Democrat Meyer rolls to victory over GOP’s Ramone in Delaware governor’s race

Democrat Matt Meyer, who entered politics eight years ago by knocking out a popular three-term New Castle County Executive and then set his sights on becoming governor, rolled to victory in the general election Tuesday over Republican House Minority Leader Mike Ramone.

Meyer, a 53-year-old lawyer and former teacher who lives in Wilmington, received 56% of the vote. Ramone, a 63-year-old business owner who has homes in Newark and the Dewey Beach areas, received 44%.

Meyer will succeed two-term Gov. John Carney in January and become the first New Castle County Executive to hold the state government’s highest post. Meyer had defeated three-term incumbent Tom Gordon in the 2016 Democratic primary and served two terms in that office while eyeing the 2024 race for governor.

Carney, a former congressman and lieutenant governor who could not seek a state term by law, will become mayor of Wilmington after running unopposed Tuesday.

Carney and the state Democratic Party leadership had supported Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long over Meyer in the September three-candidate primary, even after Hall-Long’s bid was marred by a yearlong campaign finance scandal. But Meyer outraised his two opponents by a wide margin, and defeated Hall-Long by 10 percentage points, with former state environmental chief Collin O’Mara finishing a distant third.

Now Meyer will hold a far more powerful position than Carney, setting up an unprecedented dynamic in tiny Delaware.

Wilmington routinely relies on the state government that Meyer will now run for tens of millions of dollars annually in investments and capital. Wilmington is the state’s largest city and part of New Castle County, which Meyer has led since 2017.

“It’s an incredible night for Delaware,” Meyer said in a telephone interview with WHYY News at about 8:45 p.m., after the Associated Press declared him the victor.

“This is the most diverse group of statewide elected officials in our state’s entire history, and it’s really an honor and a privilege to be a part of that.”

Meyer was referring to U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester becoming Delaware’s first woman and first Black member of the U.S. Senate, and state Sen. Sarah McBride winning Blunt Rochester’s current seat to become the first transgender member of Congress.

Referring to his own victory, Meyer said “ours was a campaign that under the old ‘Delaware Way’ was given little chance of success. Let’s be honest. Insiders chose their candidate and were celebrating their path to more of the same and we thought something different. Based on my experience as a teacher, many Delawareans were being left out. That’s the same reason I ran for county executive eight years ago. We believed we could do a lot more as governor and clearly the people believe in that vision.”

During his phone interview with WHYY News, Meyer put the call on hold while he took a call from the White House and hometown President Joe Biden.

“He congratulated me and wanted to know some intel on races in Delaware,’’ Meyer said of fellow Democrat Biden.

The governor-elect also said he had not spoken with Carney yet but grew up in Wilmington and lives in Wilmington.

“I’m gonna keep fighting for the city of Wilmington [regardless of] whoever is leading the city. We’re going to be an administration that governs the state based on principle, not based on people we like or don’t like,” Meyer said.

Ramone, who runs a pool management and other businesses, has represented the Democratic-majority district in the suburban Pike Creek and Newark areas of northwestern New Castle County since 2008.

The GOP nominee, who routed two political newcomers in the September primary, had focused his candidacy on what he maintained was his ability to work across the aisle as a “Delaware yellow’’ governor, as opposed to Republican red or Democratic blue.

Meyer and Ramone both promised bold reforms to improve the state’s struggling public education system and the housing affordability crisis. But Ramone insisted he would be more effective as a bipartisan and bridge building Republican leader in a state where Democrats have held all nine statewide elective seats since 2018, dominate the General Assembly and hold nearly a two-to-one advantage in voter registration over the GOP.

Meyer, who often cited his leadership of the state’s biggest county and his willingness to buck the Democratic status quo, challenged Ramone’s portrayal of himself during a recent debate.

“He’s actually the leader of the red. You know what happens when you combine red and yellow, you get orange, Trump orange,” Meyer charged. “Don’t be deceived, Delaware.”

On Tuesday night, shortly after the polls closed at 8 p.m., Ramone joined about 100 fellow Republicans at the Christiana Hilton near Newark and predicted he would win by 6,000 to 25,000 votes.

But once the results began coming in, the reality settled in. By 9:45 p.m., Ramone was gracious in conceding defeat as he held his grandson Nixon, who was born during the campaign.

“We came to the table feeling that Delaware needed a choice,” said Ramone, flanked by his wife Lisa and his children. “We were concerned that one-party rule probably wasn’t healthy and we thought that we needed to have a viable Republican that we thought would be a pertinent person that the state of Delaware would feel was a centrist and good for Delaware.”

“And Delaware made a decision that we know one-party rule is working and that’s the direction they want to go in. And God bless Matt Meyer. He will be the governor and I hope Delaware ends up being a better state for it.”