OPINION

Dear Friends,

Despite her corruption and losing the primary to Matt Meyer, Bethany Hall-Long will still get to be Governor for two weeks, as Governor John Carney will be Mayor of Wilmington and must vacate on January 7. Folks, this political pundit thinks this is ridiculous and stinks to high heaven, but is the insipid Delaware law. Scroll down and read the story!!

As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated!

JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network

Despite losing gubernatorial primary, Del. Lt. Gov. Hall-Long will still get stint as governor

The lieutenant governor will assume the state’s highest post for two weeks in January after John Carney resigns to become Wilmington’s mayor.

By Cris Barrish

September 20, 2024

Delaware Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long. (Courtesy of the Hall-Long campaign)

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Despite losing this month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, Delaware Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long will still get to fulfill her longtime ambition and become the state’s 75th governor.

Then either Democrat Matt Meyer or Republican Mike Ramone will assume command of the state government and its more than $6 billion budget.

So how does a candidate who finished a distant second in a three-way primary after enduring harsh scrutiny for repeatedly breaking campaign finance laws ascend to the state’s highest office, if only for a brief spell?

She can thank Gov. John Carney, whose fervent support of her candidacy to succeed him didn’t quite succeed.

Carney will become mayor of Wilmington on Jan. 7, and will have to resign the governorship to take the helm of Delaware’s largest city.

Delaware doesn’t inaugurate its governor until the third Tuesday in January, which this year falls on Jan. 21.

Under the Delaware Constitution, the lieutenant governor is first in line of succession if the governor resigns.

So come Jan. 7, Gov. Bethany Hall-Long will take the oath of office.

Lt. Gov. Hall-Long, addressing a candidates forum earlier this early, lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary but will still serve briefly as the state’s 75th governor. (Cris Barrish/WHYY)

Her husband Dana Long, whose management of her campaign funds triggered the turmoil in her gubernatorial campaign, will also become Delaware’s first “first gentleman.”

And then on Jan. 21, the 61-year-old politician will be out of elective office for the first time since 2002, when she was first elected to the state House. Hall-Long later won a state Senate seat and has been lieutenant governor since 2017.

Though her gubernatorial tenure will be oh-so-brief, Hall-Long will be the second woman to occupy the office — the late Ruth Ann Minner held the post from 2001 to 2009. She’ll also enhance her family’s legacy: Ancestor David Hall was the state’s 15th governor, from 1802 to 1805.

Hall-Long will become the fourth Delaware lieutenant governor to be a placeholder governor under the resignation-for-a-new-office scenario.

Hall-Long would not agree to an interview about her future ascent to the role she has long coveted.

Instead, Hall-Long’s spokeswoman Jen Rini said in a statement, “As second-in-command in the state, she is ready to continue her duty to serve Delaware in all capacities constitutionally mandated.”

Carney also wouldn’t comment on his handpicked successor getting to occupy the office for two weeks.