The First State welcomes six new members to the legislature — all Democrats and all members of the State House.
State Rep. Frank Burns (D-Newark), State Rep. Mara Gorman (D-Newark), State Rep. Josue Ortega (D-Wilmington), State Rep. Melanie Ross Levin (D-Brandywine), State Rep. Kamela Smith (D-Bear) and State Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall (D-Rehoboth Beach) comprise the 2025 freshman class, contributing to a total of 17 women, 14 people of color and 4 openly LGBTQ+ members serving in the 27-person Democratic caucus.
The new representatives' swearing-in gives the Democratic Caucus a 13-person advantage over House Republicans.
Melissa Minor-Brown (D-New Castle) was also officially elected Speaker of the House, making her the first person of color and woman of color to hold the gavel.
“I've allowed myself a moment to reflect upon what it means to be the first. What it means to welcome diversity, equity and inclusiveness. But to be clear, being the first is not the end goal. It's not the prize. It's the beginning," she said in her opening remarks.
Minor-Brown says she will focus on bipartisan collaboration while accomplishing her top priorities, which include reducing the cost of living and promoting affordable housing, healthcare and quality education.
One of the General Assembly's largest tasks is passing the state's multi-billion dollar budget every year, and with slowed economic growth on the horizon, Minor-Brown says spending strategically will be top of mind.
"I think we need to be fiscally responsible. This upcoming session, there's a possibility we could lose federal funding, right? So we need to make sure that people are getting the healthcare that they need and deserve. We got to make sure education is where it needs to be, and again, with housing. So I think that we should look at how we can kind of balance that out first with the money that we have before we start spending our savings."
Minor Brown is joined by new Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris (D-Dover) and Majority Whip Ed Osienski (D-Newark).
House Republicans are starting the session with an entirely new leadership team, Minority Leader Tim Dukes (R-Laurel) and Minority Whip Jeff Spiegelman (R-Clayton).
Dukes is new to his role, but with new leadership teams on both sides and a newly elected governor, he’s feeling optimistic about bipartisanship moving forward.
“Our caucus, being the minority, I feel like we're maybe more in play because of those dynamics — new leadership in the House on the Democrat side, new governor coming in, and I gotta say, the Democrat leadership in the House has been very communicative to us," Dukes said.
He says the Republican caucus will remain focused on public safety, education and keeping taxes low for Delawareans.
He is particularly interested in talking with Governor-elect Matt Meyer about his expressed support for restructuring the state’s income tax bracket.
The State Senate will welcome two new members to its ranks in February following a special election that has yet to be set.
That election will fill the seats vacated by Congresswoman Sarah McBride and Lt. Governor-elect Kyle Evans Gay.
