Elder, Milton Councilwoman Randi Meredith, real estate agent Ruby Schaeffer, and open government advocate Keith Steck.
The nomination vote will occur immediately after a candidate forum takes place at the Lewes Public Library from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
All registered Democrats are allowed to attend the forum, according to a statement from Democrats in the lower Delaware representative district.
Those who did not RSVP by Tuesday for the forum should arrive early at the library to verify their party status, according to the statement. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Unlike the Democrats, Sussex County Republicans have already nominated a candidate for the special election in Nikki Miller, who also ran for the seat last year.
That election for the District 20 representative seat was close, with Miller only losing by 245 votes.
And another close race is likely this year, particularly after state Democratic leaders were criticized heavily in recent months for saying little about why Parker Selby had been missing from the 2025 Delaware Legislative Session.
In early June, reports publicly emerged that she was absent after suffering a massive stroke late last year. She has yet to be seen publicly in the more than six months since.
The upcoming special election will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 5, according to an announcement by House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown on Thursday. The winner in that election will serve the second year of Parker Selby’s term, which expires on Election Day 2026.
If Republicans win the seat, it will chip away at the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. If Democrats hold the seat, it will preserve their majority – which is one seat short of a supermajority needed to amend the Delaware Constitution without bipartisan support.
Last year, then-Governor-elect Matt Meyer criticized the nomination process his party uses to determine candidates for special elections, urging leaders to instead hold an open primary vote to determine nominees – rather than a vote of party insiders.
An open primary election “would require our candidates to organize, persuade, and get out the vote in order to earn the Democratic nomination,” he said in a letter to party leaders then.
Then-Democratic Party Chair Betsy Maron wrote in a response letter that she could not support Meyer’s proposal “at this time.”
“We welcome a dialogue to evaluate the current official replacement process under the Delaware Code, the Delaware Democratic Party rules, and the laws of other subdivisions and municipalities,’’ she said in the response.
Last month, Maron was succeeded as state Democratic Party chair by Evelyn Waters Brady, who also led Meyer’s transition team.
In a statement on Thursday to Spotlight Delaware, the Governor’s office said, “Governor Meyer believes Delawareans should choose the candidate who will represent them in primary elections, and that view has not wavered.”
