Governor of Delaware

Delaware Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Term limits:	2 terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Delaware Constitution, Article III, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	Jack Markell
Officeholder Party:	Democratic
Assumed office:	January 20, 2009
Compensation:	$171,000
Elections
Next election:	Term limited
Last election:	November 6, 2012
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.

As of May 2013, Delaware is one of 12 Democratic state government trifectas.

Current officeholder

The 73rd and current governor of Delaware is Democrat Jack Markell, who was first elected in 2008 and took office on January 20, 2009. Markell won re-election in 2012.

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

Governors
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 Lists of candidates
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010
Breaking news

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

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, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 are all gubernatorial election years. The winner is inaugurated on the third Tuesday in the January following an election. Thus, January 15, 2013 and January 17, 2017 are inaugural days.

In the unlikely 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 Senate shall have the deciding vote (§ 4).

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 State Governors from 1992-2013.

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 of 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 her previous office.

In te event of physical or mental inability to discharge the office, the governor may deliver a written statement to the Assembly to that effect. Alternately, 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. He makes, with 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 of Delaware and members of the General Assembly, the governor may remove any other elected officer for any cause, provide he 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 him 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 sign 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).

Compensation

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

Under Article III, Section 7, the governor's salary is fixed by law and, if changed, does not take effect during the current term.

2012

In 2012, the governor was paid an estimated $171,000. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the Governor of Delaware 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," to be elected by direct popular vote, 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 1992-2013.

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 have 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 1992-2013.

Former officeholders

From 1777-2011, Delaware has had 73 governors.

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1	John McKinly	February 12, 1777	September 3, 1777	No parties
2	Thomas McKean	September 22, 1777	October 20, 1777	No parties
3	George Read, Sr.	October 20, 1777	March 31, 1778	No parties
4	Caesar Rodney	March 31, 1778	November 6, 1781	No parties
5	John Dickinson	November 13, 1781	November 4, 1782	No parties
6	John Cook	November 4, 1782	February 1, 1783	No parties
7	Nicholas Van Dyke, Sr.	February 1, 1783	October 27, 1786	No parties
8	Thomas Collins	October 28, 1786	March 29, 1789	No parties
9	John (Jehu) Davis	March 29, 1789	June 2, 1789	No parties
10	Joshua Clayton	February 1, 1783	October 27, 1786	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		Federalist
21	Jacob Stout	January 18, 1820	January 16, 1821	Federalist
22	John Collins	January 16, 1821	April 16, 1822	Democratic-Republican
23	Caleb Rodney	April 23, 1822	January 21, 1823	Federalist
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	Federalist
27	Charles Polk	January 16, 1827	January 19, 1830	Federalist
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	Present	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.

Contact information

Address: Dover Office
Tatnall Building
William Penn Street, 2nd Fl.
Dover, DE 19901

Telephone: (302) 744-4101
Fax: (302) 739-2775

See also

• Governor of Delaware Jack Markell
• Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
• Lieutenant Governor Matthew P. Denn
• Delaware Attorney General
• Delaware Secretary of State

External links

• Office of the Governor of Delaware website