Why Should Delaware Care?
During the upcoming 154th General Assembly, the House Minority Leader must contend with a smaller caucus than in years past, and one that recently lost one of its few remaining levers of power when Democrats secured a two-thirds supermajority during last week’s midterm elections. Taking on the role will likely mean looking for unique ways to advance a Republican agenda in a statehouse that has become a Democratic stronghold.
Republicans within the Delaware House of Representatives tapped Rep. Danny Short (R-Seaford) as the next Minority Leader, after a health emergency prevented Rep. Tim Dukes from seeking the role.
In a phone call with Spotlight Delaware on Monday, Dukes said he was at Bayhealth Hospital’s Kent Campus, recovering from a weekslong battle against diverticulitis. Complications from the intestinal infection led to multiple surgeries and stays at four different hospitals over the past two weeks, he said.
As a result, Dukes said he was not able to attend the House Republican caucus’ organizational meeting last week where members voted for their leaders, let alone run for the role of Minority Leader himself.
But he sang Short’s praises, along with those of Rep. Valerie Jones-Giltner (R-Georgetown), who was elected Minority Whip. Dukes called them both colleagues and friends whom he values and trusts.
“I respect Danny Short and Valerie Jones-Giltner as much as anybody in Dover,” he said.
A spokesperson for the House Republican caucus said on Monday they were optimistic Dukes would make a full recovery, and Dukes himself said he still plans to lead during the 154th General Assembly, but just in a different way.
“I’d rather have my life and my health than have a title,” he said.
In the State Senate, Republicans voted to retain their leaders from the 153rd General Assembly for the next two years, keeping Sen. Gerald Hocker (R-Ocean View) as Minority Leader and Sen. Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown) as Minority Whip.
A return to leadership alongside a fresh face
Short, who previously held the position of Minority Leader from 2013 to 2023, will take back the role from Dukes, who succeeded him in the role just two years ago.
After multiple retirements and election losses this year, Short finds himself the most tenured member of the House of Representatives, having first been elected in 2006.
“Someone needed to step up,” he told Spotlight Delaware on Monday. “And we lost a couple team members, so the crew looked at me to maybe come back as somewhat of a veteran and head this thing up for the next term.”
After House Democrats flipped three seats in this year’s midterm elections, Short retakes the helm of a depleted caucus as Republicans prepare to work alongside a new Democratic supermajority. It effectively strips away Republicans’ ability to block amendments to the state Constitution.
But this new tenure as Minority Leader is reminiscent of Short’s first time joining the Republican House leadership team in 2008, he said. During that election season, the GOP had just gone from the majority party in Legislative Hall to the minority.
Now, Short said he hopes to foster a more congenial than combative relationship with House Democrats. He pointed toward bipartisan bills he worked on during the last General Assembly alongside Rep. Cyndie Romer (D-Newark), who was recently elected Majority Whip, as an example of successfully working across the aisle.
But Short also said the caucus still plans to leverage its power over legislation that requires a three-fourths majority vote, like the annual bond bill and grant-in-aid bill.
Legislation that does any of the following things would require a three-fourths majority vote in both chambers, according to the state constitution:
- Creates new debt, such as issuing bonds;
- Loans money to a county, municipality or corporation;
- Reappropriates money designated specifically for the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.
Jones-Giltner, who was first elected in 2023, will be joining Short in leadership as Minority Whip. The role will be her first leadership position within the caucus. In a phone call with Spotlight Delaware, Short praised Jones-Giltner’s healthcare background, legislative knowledge and communication skills.
Rep. Jeff Spiegelman (R-Clayton), who has been Minority Whip since 2023, said he decided not to run again for the position because the time drain was too much on his growing family business.
Jones-Giltner did not respond to a request for comment.
“I couldn’t serve the people of the 11th district, serve my caucus, and run my family business all at the same time,” Spiegelman said.
