Mark Turley

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Mark Turley

Independent Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Ottawa University, 2004

Graduate

Western International University, 2007

Personal

Birthplace

Kingston, Pa.

Religion

Protestant

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Mark Turley (Independent Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Delaware. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Turley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Mark Turley was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor's degree from Ottawa University in 2004 and a graduate degree from Western International University in 2007. His career experience includes working as the owner and operator of a sales and marketing firm in the manufacturing industry.

Elections

2020

See also: United States Senate election in Delaware, 2020

United States Senate election in Delaware, 2020 (September 15 Democratic primary)

United States Senate election in Delaware, 2020 (September 15 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Delaware

Incumbent Chris Coons defeated Lauren Witzke, Mark Turley, and Nadine Frost in the general election for U.S. Senate Delaware on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Coons (D)	59.4	291,804
		Lauren Witzke (R)	37.9	186,054
		Mark Turley (Independent Party)	1.6	7,833
		Nadine Frost (L)	1.1	5,244

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 490,935
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Delaware

Incumbent Chris Coons defeated Jessica Scarane in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Delaware on September 15, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Coons	72.9	87,332
		Jessica Scarane	27.1	32,547

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 119,879
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Scott Walker (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Delaware

Lauren Witzke defeated James DeMartino in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Delaware on September 15, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lauren Witzke	56.9	30,702
		James DeMartino	43.1	23,266

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 53,968
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mark Turley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Turley's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a business person who decided a year ago to get heavily involved in the political process. My entire career has been involved with manufacturing with the last ten years owning a sales rep company servicing mainly the renewable energy market nationwide. My goals for this campaign are to educate myself and others on the political process, inspire other regular people to get involved in politics to their comfort level and win the US Senate seat in Delaware. Our Federal government has become far to political, we need Independent thinkers with no ties to political parties, lobbyists or big business PACs. My years of problem solving in business and ability to build coalitions will be a great asset in the US Senate. My abilities to bring manufacturing businesses to Delaware will be a major asset to Delaware. I am well versed in energy and the need to develop renewable energy sources nationwide to satisfy our ever growing demand for electricity.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Government reform - Term limits in Congress and fighting waste, fraud and abuse at all levels of government
• Healthcare - Find affordable solutions using all resources for healthcare and prescription drugs with a safety net for those who cannot afford effective healthcare
• Energy - Work to achieve an effective mix of energy sources including renewables and drive policies to protect our environment and natural resources

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Energy / environment

Healthcare / prescription drugs / opioid epidemic issues

Education - drive the education process to the local and state levels

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My mother - she was the hardest worker I have ever known, the best problem solver and best friend to all of our family and friends. She gave me my work ethic, ability to stay calm under pressure and solve issues plus installed a high level of compassion in me by being who she was 100% of the time. She did whatever it took to get the job done with never a complaint.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Constitution of the United States of America - read it, discuss it with others, understand it and hold it as the law of the land.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty

High moral standards
Ability to solve problems
Ability to act for the good of all versus the good of few

Analytical skills

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Honesty

Decision making skills
Analytical skills

Independent thinking

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Listen to the citizens of the state and country

Uphold the Constitution of the United States

Make informed and reasonable decisions on Presidential appointees

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to be the person who won an election for the US Senate as an Independent, against high odds and inspired many other non-political individuals across the country to get involved in local, state and federal government

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

JFK assassination - 1963 - 9 years old

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Mobile home construction - 2 years

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Federalist Papers - any version
Reading all the published Federalist Papers offered many explanations to our Founding Fathers thoughts and directions while going through the process of creating our Constitution.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Superman

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Scars to Your Beautiful - Thomas Daniel version

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I have been blessed with good health, a great family, good friends and the ability to help others. I cannot think of a better way to live this life so I have no real struggles to offer at this time.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Energy demands - we are in an ever increasing demand energy cycle which needs to be handled through the use of all available energy resources in a way to also protect our nations environmental resources.

Restore trust in our government at all levels.

Bring an effective healthcare solution to 100% of our citizens.

What qualities does the U.S. Senate possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The US Senate is a body of historically great wisdom and knowledge. The role of a US Senator is unique as you are elected by the state where you reside and re responsible for decisions affecting the entire country and world.
The US Senate is designed to act reasonably, deliberately and within the guidelines our Constitution offers.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for senators to have previous experience in government or politics?

No. Obviously my background has been in the business world for my entire career, therefore i will bring to the US Senate a unique ability to analyze issues, draw logical conclusions and move in the direction of decisions beneficial to the entire country versus any one political party.

What do you think of the filibuster?

Since i have not had direct experience with the filibuster process it is had to offer an opinion. My initial thought is the process can offer some positives like the ability to slow down an emotional and divisive issue.

What criteria would you apply when deciding whether to confirm presidential appointees?

Qualifications for the position.

Ability to act for the betterment of the country.

Lifetime body of work.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other senators?

Yes, I believe as a true Independent I can build strong relationships with both party representatives as well as other Independents in the Senate. It would be extremely beneficial to have an independent thinker building coalitions and finding middle ground in solving our largest problems.

If you are not a current senator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Energy
Education

Is there a particular senator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I believe there are many present and past senators who exhibited independent thinking but to chose just one would not be fair to all the others.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

[show]

Delaware's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Lisa Blunt Rochester (D)

Chris Coons (D)

Representatives

Sarah McBride (D)

Democratic Party (3)