Attorney General Kathy Jennings will seek her third term as the First State’s chief legal officer after first taking office in 2019.
Serving in the role for six years, Jennings touts overseeing the reduction of violent crime to an all time low throughout the state and launching enforcement initiatives against white collar crime, government corruption and human trafficking.
She’s also won several major court battles, including defending gun safety legislation, abortion rights in Seaford and securing the largest environmental and pharmaceutical settlements in state history.
"It has been the singular honor of my life — of my professional life — to be able to do the work that I do as attorney general, protecting people in our state, upholding the rule of law, making sure people are safe," Jennings said. "And I have to tell you, it's never been more important than now to do this work, and while it has become exponentially more challenging in the last several weeks, I can say without a doubt that I believe we are absolutely up to this challenge."
Jennings is referring to the onslaught of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump since he took office on Jan. 20 that several states believe to be unconsititional.
She has joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general in moving to enforce a temporary restraining order against Trump and the federal agencies attempting to pause nearly $3 trillion in federal funds for programs and services.
She also joined 17 other states — along with Washington D.C. and San Francisco — in challenging Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship, arguing the act violates the constitutional rights of all children born in the United States.
And on Saturday, Jennings announced she was among a coalition of 19 attorneys general to have secured a federal court order blocking allies of Elon Musk and other unauthorized persons from accessing Americans’ sensitive data through the U.S. Treasury.
A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking “political appointees, special government employees, and any government employee detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department access to Treasury Department payment systems or any other data maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information.”
"The [Department of Government Efficiency] has been allowed to get into the treasury and to access private information of, I am sure, millions of people who live in this country, and he has no authority to do that. That's illegal, and so we're going to court to fight that as well," Jennings explained. "I wish we didn't need to have these fights, and we're picking and choosing them in terms of the value to the people we serve. We all want federal government to be more efficient, but no one elected Elon Musk to supplant the role of Congress and the role of other branches of our government — it's not what he's allowed to do. He doesn't have top security clearance, and he's not allowed to access this private information, and it invades the rights of every American. So that's where I am. We're going to fight the battles that are worth fighting, and we're going to protect Delawareans."
In addition to spearheading legal fights at the federal level, Jennings says there is still plenty of work to be done statewide if reelected, including investigating the conditions of manufactured housing communities and cracking down on predatory landlord practices.
"There are many owners of manufactured housing communities who do the right thing, who do their job, who obey the law, who have safe housing for the people who live there. But you know, if you're going to violate the law and you're going to really put people in danger, then you ought to be held accountable. Same with landlords — and I believe that the vast majority of landlords are responsible. They're good people, and they have sanitary conditions for their tenants, but there are those, as was witnessed by the Jay Pokorny situation, we're not afraid to go after ones who are harming Delawareans."
If reelected, Jennings would continue serving under Gov. Matt Meyer’s administration, with whom she says she has a strong partnership with.
“Matt and I worked together for a year when he was county executive and I was the county administrator. We have an excellent relationship. We talk all the time, and I am grateful for the bond that we have because we are entering to some pretty troubled times," she said.
Jennings is the first to announce a 2026 election bid for State Attorney General. The Delaware Department of Elections has yet to post its list of qualified candidates for the office.
The primary election will be in September 2026 with the General election to follow in November.
