Why Should Delaware Care?
Next month’s primary elections will decide the fate of more than half of Delaware’s statewide or statehouse races this cycle. Gov. Matt Meyer’s recent endorsement of two candidates seeking to unseat sitting senators has bucked historic precedent and opened new controversies within the state Democratic Party.
Gov. Matt Meyer’s endorsement of two Working Families Party-backed candidates looking to unseat Wilmington-area state senators in next month’s primary election has drawn the ire of a top Democratic leader.
The endorsements — of Adriana Bohm and Shay Frisby over Sens. Dan Cruce (D-Wilmington) and Ray Seigfried (D-North Brandywine), respectively — were part of a larger slate of 10 candidate backings the governor released Tuesday morning, and they drew swift criticism from Delaware’s top senator.
In a statement to Spotlight Delaware, Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola (D-Newark) — who is not seeking reelection this year — said the endorsements amounted to political grudge-holding by the governor.
Sokola said Meyer’s endorsement of Frisby comes after he “failed in his 11th hour effort to run roughshod over State code and State Party rules to undermine the special election in Senate District 5.”
“As Democrats, we shouldn’t be trying to undo past elections that didn’t go our way,” he added.
Sokola’s comments harken back to the intra-party conflict among Delaware Democrats surrounding the 2025 special elections that first sent Seigfried and Cruce to the Senate.
In the lead up to those races, then-Governor-elect Meyer urged Democratic Party leaders to hold an open primary to determine the special election nominees – rather than a vote of dozens of party insiders.
On Meyer’s endorsement of Bohm, Sokola said the governor’s decision comes down to “personal hostility” over the ongoing fallout from last year’s first-in-a-generation property reassessment.
“After County Executive Meyer hid the results of his botched reassessment from the public until he was elected Governor, he refused to sign legislation that largely cleaned up the mess,” Sokola said, referring to Senate Bill 228.
That bill, sponsored by Cruce at the start of this year’s legislative session, enabled New Castle County officials to perform what lawmakers called “quality control checks” on some of the county’s most controversial commercial properties.
In an interview with Spotlight Delaware, a spokesperson for Gov. Meyer rebuffed Sokola’s statement, saying Meyer chose to endorse candidates who “align most closely with his values.”
“No one is entitled to his endorsements,” said Nick Merlino, Meyer’s deputy chief of staff.
Merlino also said Meyer chose candidates who are willing to buck “The Delaware Way,” a term often used to describe the go-along-to-get-along mentality of First State politics, and work against the grain.
Bohm and Frisby both expressed gratitude on Tuesday afternoon for receiving Meyer’s endorsement.
Both candidates said they could not speculate on Meyer’s motives, but highlighted their respective advocacy and community-focused work they said stretches far beyond their current campaigns.
Along with Bohm and Frisby, Meyer also endorsed the following candidates on Tuesday, part of what his statement called his first slate of endorsements:
- Kathy Jennings for Attorney General
- Nisha Lodhavia for Senate District 15
- Rep. Alonna Berry for Representative District 20
- Rep. Krista Griffith for Representative District 12
- Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha for Representative District 1
- Rae Krantz for Representative District 6
- Dave Redlawsk for Representative District 23
- Kyle Grantham for New Castle County Council District 3
Meyer’s endorsements, motives aside, mark an unusual move for a sitting governor, as they have not historically endorsed candidates in statehouse races ahead of a primary election.
Special election drama turns into deja vu
Sokola’s grudge-holding claims date back to late 2024, and the campaigns to replace then-state Sens. Sarah McBride and Kyle Evans Gay.
After McBride and Gay were elected to higher office — the U.S. House of Representatives and office of Lieutenant Governor, respectively — in November 2024, two special elections were needed to fill their seats inside the Senate Chamber.
When a senate seat goes vacant in Delaware, the head of that legislative chamber must issue what state law calls a “writ of election” within 10 days. The law further directs the state to hold a special election between 30 and 35 days after the issuance of the writ of election.
The law also directs committees from the political parties of the relevant district to submit someone as their nominee. Due to the quick turnaround, state law does not call for a primary election. As a result, a small number of active political party insiders ultimately choose who could represent these districts for years.
Meyer criticized that system, arguing in a letter to Democratic Party leaders at the time that they should hold a primary prior to special election slated for February 2025.
Such a process “would require our candidates to organize, persuade, and get out the vote in order to earn the Democratic nomination,” he said in the letter.
Party leaders, however, said there was not enough time to amend the special election structure.
“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,’’ then Delaware Democratic Party Chair Betsy Maron wrote in a response letter, first reported by WHYY. “At this time, however, we cannot support your proposal.”
Along with Meyer’s critiques, Spotlight Delaware also reported that a handful of political influencers coalesced around the establishment candidates, Cruce and Seigfried, and lobbied others to do the same.
Both men would go on to win the Democratic Party nomination, beating out the women they are once again facing in this election cycle.
Earlier this year, a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers attempted to change how special elections are conducted in Delaware, but their efforts stalled in the House of Representatives.
That bill, House Bill 183, would have called for special elections to include primaries, moving the state away from its current process of political party leaders choosing candidates.
Karl Baker contributed to this report.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Rae Krantz’s name. We regret our error.
