BREAKING: Kyle Evans Gay Running For Lieutenant Governor
The press release in its entirety:
NORTH WILMINGTON — State Senator Kyle Evans Gay announced Thursday morning her campaign to become Delaware’s next Lieutenant Governor.
A mom of two young girls, attorney, and leader in Delaware’s nonprofit sector, Kyle has served in the Delaware General Assembly representing the 5th Senatorial District in North Wilmington and Claymont. Since her election in 2020 when she flipped a long-held Republican seat, Senator Gay quickly established herself as a leading lawmaker in the state, passing a wide-ranging slate of legislation, including policies to reduce childcare costs, protect voting rights, and expand abortion access.
“Delaware families know that raising kids is hard work, and it’s harder when the deck is stacked against working parents and working people. It’s what drove me to run for the State Senate, where I worked to pass bills that make it easier for Delawareans to afford the basics and raise a family,” said Kyle Evans Gay. “From defending Delawareans’ voting rights to dramatically expanding abortion rights, I’ve seen what’s possible when new leaders forge a better future for our state. But Delawareans know we have a lot more work to do. That’s why I’m running for Lieutenant Governor: to make sure Delaware works for working people.”
Public service has been at the center of Kyle’s work long before she ever held public office. She began her professional career as a Deputy Attorney General in the Delaware Department of Justice before clerking in Delaware Superior Court. Since then, she has worked in private practice, representing clients in Delaware’s business courts and practicing pro bono on behalf of children in Delaware’s foster care system. As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she spearheaded criminal justice reforms and child protection measures, and during her tenure as Chair of the Senate Elections Committee, she forged a coalition to deliver historic voting rights protections.
In the legislature and as a founding board member of First State Abortion Fund, Kyle has worked closely with lawmakers and advocates to defend Delawareans’ abortion rights from Republican attacks, particularly in the aftermath of the Supreme Court Dobbs decision. Among the protections she sponsored were legislation to increase the number of abortion providers and protect abortion providers from extradition to anti-choice states.
In addition, Kyle led the charge to secure historic funding for early childhood educational investments in the state budget and ensure health and safety standards are met by care providers across the state. A recent report found that Delaware parents pay an average of $11,695 yearly for center-based care, accounting for 10 percent of a couple’s median income and 34 percent of a single mother’s median income. Earlier this year she hosted a town hall series, meeting with childcare providers, parents, and business leaders in all three counties to find solutions to make childcare more affordable and accessible across the state.
To learn more about Kyle’s campaign, visit kylefordelaware.com.
Let me add–she’s very smart. (Meaning, at least smarter than me.) And, based on her monthly coffees, she has a mastery of what’s going on and what is possible. She has an unusual combination of progressive policy positions and mainstream support.
Make no mistake–she doesn’t aspire to merely be Lt. Governor. So I guess it makes sense for her to get her feet wet by running statewide. She immediately becomes the favorite in this race. She’ll raise gobs of money from Democratic members of the Delaware Bar alone. She won’t be satisfied being a figurehead, so it will be interesting to see what additional duties the new governor gives her, and/or what territory she carves out for her own.
What concerns me, of course, is what kind of a void her potentially leaving the Senate, along with the possibility that Sarah McBride (who had a long flirtation with a run for Lt. Gov.) will also depart, will cause to the engine of progressivism that has been the Delaware State Senate. Kyle’s district has become safer than when she first defeated Cathy Cloutier. Sarah and Kyle will have the opportunity to help determine their successors, should they win. In both cases, there would be special elections to choose the next state senators. The impacted committees would choose the candidates. I know who I’d like to see run for Kyle’s seat. Which would then necessitate a House special election should my choice win. Hmmm, I might get a chance to help choose Kyle’s successor and, um, Larry’s successor, if things break right.
We need to recognize that times have changed. Being an active and visible state legislator is fast becoming a possible stepping-stone to higher office, which it never used to be. Why now? Because we have several people of superior background and accomplishment in Dover than we’ve had before. Marie Pinkney is in the same class of Sarah and Kyle.
Anyway, I’m supporting Kyle (and Sarah). Although…I suspect that most of my grassroots campaigning will be for legislative candidates. Because my priority is getting progressive House leadership by electing more progressives to the House–and excising those who have buried progressive policies in the House.
But that’s for another day. Best wishes, Kyle. You have my support.
That’s a real cool launch video. Really glad to see my fellow 7th RD committee member Maria Mejia in there. SHE’s someone I hope to see run for office some day.
Here’s a GREAT trivia question for you: How many state senators since, say, 1970, have run for Lt. Governor, either in a primary or a general? Which one(s) have won?
There’s one in particular I’ll be interested to see if anybody gets…my money’s on Joe Connor.
RAM
Jim McGinness
Mike Castle:)
Nancy Cook and Worldewide McBride
All good, but you’re missing at least three that I can think of…
Copeland! Tom Sharp!
Excellent! Was wondering if someone would get Tom Sharp.
He ran for Lt. Gov.in 1980 while a State Senator. Lost to Mike Castle by some 40,000 votes.
The other, perhaps it was left unsaid, is BHL.
I dislike, Sharp. Mcbride and Copeland intensely so I blocked them out, BHL slipped my mind;)
So it is Kyle Evans Gay vs Debbie Harrington. Isn’t this when Tom Carper steps in and let’s us know who the next Lt Gov is going to be?
Don’t forget Sherry Dorsey Walker. And some guy named David Graham.
I’m glad a Senator is running – though agree we need to make sure the bench is ready to run if she wins. I like Rep. DW and Debbie but the duty has special Senate roles. Plus Kyle’s experience in legal advocacy is a good thing for the LTG’s parole board role.
Got it, so the new Delaware Way strategy is to run for an office so you look invested in your community and then run for higher office after one term for vanity even though you’d be more effective in your current seat. Noted.
If all you did was ‘look interested’, you wouldn’t last long. While I wish that Kyle would stay in the Senate a little longer, she’s the kind of person who is eminently qualified to serve in higher office. And make a difference at the statewide level.
She certainly has an ego, as does anyone who runs for office. But your use of the term ‘vanity’ only demonstrates that you don’t know her.
Not just her, there’s a handful of legislators in Dover who appear to follow the new way forward.
This comment about vanity is entirely off base. If you’ve spent any time with Kyle you would know she’s a practical idealist driven by policy goals, not her own self-aggrandizement. If you want vanity take a look around the House Democratic Caucus to find some detestably vain individuals – white roses for “coronations” included.
Zing! While letting the clock run out on unfinished business.
If (a) Queen Val has a challenger; and (b) everyone who can’t stand her comes out to campaign for said challenger, Val’s coronation will be short-lived.
I suggest that everybody stay tuned…
In her second term and outshines the field. she represents most of my RD so love to have her stay but She is a person I would also love to see the Governor’s office and Lt Gov is a platform that the holder gets to develop. She will do that well. no way is it a “vanity” run!
In 1972, former State Sen. Eugene Bookhammer defeated State Rep. Cliff Hearn for LG.
State Sen. Allen Cook also competed for the Democratic nomination. [He died two years later, and was succeeded in the State Senate by his wife Nancy.]
In 1976, Jim McGinnes [House Minority Leader, not a state senator] defeated former State Sen. Andy Foltz for LG
Oops! My bad
Glad you are supporting Kyle. 100% agree with your sentiments/concerns about a potential brain drain in the State Senate, though as you pointed out, we have a solid bench of ppl who can fill both Kyle’s and Sarah’s seats when the time comes. Having a deep bench is a sign of a healthy political situation on the left, and I trust and hope this trend continues.
As for Kyle, there are two things that set her apart from the other announced candidates in this race as well as other aspiring entrants. First, if the worst were to happen, she could effectively serve as Governor. She has the stamina, intellectual gravitas, and empathy necessary to govern. Second, she is a work horse on policy issues, especially in education, where we should be spending a majority of our political capital in the years ahead as a movement.
Finally, I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the Senator from the 13th District. The only thing noteworthy about said individual is the defeat of the detestable McBride, due in large part to dedicated activists who saw the need to displace his cronyism. The Senator falls into the show pony category of Delaware politicos – more interested in a photo op than actually passing legislation and creating her own circle of sycophants pushing her toward higher office. Frankly, its shocking the Senator didn’t throw her hat into the ring for higher office this cycle! Interested to see what the future holds for the Senator, though her ambitions undoubtedly outstrip her talents as an elected official. In that regard the Senator has much in common with the former Senator DelCollo.
Sen. Pinkney won that seat. Worked incredibly hard to do it. It really wasn’t until the last couple of months that activists helped her out. Until then, she was pretty much out there on her own.
I think she’s incredible, and, as you know, I’ve paid attention to her work in Dover. Don’t know where your enmity comes from, but it’s unwarranted.
I met Marie on the streets of her District on a snowy January day in 2020. She was knocking doors from a paper list with her young cousin. Your comments are so far off base I don’t feel the need to refute them. She built her campaign from the ground up and she has learned her craft in Dover. Your assessment is beyond the pale.
Correcting the spelling for Jim McGinnis.
Jason thanks you.
And in 1976, State Sen. Margaret Manning ran for Lt. Gov., coming within one vote at the GOP state convention of being able to force a primary with Foltz.
That one-vote gap caused major long-term reverberations in Delaware political life.
I like Kyle a lot, but given that the only real powers here are criminal justice related I will be voting for Sherry
I can’t countenance a person who is so dramatically and overtly religious situated a heartbeat away from becoming Governor. Her announcenent event was like a worship service. She mentions Jesus in nearly every conversation. It’s off-putting. I don’t like it from right-wing evangelicals and I don’t like it in left-leaning politicians either.
Could be. I’ve volunteered on her last two campaigns, and I’ve NEVER heard her speak in such terms. There was no such mention in either her press release or her online announcement.
Besides, what’s wrong with living a life guided by Jesus’ true tenets, if that’s the case?
Starting to wonder if we’re getting a troll invasion…
I have spent a fair amount of time around her and I couldn’t tell you what if any her religious interests are. I call troll!
Are you talking about Kyle or Sherry? I wasn’t at either announcement, but your description sounds more like Sherry.
I am referring to Dorsey Walker and you can watch her live-streamed announcement to see what I’m talking about if you haven’t had the (dis)pleasure of experiencing it first hand. It was a direct reply to wilmington observer who ended their comment saying they would vote for Sherry. Sorry for any confusion. I support Kyle.
OK, gotcha. Didn’t know that Dorsey Walker had done her announcement. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Plus, there was nothing wrong with her daughter’s tooth, but she made her pull it out, just for the VIDEO!
Even Tom Carper didn’t pull his wife’s teeth out!
I think we’re going to need to see a long form birth certificate.
Where’s that like button?