Bay to Bay News | by Joseph Edelen
The time for Delawareans to cast their ballot is quickly approaching, as the state’s primary election is less than a month away.
On Sept. 13, voters will have the chance to pick their desired candidate for their respective party. While all of the seats in Delaware’s General Assembly will be up for election due to redistricting, there are a select number of competitive races, as many incumbent elected officials will be unopposed in the primary election.
Currently, there will be three competitive primary races in the House of Representatives and 11 in the Senate. Of these races, several candidates backed by the Delaware Working Families Party will look to defeat incumbent opponents.
Delaware Working Families Party
The Delaware Working Families Party is a third party that supports candidates with progressive values and diverse backgrounds, focusing on racial, economic, social, and environmental justice. Candidates of the Delaware Working Families Party can be of any political party, as they do not run their own ballot line. The party works to coach their endorsed candidates throughout the election process focused on creating a working-class political movement.
After launching in January 2019 after a merger with Leftward Delaware, the Delaware Working Families Party endorsed a handful of candidates in the 2020 primary election. With the election of Delaware Working Families Party candidates, the previous election cycle introduced new, diverse and progressive voices to the General Assembly.
In 2020, Rep. Larry Lambert, D-Claymont, Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, D-Newark, Rep. Eric Morrison, D-Glasgow, and Sen. Marie Pinkney, D-Bear won their races, defeating incumbent lawmakers in the process. Rep. Rae Moore, D-Middletown, successfully ran in the 8th representative district, though she was unopposed in the 2020 primary election.
Shané Darby, who was endorsed by the Delaware Working Families Party for her successful 2020 bid for the second district seat on the Wilmington City Council, will challenge incumbent Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha, D-Wilmington, for the 1st Representative District in the upcoming primary election.
2022 endorsements
After a successful election cycle in 2020, the Delaware Working Families Party has endorsed their next slate of candidates for the upcoming primary election.
The party has once again endorsed Rep. Wilson-Anton, who is being challenged by Kelly Williams-Maresca, a Newark-based social entrepreneur. Like Rep. Wilson-Anton, Rep. Morrison received an endorsement from the party in his primary race against Delaware Capitol Police Chief Michael Hertzfeld.
The Delaware Working Families Party has endorsed four new candidates ahead of the 2022 election cycle, including Cyndie Romer for the 25th Representative District, Sophie Phillips for the 18th Representative District, DeShanna Neal for the 13th Representative District, and Becca Cotto for the 6th Representative District.
Ms. Romer, who is involved in a number of community-based advocacy groups, will oppose public safety professional and advocate Ed Kilma in the Democratic primary. Retiring-Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, who has held the seat since 2006, has since endorsed Ms. Romer.
In the 18th Representative District, two candidates seek the Democratic nomination as incumbent Rep. David Bentz, D-Christiana, announced he was stepping away from elected office after the legislative session. Ms. Phillips, former Miss Delaware and current University of Delaware graduate student, will run against Martin Willis, a Mount Pleasant High School graduate who works as a boilermaker with Boilermakers Local 13 in Philadelphia.
Ms. Neal, a community organizer, social justice advocate, author, and member of the LGBTQ+ community, will challenge House Majority Whip Larry Mitchell, D-Elsmere. Rep. Mitchell, who has held the seat since 2006, has not been challenged in the primary in over a decade.
Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Bellefonte, has not been challenged in the primary election since being elected to represent the 6th Representative District in 2010. Ms. Cotto, a community advocate and entrepreneur, looks to unseat the incumbent through her grassroots campaign, pledging not to accept a single dollar from oil, gas, and coal industry executives, lobbyists, or political action committees.