Gov. Matt Meyer weighs in on several Democratic Primary races, notably endorsing challengers in two state Senate races with Democratic incumbents.
Meyer is backing Adriana Bohm, in Senate District 1 against Senator Dan Cruce, and Shay Frisby, in Senate District 5 against Senator Ray Seigfried.
His Monday endorsement for Democratic candidates in State Senate, House, and one New Castle County council race said, “each candidate is committed to taking on the state’s toughest battles, regardless of the odds.”
A spokesperson from Meyer's office said it’s to be determined whether he’ll offer any more endorsements. The slate of candidates in this round have strong education policy backgrounds, which the spokesperson said is Meyer’s top priority.
Seigfried and Cruce both championed healthcare cost reform measures during the last legislative session. Cruce won a special election for his seat in 2025, filling a vacancy left when Sarah McBride was elected to Congress. Seigfried was also elected last year in a special election to fill the vacancy left by Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay.
Then governor-elect, Meyer called for a special primary election, rather than political parties choosing candidates to compete in a special general election. He said the process used to fill vacancies allows "political insiders" to choose candidates.
Party leaders and legislators said following Meyer's suggestion would have broken with Delaware code and required a resource-intensive process to change the rules for filling a vacancies on a tight turnaround. Meyer at the time argued that wasn't the case.
Senate President Pro Tem Dave Sokola released a statement that Cruce and Seigfried joined the senate under unusual circumstances, but, "they have hit the ground running and been profoundly effective members."
Sokola's statement denounced Meyer's approach last year. He wasn't "shocked" to learn that Cruce and Seigfried didn't get Meyer's support in their re-election bids, and added the Democratic Party, "shouldn’t be trying to undo past elections that didn’t go our way."
Seigfried said he’s had a short yet productive term, championing measures to reduce healthcare spending. He believes Meyer is singling him out.
“The real reason he did not endorse me is pure and simple retaliation,” Seigfried said. “He is angered at me for my work in healthcare, mostly because I exposed his bureaucratic inertia team and their unwillingness to fight back for better prescription prices.”
This month, Seigfried called out a report published by the State Employee Benefits Committee on reducing drug prices the state pays in its employee insurance plans. He said the report lacks initiative to push the conversation forward.
Several prominent executive branch members sit on the SEBC, including its most recent chair, the state’s Office of Management and Budget director.
Seigfried said he’s also focused on keeping federal immigration sweeps out of Delaware and addressing property tax issues.
The endorsement for Frisby was a surprise given Meyer's support of SB 21, an overhaul of incorporation law enacted in 2025, he said. During her campaign, Frisby has argued it gives corporations too much power.
He said Meyer’s administration didn't contact him about the endorsements.
Sokola's statement said that in Cruce's case in Senate District 1, Meyer did not sign on to Cruce's SB 228, which assured New Castle County's authority to correct outlier nonresidential properties in its last reassessment.
Sokola said the legislation, "largely cleaned up...a botched reassessment" that happened under Meyer's leadership as county executive.
Meyer's stated that he believed the county authorities did not necessarily need legislative approval to make the corrections.
Sokola said, "it's difficult to think" that Meyer's motivation is not, "personal hostility" for the New Castle County legislator.
A spokesperson for Meyer's office in a statement, "We appreciate the former Senator’s view on the elections in Senate District 1 and Senate District 5. We wish him well in his retirement.”
Governors are considered the de facto leader of their state party, and endorsements against incumbents in a primary is an unusual move for legislative races.
The state's primary elections start September 2.
This story has been updated.
