Delaware Insurance Commissioner election, 2016
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September 13, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
Trinidad Navarro (D) |
Karen Weldin Stewart (D) |
Governor • Lt. Governor Down Ballot Insurance Commissioner |
July 12, 2016 |
September 1, 2016 |
September 13, 2016 |
September 30, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
TBD |
Delaware held an election for insurance commissioner on November 8, 2016. Democrat Trinidad Navarro unseated incumbent Karen Weldin Stewart in the primary election and went on to win the general election.
| HIGHLIGHTS | |
Overview
Delaware has been under Democratic trifecta control since 2009. Democrats have held the office of insurance commissioner since 2005; the office had previously changed party hands every eight to twelve years since the 1970s.
Insurance commissioners regulate Delaware's insurance industry, track insurance companies' financial well-being, and investigate and prosecute insurance fraud complaints. Incumbent Karen Weldin Stewart (D) was first elected in 2008 and sought election to a third term in 2016. She again faced a primary challenger in 2016—in 2012, the state Democratic Party endorsed her primary challenger Mitch Crane (D) despite Stewart's incumbency, though she defeated him in the primary and went on to win the general election.
New Castle County sheriff Trinidad Navarro challenged Stewart in the September 13 Democratic primary election. Heading into the election, Stewart led in fundraising while Navarro had picked up a few key endorsements. Navarro won the nomination, meaning Stewart's tenure as insurance commissioner will end in January 2017 when the winner of the general election is sworn in.
Former Sussex County clerk of the peace George Parish and businessman Jeff Cragg competed for the Republican nomination. As of August 2016, Parish had a slight fundraising lead over Cragg. Cragg won the nomination on September 13. Cragg and Navarro competed in the general election. Navarro won the general election on November 8, 2016.
Candidates
 Most recent positon: New Castle County sheriff since 2011 Past experience: Police officer, insurance agent |
 Most recent position: Consultant, small business owner Past experience: Insurance executive |
| Click [show] to view candidates who declined to run in this election or were defeated in the primary elections. | |||||
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Results
General election
Trinidad Navarro defeated Jeff Cragg in the Delaware insurance commissioner election.
| Delaware Insurance Commissioner, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Trinidad Navarro |
59.29% | 246,428 | |
| Republican | Jeff Cragg | 40.71% | 169,228 | |
| Total Votes | 415,656 | |||
| Source: Delaware Secretary of State | ||||
Primary elections
Trinidad Navarro defeated incumbent Karen Weldin Stewart in the Delaware Democratic primary for insurance commissioner.
| Delaware Democratic primary for insurance commissioner, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Trinidad Navarro |
54.92% | 33,096 |
| Karen Weldin Stewart Incumbent | 45.08% | 27,163 |
| Total Votes | 60,259 | |
| Source: Delaware Department of Elections | ||
Jeff Cragg defeated George Parish in the Delaware Republican primary for insurance commissioner.
| Delaware Republican primary for insurance commissioner, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jeff Cragg |
51.63% | 15,075 |
| George Parish | 48.37% | 14,123 |
| Total Votes | 29,198 | |
| Source: Delaware Department of Elections | ||
Context of the 2016 election
Primary elections
A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Delaware utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.[3][4][5]
Delaware's primary elections took place on September 13, 2016.
Incumbent Karen Weldin Stewart (D)
Stewart was first elected insurance commissioner by a margin of 16 percentage points in 2008's open race after a heated Democratic primary competition. She won election to a second term in 2012 by 25 percent, despite losing the Democratic Party endorsement to primary opponent Mitch Crane.[6] Stewart founded the Weldin Group, an insurance and reinsurance consulting company, in 1993. She also previously worked for the Department of Insurance as a deputy receiver from 1989 to 1993.
Party control in Delaware
Delaware has been under Democratic trifecta control since 2009. The state's electoral votes have gone to the Democratic presidential candidate every year since 1992; the state went to Republicans in 1980, 1984, and 1988.[7] A Republican has not represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate since William Roth left office in 2001.
Democrats have held the office of insurance commissioner since 2005, when Democrat Matthew Denn assumed office after winning 2004's open election by 5 percentage points. Denn declined to run for re-election in 2008, instead successfully running for the lieutenant governorship. Democrat Karen Weldin Stewart, who had unsuccessfully run for election in the past, won the 2008 election by 16 percentage points. Prior to Denn assuming office, the office of insurance commissioner in Delaware had changed party hands every eight to twelve years since the 1970s. General elections for the office over the past 30 years have been decided by 5 or more percentage points, even in open races.[8]
Campaign data
Campaign finance
| Trinidad Navarro Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 06/30/2015-12/31/2015 | 01/19/2016 | $0 | $11,870.00 | $(21.24) | $11,848.76 | ||||
| 01/01/2016-08/14/2016 | 08/11/2016 | $11,848.76 | $49,270.00 | $(29,486.71) | $31,632.05 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $61,140 | $(29,507.95) | ||||||||
| Karen Weldin Stewart Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 01/01/2015-12/31/2015 | 01/15/2016 | $18,669.72 | $84,157.59 | $(19,045.56) | $83,781.75 | ||||
| 01/01/2016-08/14/2016 | 08/15/2016 | $83,781.75 | $44,825.00 | $(81,210.60) | $47,396.15 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $128,982.59 | $(100,256.16) | ||||||||
| George Parish Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 04/10/2015-12/31/2015 | 01/06/2016 | $0 | $11,905.00 | $(642.01) | $11,262.99 | ||||
| 01/01/2016-08/14/2016 | 08/16/2016 | $11,262.99 | $1,683.97 | $(12,502.99) | $443.97 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $13,588.97 | $(13,145) | ||||||||
| Jeff Cragg Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 01/22/2016-08/14/2016 | 08/10/2016 | $0 | $5,700.00 | $(4,936.52) | $763.48 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $5,700 | $(4,936.52) | ||||||||
Endorsements
| Key endorsements, Democratic primary candidates | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinidad Navarro (D) | Karen Weldin Stewart (D) | ||||||||
| Delaware State Education Association | |||||||||
| Barbara Gittings Delaware Stonewall Democrats | |||||||||
| What is a key endorsement? | |||||||||
Campaign media
Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!
Democrats
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Republicans
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About the office
- See also: Delaware Insurance Commissioner
Insurance commissioners regulate Delaware's insurance industry, track insurance companies' financial well-being, and investigate and prosecute insurance fraud complaints.
Incumbent
The incumbent was Karen Weldin Stewart, a Democrat. Stewart was elected to her first four-year term in 2008 and won re-election in November 2012.
Qualifications There are no special qualifications for the office of insurance commissioner.
Authority
The insurance commissioner's election and term of office, are established by Article III of the Delaware Constitution.
Delaware Constitution, Article III, Section 21:
| The terms of the office of the Attorney General, the Insurance Commissioner, the Auditor of Accounts and the State Treasurer shall be four years. These officers shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the State at general elections, and be commissioned by the Governor.... |
Elections
Delaware elects insurance commissioners to four-year terms during gubernatorial election years. 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 are all insurance commissioner election years. Insurance commissioner elections are partisan, unlike some other down-ballot elected positions.
2016
The general election for insurance commissioner was held on November 8, 2016.
Trinidad Navarro defeated Jeff Cragg in the Delaware insurance commissioner election.
| Delaware Insurance Commissioner, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Trinidad Navarro |
59.29% | 246,428 | |
| Republican | Jeff Cragg | 40.71% | 169,228 | |
| Total Votes | 415,656 | |||
| Source: Delaware Secretary of State | ||||
2012
Incumbent Karen Weldin Stewart defeated challengers Benjamin Mobley (R) and David R. Eisenhour (L) in the general election on November 6, 2012. On October 24, 2012, Eisenhour suspended his campaign, announcing instead that he would run for clerk of the peace in Sussex County.[9]
| Delaware Insurance Commissioner General Election, 2012 | ||||
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Karen Weldin Stewart Incumbent |
61.1% | 233,354 | |
| Republican | Benjamin Mobley | 36.8% | 140,669 | |
| Libertarian | David R. Eisenhour | 2.1% | 7,838 | |
| Total Votes | 381,861 | |||
| Election results via Delaware State Board of Elections | ||||
Term limits
There are no term limits for the office of insurance commissioner.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Delaware Insurance Commissioner Election 2016. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Delaware | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedearlycand - ↑ Delaware Voters Guide, "Paul Gallagher: candidate for the insurance commissioner, Democratic nomination," 2012
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Delawareonline, "Early look: Delaware's 2016 political race," September 8, 2015
- ↑ National Archives and Records Administration, "Historical Elections Results," accessed August 11, 2016
- ↑ Office of the State Election Commissioner, "Election results archive," accessed August 16, 2016
- ↑ The Republic, "Libertarian suspends campaign for Delaware insurance commissioner, endorses GOP candidate" accessed October 24, 2012
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