Governor of Delaware

Delaware Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$171,000
2025 FY Budget:	$3,988,700
Term limits:	2 terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Delaware Constitution, Article III, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder(s)
Governor of Delaware Matt Meyer Democratic Party Assumed office: January 21, 2025
Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
Other Delaware Executive Offices
Governor•Lieutenant Governor•Secretary of State•Attorney General•Treasurer•Auditor•Secretary of Education•Agriculture Secretary•Insurance Commissioner•Natural Resources Secretary•Labor Secretary•Public Service Commission

The Governor of the State of Delaware is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch, and the highest state office in Delaware. The governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two terms.

Delaware has a Democratic trifecta. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

Delaware has a Democratic triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

See also: Delaware House of Representatives and Delaware State Senate

Current officeholder

The current Governor of Delaware is Matt Meyer (D). Meyer assumed office in 2025.

Authority

The state constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article III, the Executive Department.

Delaware Constitution, Article III, Section 1

The Supreme executive powers of the State shall be vested in a Governor.

Qualifications

State Executives
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014

Under Article III, Section 6 of the Delaware Constitution, the governor must be at 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least 12 years on the day of the election and a resident of Delaware for at least six years on the same date.

Delaware Constitution, Article III, Section 6

The Governor shall be at least thirty years of age, and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the United States twelve years next before the day of his election, and the last six years of that term an inhabitant of this State, unless he shall have been absent on public business of the United States or of this State.

Elections

Delaware state government organizational chart

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also: Election of governors

Per Article III, Section 2 of the state constitution, Delaware elects governors in presidential election years, that is, leap years. In Delaware, 2016, 2020, 2024 and 2028 are all gubernatorial election years. The winner is inaugurated on the third Tuesday in the January following an election.

In the event that two candidates receive the exact same vote tally, a joint session of the legislature casts ballots to choose one-third of the members of each chamber to make up a special joint committee, which will in turn cast ballots for the governor. In the even more unlikely event that the legislature is similarly tied, the president of the Delaware State Senate shall have the deciding vote (§ 4).

2024

See also: Delaware gubernatorial election, 2024

General election candidates

• Matt Meyer  (Democratic Party) ✔ 
• Michael Ramone  (Republican Party)

Did not make the ballot:

• Danny Ace Valentine (Independent)  (Write-in) 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
 Democratic primary candidates

• Bethany Hall-Long
• Matt Meyer ✔ 
• Collin O'Mara

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
 Republican primary candidates

• Jerrold Price
• Michael Ramone ✔
• Bobby Williamson

Did not make the ballot:

• Julianne Murray

2020

See also: Delaware gubernatorial election, 2020

General election candidates

• John C. Carney Jr.  (Incumbent) (Democratic Party) ✔
• Julianne Murray  (Republican Party) 
• Kathy DeMatteis  (Independent Party) 
• John Machurek  (Libertarian Party)

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
 Democratic primary candidates

• John C. Carney Jr. (Incumbent) ✔
• David Lamar Williams Jr. 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
 Republican primary candidates

• Colin Bonini 
• David Bosco
• David Graham
• Julianne Murray ✔ 
• Bryant Richardson
• Scott Walker

Did not make the ballot:

• Neil Shea

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

2016

See also: Delaware gubernatorial election, 2016

The general election for governor was held on November 8, 2016.

John Carney defeated Colin Bonini, Andrew Groff, Sean Goward, and Benjamin Hollinger in the Delaware governor election.

Delaware Governor, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Carney	58.34%	248,404
	Republican	Colin Bonini	39.19%	166,852
	Green	Andrew Groff	1.40%	5,951
	Libertarian	Sean Goward	1.07%	4,577
	Write-in	Benjamin Hollinger	0.00%	0
Total Votes				425,784
Source: Delaware Secretary of State

2012

See also: Delaware gubernatorial election, 2012

Incumbent Jack Markell (D) defeated challengers Jeff Cragg (R), Jesse McVay (L) and Mark Joseph Perri (G) in the November 6, 2012 general election.

Governor of Delaware General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jack Markell Incumbent	69.3%	275,993
	Republican	Jeff Cragg	28.6%	113,793
	Libertarian	Jesse McVay	0.9%	3,668
	Green	Mark Joseph Perri	1.1%	4,575
Total Votes				398,029
Election results via Delaware Board of Elections

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Delaware governors are restricted to two terms in office during their lifetime.

Delaware Constitution, Article III, Section 5

The Governor shall hold his office during four years from the third Tuesday in January next ensuing his election; and shall not be elected a third time to said office.

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Delaware governors from 1992 to 2013.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article III, Section 20.

The Lieutenant Governor of Delaware is the first in line to become either the acting governor or the governor in the event that the elected officer is unable or unwilling to discharge the office, either temporarily or permanently. If the lieutenant governorship is likewise vacant, the descending order of succession is the Delaware Secretary of State, the Attorney General of Delaware, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House.

Any of these officers who takes over the governor's duties is understood to have given up his or her previous office.

In the event of physical or mental inability to discharge the office, the governor may deliver a written statement to the Assembly to that effect. Alternately, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware, the President of the Medical Society of Delaware, and the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, acting unanimously, may declare the governor unfit. In either of these events, the lieutenant governor becomes the acting governor, pending a vote of the assembly to make the appointment permanent (§ 20).

Duties

The Governor of Delaware is, under § 8 of the state constitution, head of the state's military forces, unless said forces have already been called into service by the federal government. The governor makes, with state senate confirmation, all appointments mandated by the Constitution and also fills all vacancies that do not have an alternate method for filling vacancies prescribed by law (§ 9).

Excepting the lieutenant governor and members of the state legislature, the governor may remove any other elected officer for any cause, provided he or she secures a two-thirds vote in each chamber of the Assembly (§ 13). Periodically, in accordance with § 15, the Governor must address the Assembly, detailing the state of Delaware and making recommendations.

§ 18 gives the governor a veto over all bills, including appropriations, subject to a three-fifths majority override in both legislative houses.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

• Making and signing all commissions granted by the state of Delaware (§ 12).

• Requiring written reports from any member of the Executive on any aspects of the particular officer's job (§ 14).

• Convening extraordinary sessions of the General Assembly by proclamation, adjourning the Assembly when that body cannot agree on an adjourning date, and convening the Senate for executive business (§ 16).

• Seeing to the faithful execution of all laws (§ 17).

Divisions

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Governor of Delaware has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

State budget

Role in state budget

See also: Delaware state budget and finances

The state operates on an annual budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:

1. In July, the governor sends budget instructions to state agencies.
2. In October, agencies submit their budget requests to the governor.
3. Budget hearings are held with the public in November.
4. On or before February 1, the governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature.
5. The legislature must pass a budget with a simple majority by June 30. The fiscal year begins on July 1.

The governor is statutorily required to submit a balanced budget to the legislature. In turn, the legislature must pass a balanced budget, and any budget signed into law by the governor must be balanced.

Delaware is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.

Delaware maintains two major governmental funds: the General Fund and the Special Fund. Within the Special Fund, there are four category types: Appropriated Special Funds (ASF), Non-appropriated Special Funds (NSF), Federal Funds, and Bond Funds.

Governor's office budget

The budget for the Governor's Office in the Fiscal Year 2025 was $3,988,700.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

The salaries of Delaware's elected state executives are determined by state law as mandated by the Delaware Constitution. Article III of the state constitution requires that salary changes not take effect until after the current terms of affected offices.

The Delaware State Legislature created the Delaware Compensation Commission in 1984 to determine state executive salaries. This commission consists of six members including two appointees by the governor, one appointee each by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Delaware State Senate, the current chair of the Delaware Business Roundtable and the director of the state Office of Management and Budget. Commissioners meet every four years to make salary recommendations, which are implemented unless the Delaware State Legislature rejects the entirety of the report. From 1985 to 2013, the commission's report was only rejected once by legislators, who submitted their own salary increases for executives officials in 1993.

2023

In 2023, the officer's salary was $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the governor received a salary of $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the governor received a salary of $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the governor received a salary of $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the governor received a salary of $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the governor received a salary of $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the governor received a salary of $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the governor received a salary of $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the governor received a salary of $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the governor's salary remained at $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2012

In 2012, the governor was paid an estimated $171,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the governor was paid $171,000 a year, the 23rd highest gubernatorial salary in America.

History

The Delaware Constitution of 1776 provided for the first executives of the independent state of Delaware. They were known as "presidents," rather than "governors," as they were to preside rather than govern. In keeping with the general reaction to the perceived excessive executive authority of the British, the Delaware General Assembly dominated the government. Accordingly, state legislators elected the president and their legislation became law with or without his approval. Legislation was never subject to any possibility of a veto. Indeed, the state constitution forced the presidents to share what authority as they had with a four person Privy Council, also appointed by the General Assembly. The council was required to approve all appointments and other decisions of the president in order for them to become law.

Upon the passage of the Delaware Constitution of 1792, the office was renamed governor and the Privy Council was abolished. At first, governors served for a term of three years, but beginning with the election of 1832 they have been elected to terms of four years. Since 1896 they have been eligible for re-election, but only for one term. They have been chosen in the same general election as the U.S. President since 1896, and take office the third Tuesday of the following January.

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Delaware

Partisan breakdown of the Delaware governorship from 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, Delaware had Democratic governors in office for the last 21 years while there was a Republican governor in office only for the first year. Delaware is one of seven states that were run by a Democratic governor for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013. During the final five years of the study, Delaware was under Democratic trifectas.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Delaware, the Delaware State Senate and the Delaware House of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Delaware state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. For twelve out of the twenty years observed during the study, Delaware ranked in the top-10 of the SQLI ranking. The state dropped out of the top-10 for a period between 1996 and 1999, hitting the rank of 16th before climbing back into the top-10 for eight more years. It again dropped out of the top-10 in 2008 and has remained out of the top rankings since then. Delaware has never had a Republican trifecta, but has had a Democratic trifecta since 2009. In the state’s longest period of divided government, there was a Democratic governor, a Democratic state senate and a Republican state house. Delaware achieved its highest SQLI ranking (3rd) in 2003 and 2004 under divided government, and its lowest ranking (20th) in 2012 under a Democratic trifecta.

• SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: 16.75
• SQLI average with Republican trifecta: N/A
• SQLI average with divided government: 7.94

Chart displaying the partisanship of Delaware government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).

Historical officeholders

From 1777-2021, Delaware has had 74 governors. Of those, 67 have served since Delaware joined the Union in 1787.

#	Name	Term	Party
8	Thomas Collins	October 28, 1786-March 29, 1789	No party
9	John (Jehu) Davis	March 29, 1789-June 2, 1789	No party
10	Joshua Clayton		Federalist
11	Gunning Bedford, Sr.	January 19, 1796-September 28, 1797	Federalist
12	Daniel Rogers	September 28, 1797-January 15, 1799	Federalist
13	Richard Bassett	January 15, 1799-February 20, 1801	Federalist
14	James Sykes	March 4, 1801-January 19, 1802	Federalist
15	David Hall	January 19, 1802-January 15, 1805	Democratic-Republican
16	Nathaniel Mitchell	January 15, 1805-January 19, 1808	Federalist
17	George Truitt	January 19, 1808-January 15, 1811	Federalist
18	Joseph Haslet	January 15, 1811-January 18, 1814	Democratic-Republican
19	Daniel Rodney	January 18, 1814-January 21, 1817	Federalist
20	John Clark	January 21, 1817-January 15, 1820	Federalist
-	Henry Molleston	Died before taking office
21	Jacob Stout	January 18, 1820-January 16, 1821
22	John Collins	January 16, 1821-April 16, 1822	Democratic-Republican
23	Caleb Rodney	April 23, 1822-January 21, 1823
24	Joseph Haslet	January 21, 1823-June 20, 1823	Democratic -Republican
25	Charles Thomas	June 24, 1823-January 20, 1824	Democratic-Republican
26	Samuel Paynter	January 20, 1824-January 16, 1827
27	Charles Polk	January 16, 1827-January 19, 1830
28	David Hazzard	January 19, 1830-January 15, 1833	National Republican
29	Caleb Bennett	January 15, 1833-July 11, 1836	Democratic
30	Charles Polk	July 11, 1836-January 17, 1837	Whig
31	Cornelius P. Comegys	January 17, 1837-January 19, 1841	Whig
32	William B. Cooper	January 19, 1841-January 21, 1845	Whig
33	Thomas Stockton	January 21, 1845-March 2, 1846	Whig
34	Joseph Maull	March 2, 1846-May 3, 1846	Whig
35	William Temple	May 6, 1846-January 19, 1847	Whig
36	William Tharp	January 19, 1847-January 21, 1851	Democratic
37	William H.H. Ross	January 21, 1851-January 16, 1855	Democratic
38	Peter F. Causey	January 16, 1855-January 18, 1859	American
39	William Burton	January 18, 1859-January 20, 1863	Democratic
40	William Cannon	January 20, 1863-March 1, 1865	Republican
41	Gove Saulsbury	March 1, 1865-January 17, 1871	Democratic
42	James Ponder	January 17, 1871-January 19, 1875	Democratic
43	John P. Cochran	January 19, 1875-January 21, 1879	Democratic
44	John Hall	January 21, 1879-January 16, 1883	Democratic
45	Charles C. Stockley	January 16, 1883-January 18, 1887	Democratic
46	Benjamin T. Biggs	January 18, 1887-January 20, 1891	Democratic
47	Robert J. Reynolds	January 20, 1891-January 15, 1895	Democratic
48	Joshua H. Marvil	January 15, 1895-April 8, 1895	Republican
49	William T. Watson	April 8, 1895-January 19, 1897	Democratic
50	Ebe W. Tunnell	January 19, 1897-January 15, 1901	Democratic
51	John Hunn	January 15, 1901-January 17, 1905	Republican
52	Preston Lea	January 17, 1905-January 19, 1909	Republican
53	Simon S. Pennewill	January 19, 1909-January 21, 1913	Republican
54	Charles R. Miller	January 21, 1913-January 16, 1917	Republican
55	John G. Townsend, Jr.	January 16, 1917-January 18, 1921	Republican
56	William D. Denney	January 18, 1921-January 20, 1925	Republican
57	Robert P. Robinson	January 20, 1925-January 15, 1929	Republican
58	C. Douglass Buck, Sr.	January 15, 1929-January 19, 1937	Republican
59	Richard C. McMullen	January 19, 1937-January 21, 1941	Democratic
60	Walter W. Bacon	January 21, 1941-January 18, 1949	Republican
61	Elbert N. Carvel	January 18, 1949-January 20, 1953	Democratic
62	J. Caleb Boggs	January 20, 1953-December 30, 1960	Republican
63	David P. Buckson	December 30, 1960-January 17, 1961	Republican
64	Elbert N. Carvel	January 17, 1961-January 19, 1965	Democratic
65	Charles L. Terry, Jr.	January 19, 1965-January 21, 1969	Democratic
66	Russell W. Peterson	January 21, 1969-January 16, 1973	Republican
67	Sherman W. Tribbitt	January 16, 1973-January 18, 1977	Democratic
68	Pierre S. du Pont, IV	January 18, 1977-January 15, 1985	Republican
69	Michael N. Castle	January 15, 1985-December 31, 1992	Republican
70	Dale E. Wolf	December 31, 1992-January 19, 1993	Republican
71	Thomas R. Carper	January 19, 1993-January 3, 2001	Democratic
72	Ruth Ann Minner	January 3, 2001-January 20, 2009	Democratic
73	Jack Markell	January 20, 2009-January 17, 2017	Democratic
74	John Carney Jr.	January 17, 2017 - 2025	Democratic
75	Bethany Hall-Long	January 7, 2025 - January 21, 2025	Democratic

Gubernatorial residence

Governors of Delaware have an official residence at Woodburn, a two story Georgian brick mansion, built by Charles Hillyard, III in 1790 on land that is now located in the capitol city of Dover.

According to local legend, the home has at least one resident ghost, an older gentleman in colonial-era dress. Woodburn is also popularly believed to have been a safe house on the Underground Railroad.

Woodburn was briefly leased to a sitting governor in the 1820s before reverting to a private residence. In 1965, Governor and First Lady Charles L. Terry, Jr. officially secured Woodburn for the state of Delaware. Following Mrs. Terry's refurbishment of the mansion, it became the official gubernatorial residence in 1966.

Woodburn is open to the public, by appointment only, through admission is free.

State profile

Demographic data for Delaware
	Delaware	U.S.
Total population:	944,076	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	1,949	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	69.4%	73.6%
Black/African American:	21.6%	12.6%
Asian:	3.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.7%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	8.7%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	88.4%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	30%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$60,509	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	13.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Delaware. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Delaware

Delaware voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Delaware, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties. As of May 2017, eight state House districts and five state Senate districts intersected with a Pivot County in Delaware. The state has one at-large congressional district.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Delaware had one Boomerang Pivot County, 4.00% of all Boomerang Pivot Counties.

More Delaware coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Delaware
• United States congressional delegations from Delaware
• Public policy in Delaware
• Endorsers in Delaware
• Delaware fact checks
• More...

Contact information

Address: Dover Office
Tatnall Building
150 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd South
Dover, DE 19901

Wilmington Office
Carvel State Office Building
820 N. French Street
12th Floor
Wilmington, DE 19801

Telephone (Dover Office): (302) 744-4101
Telephone (Wilmington Office): (302) 577-3210

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Office of the Governor of Delaware website