Delaware Political Weekly: Week Ending April 23, 2026

1.  Deb Heffernan Announces Retirement.  This is big.  Big big.  I had learned while campaigning for Becca Cotto back in 2022 that Heffernan had a lot of residual goodwill in that district.  Cotto ran a great race, far exceeded her projected ‘win’ number (the number of votes the ‘calculus’ suggested she needed to reach to win), but lost.  Didn’t help that Matt Meyer went out of his way to help Deb.  But that was then, this is now. Rachel ‘Rae’ Krantz has been campaigning for this seat for months now.  A good old-fashioned grassroots campaign.  Meeting voters at the door, attracting volunteers and raising enough money to be competitive.  With Deb Heffernan announcing that she would retire at the end of her term, Rae is in a great position.  She’s also a fantastic progressive candidate.  We don’t yet know if Heffernan had lined up someone to run, or if she just finally decided that it was time. Although word on the street is that the Finnigans and Byrds of the district have someone lined up.  I urge all of you to check out Rae’s website.  The 6th RD is a Brandywine Hundred/Bellefonte/Penny Hill/Mt. Pleasant HS area district.  It’s a solid D district.  With your help, this can become a progressive D district.  I’m psyched!

Update:  Annnd, just like that, another candidate has entered the race.  One Ed Mulvihill. He runs Peco’s Liquor Store. His platform? Drivel:

Ed Mulvihill is a husband, father, and small business owner running to bring practical, community-focused leadership to Dover — focused on open communication, real transparency, and being accessible to the people he represents. Fighting for safer neighborhoods, stronger schools, and an economy that works for everyone.

Check out his issues page. Drivel.  He hasn’t thought about shit.  Check out Rae’s issues page.  Click on the arrows.  That’s what a serious legislative candidate does.

This makes one thing clear–some people were clued in to Heffernan’s retirement ahead of time.

2.  Mike Ramone Refuses To Take No For An Answer.  This year, he’s running for State Treasurer as an R.  Fittingly, he announced on WDEL’s Rick Jensen Show.  All twenty listeners were excited to hear the news.  Why’s he running, you ask?:

“The reality of why I’m running is I like to help, I like to do good things and quite frankly, Delaware is in a moment of financial crisis,” Ramone said. “I know the role of treasurer. I’ve been in Dover for 16 years. I know what you can and can’t do.” He added that he would like to bring “problem-solving ideas and thoughts, and most importantly some experience of working with people in a united bipartisan way.”

“My job as an elected official is not to find the best ways to spend your money or even to create more ways to raise new money. My job is simple: I serve the people, I do what they want and bring in my experience in the legislature and my experience in business to have creative discussions, ideas, throw them on the table and see what we can do to make Delaware the place it used to be, one of the best places to live in the country,” Ramone said.

Translation: ‘I have to scratch my itch to run.  I just can’t help myself.’  Also has to scratch his itch to lose.  This time to one of two Democrats who can barely call Delaware their home.  But lose he will.

3.  Kent County R’s File Sorta A Slate For County Offices.  Their names and office sought:  Norman R. Barlow For Sheriff.  Frank Coleman For Levy Court At-Large.  Robert Scott For Levy Court District 4.  Paul Hertz For Kent County Levy Court 6.  All but Coleman are incumbents.  If their dreams were to be mentioned in the Delaware Political Weekly, their dreams have now been realized.

4.  R Bryan Shupe To Be Primaried? Or is he retiring?  R Patrick Smith has filed for Shupe’s 36th RD seat.  The district cuts Milford in half, goes east to the ocean, west to Ellendale, and south to, well, no place in particular.  Unless the Old Furnace Wildlife Area is a place.  (Why do I have visions of a buncha deer warming their paws around a wood stove?  Hallucinogens, perhaps?) Shupe barely, and I mean barely survived a challenge from Smith in 2024.  We’re talking 12 votes.

5.  D Primary In RD 9.  Both candidates had been running, but Gemma Lowery made it official today.  She will face Michelle Wall for the right to challenge and hopefully defeat Kevin Hensley in this Odessa/Townsend/Port Penn area district.

5.  Lydia York Files For Reelection.  She’s done a great job as State Auditor.  Don’t know if the Rethugs will even bother to run anybody.

6.  Ol’ Lump Files For Reelection:  One of two epic recruiting fails this cycle–the other inexplicably being the failure to find someone to primary Nicole Poore.  Look on the bright side–if you believe that gerbil-brained Delawareans deserve representation, then  RD 28’s State Rep. Bill Carson is just the elected official for them.  Let’s just hope that he becomes more inconsequential in a caucus with increased progressive strength.

That’s all I’ve got this week.  What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?