Why Should Delaware Care?
The State Senate has only 21 seats, so each race is of vital importance. Democrats managed to hold two seats in special elections, which retained their supermajority and means that they won’t have to seek bipartisan compromise if they don’t want to.
Democrats retained their two seats in the State Senate after special elections Saturday in the Wilmington area, ensuring that they will keep a supermajority in the upper chamber.
In Senate District 1, which includes the neighborhoods of Trolley Square, Alapocas and Bellefonte in and around the city, United Way of Delaware executive Dan Cruce won the three-way race by capturing 79% of the vote. Republican Steve Washington got about 20% of the vote while non-partisan candidate Riley Figliola got 1%.
Cruce will now complete the final two years in the term of former State Sen. Sarah McBride, who was elected to Congress.
In Senate District 5, which includes Brandywine Hundred and Claymont, former ChristianaCare executive Ray Seigfried was elected with 67% of the vote. His Republican opponent Brent Brudge captured the other 33%.
Seigfried will complete the final two years in the term of former State Sen. Kyle Evans Gay, who elected lieutenant governor.
The election of Cruce and Seigfried means that Democrats will retain their 15-6 supermajority in the State Senate, allowing them to pass most legislation without needing to receive any bipartisan support from Republicans. Tax increases, Constitutional amendments and veto overrides could be completed without Republican support, but approval of bond bill and grant-in-aid spending would require at least one Republican vote to clear a necessary three-fourths threshold.
The newly elected state senators officially took office at midnight Sunday.
“Tonight we elected two strong, seasoned leaders who are ready to hit the ground running for the people of Delaware,” said Senate President Pro Tempore David Sokola, Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, and Senate Majority Whip Tizzy Lockman in a joint statement following the election. “We are grateful to Dan and Ray for stepping up to run in these special elections, and we thank the voters for sustaining our Senate supermajority so we can continue to deliver for Delawareans and defend our State against federal attacks on our shared values.”
Cruce, who serves as chief operating officer for the United Way of Delaware, is a former aide to then-Sen. Joe Biden and a former State Deputy Secretary of Education. He said that he will work to expand educational opportunity, protect women’s health care, and fight for safer communities.
“This campaign was about quickly building a diverse coalition and working together for a common goal, and that’s the same collaborative spirit that will guide my service to the people of Delaware,” Cruce said in a statement. “From Senator Harris McDowell to Senator Sarah McBride, Senate District 1 has a rich tradition of leadership, and I am humbled to have the opportunity to continue their legacy of service.”
Seigfried is a former educator who served as president of his teachers’ union. He later worked his way up at Delaware’s largest hospital system, ChritianaCare, becoming senior vice president of administration. In 2018, he was elected to the House of Representatives, but served just two years before losing his primary election race to Rep. Larry Lambert.
“Over the last few years, Kyle Evans Gay showed the residents of Senate District 5 that they could expect more from their leaders in Dover,” Seigfried said in a statement. “I will work tirelessly to solve both the big challenges facing our State and the unique problems facing our constituents, and together we can continue to move Delaware forward.”
Notably, the nomination of Cruce and Seigfried by local Democratic leaders was fraught with criticism over the process, including from Gov. Matt Meyer who called upon the party to consider having an open primary election with eight candidates putting in their consideration.
Editor’s Note: This story originally reported that Seigfried won his House seat in a special election. That is incorrect, he won it in a general election. It also reported that the supermajority could take any action without Republican support, but bond and grant-in-aid funding requires 16 votes for passage. We regret the errors.
