Ken Simpler
Ken Simpler (Republican Party) was the Delaware Treasurer. He assumed office on January 6, 2015. He left office in 2019.
Simpler (Republican Party) ran for re-election for Delaware Treasurer. He lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Simpler was first elected in 2014 and succeeded Democrat Chip Flowers in the office.[1]
Simpler was the first non-incumbent Republican to win statewide office in Delaware in 20 years.[2]
Simpler was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Delaware. All 16 of Delaware's delegates were bound by state party rules to support Donald Trump at the convention.[3] As of July 13, 2016, Trump had approximately 1,542 delegates. The winner of the Republican nomination needed the support of 1,237 delegates. Trump formally won the nomination on July 19, 2016.
Biography
Prior to his election as state treasurer, Simpler was the owner and chief financial officer of Seaboard Hotels. He previously worked as an attorney with Kirkland & Ellis, specializing in corporate law.[4]
Education
- Bachelor's degree, political economy, Princeton University
- MBA, University of Chicago
- J.D., University of Chicago[4]
Political career
Treasurer (2015-2019)
Simpler, a Republican, was first elected Delaware treasurer in November 2014 and took office on January 6, 2015.[4] He succeeded Democrat Chip Flowers in the office. Simpler was the first non-incumbent Republican to win statewide office in Delaware in 20 years.[2]
Simpler ran for re-election in 2018 but was defeated in the general election on November 6. He served until January 2019.
Elections
2018
- See also: Delaware Treasurer election, 2018
General election
General election for Delaware Treasurer
Colleen Davis defeated incumbent Ken Simpler and David Chandler in the general election for Delaware Treasurer on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Colleen Davis (D) | 52.4 | 187,240 |
 | Ken Simpler (R) | 45.9 | 164,001 | |
 | David Chandler (G) | 1.8 | 6,301 | |
| Total votes: 357,542 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Delaware Treasurer
Colleen Davis advanced from the Democratic primary for Delaware Treasurer on September 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Colleen Davis |
| ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Delaware Treasurer
Incumbent Ken Simpler advanced from the Republican primary for Delaware Treasurer on September 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Ken Simpler |
| ||||
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2014
Simpler ran for election to the office of Delaware Treasurer. Simpler won the Republican nomination in the primary on September 9. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
Primary
| Delaware Treasurer, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Ken Simpler |
53.9% | 13,491 | ||
| Sher Valenzuela | 46.1% | 11,549 | ||
| Total Votes | 25,040 | |||
| Election results via Office of the Delaware Elections Commissioner. | ||||
General election
| Delaware Treasurer, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Ken Simpler |
53.6% | 123,105 | |
| Democratic | Sean Barney | 43.6% | 100,218 | |
| Green | David Chandler | 2.8% | 6,373 | |
| Total Votes | 229,696 | |||
| Election results via Delaware Office of the State Election Commissioner | ||||
Campaign themes
2014
Simpler's campaign website listed the following issues in the 2014 race:
| “ |
First In Finance Too often, politicians talk to you about their vision, or their plan. These can be bold and inspiring but often they turn out to be little more than campaign slogans or “electioneering.” They almost always fail to address the basic way we “do business.” When I say that I want Delaware to be “First in Finance”, I am not talking about a vision or a plan; I am talking about the way that government operates. It’s not so much about programs and policies as it is about practices and processes. That may sound a little boring, but the truth is much of what we do in government is not the problem, it’s how we do it that is broken. I am hoping to bring to Delaware’s government the lessons that I have learned over a 20-year career as an investor and a financial officer. I boil it down to a simple set of principles: transparency, accountability and certainty. Organizations that strive and meet these basic components of finance succeed; those that do not fail. In my experience, it’s that simple. Transparency Let me ask you, what do you know of the performance of our state government here in Delaware? Where would you even go to find out? The reality is that our government publishes a lot of information, but most of it is not very helpful to us, its citizens. In most cases, the data is compiled by experts for other experts, but not for us. In other cases, the reports are just that – a bunch of figures with no interpretation or explanation. If we are going to solve the fiscal challenges ahead of us, we – the taxpayers and voters – need to better understand where the problems are. And, we need a government that helps us do that. After all, being transparent is about more than just giving us numbers, it’s about providing information and analyses that we can use to make informed decisions. As your next State Treasurer, I will develop a short and clear summary of Delaware’s finances that you can understand – something as brief as 10 pages that does not “dumb it down” but does prioritize the information to give you what is really important and shows you clearly how the lion’s share of our taxpayer dollars are being spent. Accountability There is a saying in the business world that “what gets measured gets fixed.” What benchmarks do we use to measure our government’s performance? Of the core services that our state provides to us – education, safety, healthcare and roads, bridges and infrastructure – what expectations do we set for the quantity and quality of these services? What value do we hope to receive? Moreover, how are we doing relative to other states and other governments? If we don’t set expectations, then chances are we will accept whatever we get, and that is not likely to be as much as we could get. Poor investments today mean we will be poorer in the future. Being accountable means setting goals and then measuring outcomes relative to those expectations. It’s the surest way to get the most out of the investments we make. As your next State Treasurer, I will publish clear data on the results that are being achieved by other states and governments. If we want to call ourselves the “First State,” it’s time we backed up that claim with performance. Being accountable is as much a mindset as a practice. I want to bring both to Delaware. Certainty Perhaps the most under-appreciated trait of successful organizations is a commitment to certainty. How well do we plan here in Delaware? How disciplined are we? In general, our budgeting and 99% of the attention of our elected officials focuses on the current budget year, creating an environment of short-term thinking that fails to inspire confidence. In addition, the fiscal reforms we put in place 40 years ago that led to sound fiscal management have been watered down over time. Multi-year planning and a renewed focus on modern financial reforms can generate certainty in our state government and stability for our people and our private sector. A commitment to certainty also leads to prudent preparation for the crises that are unforeseeable, and forces attention and action on the budget crises that are all too foreseeable. It’s a responsible way to insure we meet our citizens’ needs. As your next State Treasurer, I will offer the means to effect sounder multi-year planning and promote reforms that impose discipline on our state’s fiscal management. I want our people and our businesses to operate in an environment where they know that their government “has their back” and is not going to let them down. Make no mistake, if we want more jobs in Delaware, if we want an environment where businesses want to invest and where companies want to relocate, if we want long-term prosperity for our children and their children, we need to get our finances right. The sound management of our state government will be a competitive advantage in the 21st century – I would even argue that it will be THE defining difference between those states and people who enjoy robust growth and those that do not. Let’s lead the nation again in sound fiscal management and bold financial reforms. [5] |
” |
| —Ken Simpler's campaign website, (2014) | ||
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.
2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
Simpler was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Delaware.
Delegate rules
Delegates from Delaware to the Republican National Convention were elected at a state convention in April 2016. Delaware GOP bylaws stipulated that delegates were to be bound to support the candidate who won a plurality of the vote in the state primary election.
Delaware primary results
- See also: Presidential election in Delaware, 2016
| Delaware Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Donald Trump |
60.8% | 42,472 | 16 | |
| Ted Cruz | 15.9% | 11,110 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 20.4% | 14,225 | 0 | |
| Jeb Bush | 0.8% | 578 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 1.3% | 885 | 0 | |
| Marco Rubio | 0.9% | 622 | 0 | |
| Totals | 69,892 | 16 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Delaware Secretary of State | ||||
Delegate allocation
Delaware had 16 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, three were district-level delegates (all representing the state's single congressional district). Delaware's district delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the plurality winner of the primary received all of the state's district delegates.[7][8]
Of the remaining 13 delegates, 10 served at large. Delaware's at-large delegates were also allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the plurality winner of the primary received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were required to pledge their support to the winner of the state's primary.[7][8]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Ken + Simpler + Delaware + Treasurer"
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ State of Delaware Department of Elections, "PRIMARY ELECTION 09/09/2014 FILED CANDIDATES BY OFFICE," July 9, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The News Journal, "Simpler: first non-incumbent statewide GOP win since '94," November 6, 2014
- ↑ Delaware Online, "Trump locks down Delaware GOP delegates," April 30, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ken Simpler for State Treasurer, "About Ken," accessed October 30, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ken Simpler for State Treasurer, "First in Finance," accessed October 30, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Chip Flowers (D) |
Delaware Treasurer 2015–2019 |
Succeeded by Colleen Davis (D) |
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