Delaware lawmakers accuse governor of retaliation following endorsement of progressive challengers over incumbents

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Gov. Matt Meyer released a slate of political endorsements Tuesday in several state House and Senate primary races, including challengers to incumbent lawmakers in two Senate districts.

Some Delaware senators say the governor is retaliating against those incumbent lawmakers by supporting their challengers.

Meyer is endorsing progressive Working Family Party challengers Adriana Bohm and Shay Frisby against Sens. Dan Cruce, D-Wilmington, and Ray Seigfried, D-Claymont. Bohm is a sociology professor, while Frisby is a state social services supervisor.

In a statement, retiring state Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola implied that the governor opposed the two senators because of previous political disagreements, including trying to control the special-election process through which Cruce and Seigfried were elected in February 2025.

The nomination process in late 2024 drew complaints that the Democratic Party insiders picked the establishment candidates while progressives, including Frisby and Bohm, were shut out.

Seigfried believes the governor is out for revenge because the lawmaker took his administration to task for not doing more to lower drug costs for state employees and retirees.

“He is angry mostly because I exposed the bureaucratic inertia of his team that is unwilling to fight for better prescription prices,” Seigfried said.

He added that it makes no sense the governor is backing Frisby, who opposed last year’s controversial rewrite of Delaware corporate law, which was one of Meyer’s legislative accomplishments.

Last year’s fight over the “DExit” legislation, making Delaware’s laws more friendly to tech giants like Meta and Dropbox, has corporate law firms funding an advertising campaign this election cycle to defend Delaware legislators, like Seigfried, against progressive challengers.

Frisby said that while she’s grateful for Meyer’s trust and support, she doesn’t agree with all of his positions, including the nicknamed “billionaires bill.”

She said progressives are ready to put people over special interests.

“I do believe that people are ready for candidates who again prioritize people over corporate interests, and I just think that that’s where there’s a lot of what I’m hearing from our community,” she said. “People are mostly frustrated with the fact that there’s a sense of them being left behind or left out when it comes to decisions that are made on their behalf without their engagement.”

Sokola’s statement also accused Meyer of hostility toward Cruce after he sponsored legislation allowing the county to conduct a quality-control review of businesses and adjust values found incorrect. The bill became law earlier this year without the governor’s signature.

“After [New Castle] County Executive Meyer hid the results of his botched reassessment from the public until he was elected governor, he refused to sign legislation that largely cleaned up the mess,” Sokola said. “That legislation was Dan Cruce’s Senate Bill 228, which helped correct the errors made on Matt’s watch.”

Nick Merlino, Meyer’s deputy chief of staff, responded to WHYY News in a text saying, “We appreciate the former senator’s view on the elections in Senate District 1 and Senate District 5. We wish him well in his retirement.”

Sokola will remain a sitting senator until Nov. 4, according to state law.

Lawmakers accuse Meyer of punishing those who displease him

Meyer endorsed community advocate Rae Krantz to replace state Rep. Debra Heffernan, who is retiring. Heffernan had endorsed small-business owner Ed Mulvihill to take her seat. Military veteran Ralf Santana is also running in that Democratic primary.

In recent months, Delaware state lawmakers have told WHYY News they had not been informed about action Meyer was planning to take, with recent examples including a line-item veto of $35 million in funding for the Legislative Hall renovation and the creation of a surgeon general’s office.

In July, after the line-item veto was announced, Heffernan told WHYY News she was concerned about retaliation for speaking publicly in opposition to a decision she described as “unprecedented, irresponsible and dangerous.”

“Governor Meyer has a tendency to take retaliation action,” she said. “But I’m speaking out because it’s so important.”

Heffernan did not respond to a request for comment about the endorsement. Mulvihill said he didn’t know how the governor made his endorsement decisions.

Earlier this month, state Sen. Trey Paradee, D-Dover, said he believed the governor vetoed the Legislative Hall expansion in retaliation for the General Assembly overriding a veto of his legislation easing local government zoning restrictions on recreational cannabis facilities.

Paradee is not up for reelection until 2028.