Delaware 2024 election: Who is running for the General Assembly? Here's our running list
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The upcoming election in 2024 will likely be a transformational one in the First State, particularly with the retirement of U.S. Sen. Tom Carper.
The primary is a year away in September 2024. While nearly all of the statewide elections are expected to be competitive, so will some legislative races.
In 2022, Democrats strengthened their majority in the legislature by flipping two seats previously held by Republicans in Sussex County. Due to redistricting changes, Republicans picked up a seat previously held by a Democrat. No Democratic incumbent legislator lost their race.
Democrats are expected to maintain their majority in both chambers but by how much will be a different question.
Here’s an ongoing list of those who have announced their 2024 candidacy for the General Assembly:
Michael Smith - 21st Representative District (Pike Creek)
Michael Smith, a former legislative aide and substitute teacher, is looking to flip the House seat currently held by House Minority Leader Mike Ramone in the Pike Creek area.
Smith, according to his campaign announcement, founded an environmental nonprofit that looks to promote clean energy infrastructure by supplying New Castle County residents with electric leaf blowers and LED light bulbs, among other things. He said he plans to focus his campaign on education, inflation and environmental pollution.
(Don’t confuse him with state Rep. Mike Smith, a Republican, who also represents Pike Creek Valley in a different district.)
Ramone, who has been in office since 2008, narrowly won his reelection in 2022.
Frank Burns - 21st Representative District (Pike Creek)
Frank Burns announced this summer that he is once again running to unseat Ramone, setting up another rematch that led the Republican incumbent to a narrow victory.
Burns, a climate activist and biotech entrepreneur, lost the 2022 election by a margin of 41 votes. In his campaign announcement, Burns slammed Ramone for “holding the needed bond bill hostage” in order to pass a bill that would allow corporations and LLCs to vote in municipal elections in Seaford.
DELAWARE POLITICS: Who is running for office in 2024? Our updated list of Delaware candidates, announcements
Burns called it the “latest example of how out of synch his actions as a legislator are with the values and needs of 21st district residents.”
Marty Rendon - 14th Representative District (Dewey, Rehoboth, Lewes Beach)
Marty Rendon, commissioner of the Delaware Human and Civil Rights Commission, is looking to win the seat held by Pete Schwartzkopf for two decades.
At the end of the legislative year in June, Schwartzkopf announced that he was stepping down as House speaker, resulting in then-House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst becoming the first woman to serve in the role.
Schwartzkopf said he planned to serve out the rest of his term, in which he represents Rehoboth, Lewes and Dewey Beach. It’s unclear if he will endorse anyone in the 2024 election.
Rendon, a Democrat, worked in Washington, D.C. and Capitol Hill for decades, specifically on the House Rules Committee, according to his campaign announcement. He said his priorities are on traffic congestion, environmental issues and public transportation.
Monica Beard - 22nd Representative District (Pike Creek Valley)
Monica Beard, a policy coordinator for the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, is looking to flip the Pike Creek Valley seat held by Rep. Mike Smith.
She has been involved in crafting policy that helps domestic violence survivors in Legislative Hall, according to her website. Beard, a Democrat, also sits on the board of the First State Abortion Fund. The issues she plans to focus on during her campaign include gun control, improving services for survivors of domestic and child abuse and subsidizing childcare for middle and working-class families.
Since entering office in 2018, Smith has easily won his reelection campaigns.
Branden Fletcher Dominguez - 3rd Representative District (Wilmington)
Branden Fletcher Dominguez, an affordable housing advocate, is running to represent Wilmington in the Delaware House of Representatives' third district.
The seat is currently held by Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker, a Democrat, who is running for lieutenant governor. She was the first person of color to represent this district.
Fletcher Dominguez, if elected, would be the youngest lawmaker at age 24 and one of the few Gen Zers in the Delaware House. He would also be the first Afro-Latino Delawarean elected to the General Assembly.
He works as a tenant advocate for the Community Legal Aid Society, according to his LinkedIn page. The Democrat formerly worked as a community engagement coordinator for West Side Grows Together, working on neighborhood revitalization projects.
Did we miss someone running for the General Assembly? Email Meredith at mnewman@delawareonline.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware 2024 election: Who is running for the General Assembly?
