Political parties in the Delaware House and Senate chose new leadership Wednesday, one day after the midterm election.
House Republicans chose to keep Danny Short as Minority Leader and elect Timothy Dukes as Minority Whip.
House Democrats re-elected Pete Schwartzkopf as Speaker and Val Longhurst as Majority Leader. They chose Larry Mitchell to be Majority Whip.
Schwartzkopf says he’s excited to work with the eight new Democratic members and stressed the importance of building relationships with them.
“You need people for votes," he said. "If they like you, they’re more likely to help you vote for something you’re doing. If they don’t like you, they might not.”
Senate Republicans picked Gerald Hocker to be the new Minority Leader and Cathy Cloutier as Minority Whip. Former Minority Leader Gary Simpson retired and Greg Lavelle lost his Senate seat to Democrat Laura Sturgeon Tuesday.
Democratic senators kept David McBride on as Senate President Pro Tempore while electing Nicole Poore Majority Leader and Bryan Townsend as Majority Whip.
