Ernesto Lopez
Ernesto Lopez (Republican Party) was a member of the Delaware State Senate, representing District 6. He assumed office on November 7, 2012. He left office on November 8, 2022.
Lopez (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Delaware State Senate to represent District 6. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Biography
Representative Lopez obtained a B.A. from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, an M.A. from the University of Delaware, and an Ed.D. from the University of Delaware. In his career, he served as associate director of undergraduate admissions with the University of Delaware and served as the state's 4-H volunteer coordinator with the cooperative extension unit at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.[1]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021-2022
Lopez was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education Committee
- Elections & Government Affairs Committee
- Finance Committee
- Transportation Committee (Decommissioned)
- Joint Finance Committee
2019-2020
Lopez was assigned to the following committees:
- Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Health & Social Services Committee
- Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Delaware committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy |
| • Health, Children, and Social Services |
| • Transportation |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Lopez served on the following committees:
| Delaware committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Children, Youth & Families |
| • Education |
| • Health & Social Services |
| • Sunset |
| • Joint Sunset |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Lopez served on the following committees:
| Delaware committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Children, Youth & Families |
| • Education |
| • Health & Social Services |
| • Natural Resources & Environmental Control |
| • Sunset |
Campaign themes
2014
Lopez's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[2]
Jobs and Our Local Coastal Economy
- Excerpt: "Working to increase jobs and improve our local coastal economy is the number one priority of my legislative work. Promoting tourism and entrepreneurship, along with pulling together a district that has one of the widest economic disparity levels in the state, is a responsibility I take seriously. I take a great deal of pride in being pragmatic and conscientious, working to build consensus towards improvements and solutions to challenges facing our businesses community which is the backbone of the 6th District."
Public Safety in our Neighborhoods
- Excerpt: "We can’t grow a community where people don’t feel safe, where home invasions are on the rise and children are being taken advantage of by people in positions of trust. 6th District residents know how high I place the needs of our most vulnerable populations in every major decision I face in Legislative Hall. By sponsoring bills and serving on legislative tasks forces charged with creating real policy changes to how we improve public safety, I will continue to fight to ensure that the 6th District is a safe and peaceful place to live."
Transportation in the Cape Region
- Excerpt: "Improving transportation in our growing district is a key area that I tackle head on in my role as the only Senator from either party representing Sussex County on the Senate Highways and Transportation committee. Main Street USA in the 6th District is called Delaware Route 1 and every day I work with district residents, law enforcement and traffic safety officials to find better means of improving the safety of the public whether they travel by car, bus, bike or on foot. I was proud to be a member of the bipartisan Route 1 Pedestrian Safety Task Force whose 2014 recommendations were put into place to make improvements in public safety on our busiest thoroughfare."
Education Here at Home
- Excerpt: "I feel as though I am uniquely qualified to take the lead on education issues in our state as member of the Senate Education Committee, a 15 year employee of the University of Delaware and most importantly as a parent of two children attending public schools in eastern Sussex County. We need continued focus on early childhood education as a foundation for growth in addition to increasing opportunities and services for students with special needs. Finally, we need to continue to work hand and hand with our tremendous local teachers and administrators in creating atmospheres of learning and growth in our schools that are fair and equitable for all."
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
- See also: Delaware State Senate elections, 2022
Ernesto Lopez did not file to run for re-election.
2018
- See also: Delaware State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Delaware State Senate District 6
Incumbent Ernesto Lopez defeated David Baker in the general election for Delaware State Senate District 6 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ernesto Lopez (R) | 52.7 | 14,781 |
| David Baker (D) | 47.3 | 13,283 | ||
| Total votes: 28,064 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Delaware State Senate District 6
David Baker advanced from the Democratic primary for Delaware State Senate District 6 on September 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | David Baker | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Delaware State Senate District 6
Incumbent Ernesto Lopez advanced from the Republican primary for Delaware State Senate District 6 on September 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Ernesto Lopez |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2014
- See also: Delaware State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Delaware State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 8, 2014. Claire R. Snyder-Hall was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Ernesto B. Lopez was unopposed in the Republican primary. Lopez defeated Snyder-Hall in the general election.[3][4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Ernesto B. Lopez Incumbent |
63.4% | 11,633 | |
| Democratic | Claire R. Snyder-Hall | 36.6% | 6,718 | |
| Total Votes | 18,351 | |||
2012
- See also: Delaware State Senate elections, 2012
Lopez ran in the 2012 election for Delaware State Senate District 6. Lopez defeated Glen Urquhart in the Republican primary on September 11, 2012 and defeated Andrew W. Staton and Gwendolyn M. Jones in the general election on November 6, 2012.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ernesto Lopez |
56.1% | 13,603 | |
| Democratic | Andrew Staton | 42.7% | 10,352 | |
| Libertarian | Gwendolyn Jones | 1.2% | 286 | |
| Total Votes | 24,241 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Ernesto Lopez |
54.9% | 2,163 |
| Glen Urquhart | 45.1% | 1,779 |
| Total Votes | 3,942 | |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Delaware scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2022
In 2022, the Delaware State Legislature was in session from January 11 to June 30.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to business issues.
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Delaware State Legislature was in session from January 12 to June 30.
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2020
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In 2020, the Delaware State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 30. |
2019
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In 2019, the Delaware General Assembly was in session from January 8 through June 30.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Delaware General Assembly was in session from January 9 through June 30.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Delaware General Assembly was in session from January 10 through June 30. The legislature held a special session on July 2.
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2016
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In 2016, the Delaware General Assembly was in session from January 12 through July 1.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Delaware General Assembly was in session from January 13 through June 30.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Delaware General Assembly was in session from January 14 through July 1.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Delaware General Assembly was in session from January 8 through July 1. Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2013. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know. |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Ernesto + Lopez + Delaware + Senate"
See also
- Delaware State Senate
- Delaware Senate Committees
- Delaware State Senate District 6
- Delaware State Legislature
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Vote Smart, "Ernesto Lopez's Biography," accessed March 31, 2020
- ↑ Lopez for DE, "Ernie's Views," accessed October 21, 2014
- ↑ State of Delaware, "Official primary election candidate list," accessed July 10, 2014
- ↑ State of Delaware, "Official general election candidate list," accessed July 10, 2014
- ↑ State of Delaware, "Official general election results," accessed November 13, 2014
- ↑ Delaware Elections Division, "Candidate List," accessed July 13, 2012
- ↑ Delaware Department of Elections, "Official Primary Results," accessed March 20, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Delaware State Senate District 6 2012-2022 |
Succeeded by Russ Huxtable (D) |
