Delaware House of Representatives

Delaware House of Representatives
Delaware House of Representatives
Delaware General Assembly
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 8, 2019
Leadership
Speaker	Peter Schwartzkopf (D) ; since January 8, 2013
Majority Leader	Valerie Longhurst (D) ; since January 8, 2013
Minority Leader	Daniel Short (R) ; since January 8, 2013
Structure
Seats	41
Political groups	Majority Democratic (26); Minority Republican (15);
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article III, Section 1, Delaware Constitution
Salary	$45,291/year
Elections
Last election	November 3, 2020; (41 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2022; (41 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	House of Representatives Chamber; Delaware Legislative Hall; Dover, Delaware
Website
	legis.delaware.gov

The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two-year term. Its members are not subject to term limits. The House meets at the Delaware Legislative Hall in Dover.

Name[]

From 1776 to 1792, the chamber was known as the House of Assembly, a common name for lower houses of colonial legislatures and states under the Confederation. The name was changed by Delaware's 1792 Constitution, reflecting the new federal House of Representatives. This change on the part of Delaware initiated a movement that has resulted in a majority of the lower houses of U.S. state legislatures sharing the name of the federal House of Representatives.

Leadership[]

The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the full House through the passage of a House Resolution. The Speaker is the chief leadership position of the body. The other House leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses. The Majority Leader determines which bills are brought to the floor for debate from an Agenda prepared by the Speaker of the House and manages debates and floor votes.

Terry Spence (R) was the longest serving speaker in the history of the Delaware General Assembly.

Office	Representative	Party	District
Speaker of the House	Peter Schwartzkopf	Democratic	14
Majority Leader	Valerie Longhurst	Democratic	15
Majority Whip	John Mitchell, Jr.	Democratic	13
Minority Leader	Daniel Short	Republican	39
Minority Whip	Timothy Dukes	Republican	40

Qualifications[]

Members of the House of Representatives must be citizens of the United States, have lived in Delaware for three years, been a resident of their constituent district for at least one year preceding their election, and must be at least 24 years old by the time of their election.

Current composition[]

26	15
Democratic	Republican

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
November 7, 2018^[2]	26	15	41	0
Latest voting share	63.4%	36.6%	100%	0%

Current members, 2020–2022[]

District	Name	Party	First elected	Residence
1	Nnamdi Chukwuocha	Democratic	2018	Wilmington
2	Stephanie Bolden	Dem	2010	Wilmington
3	Sherry Dorsey Walker	Dem	2018	Wilmington
4	Gerald Brady	Dem	2006	Wilmington
5	Kendra Johnson	Dem	2018	New Castle
6	Debra Heffernan	Dem	2010	Wilmington
7		Dem	2020
8	Sherae'a Moore	Dem	2020
9	Kevin Hensley	Rep	2014
10	Sean Matthews	Dem	2014
11	Jeffrey Spiegelman	Rep	2012	Clayton
12	Krista Griffith	Dem	2018	Fairfax
13	John Mitchell Jr.	Dem	2006	Elsmere
14	Peter Schwartzkopf	Dem	2002	Rehoboth Beach
15	Valerie Longhurst	Dem	2004	Bear
16	Franklin Cooke Jr.	Dem	2018	Dunleith
17	Melissa Minor-Brown	Dem	2018
18	David Bentz	Dem	2015	Bear
19	Kimberly Williams	Dem	2012	Klair Estates
20	Stephen Smyk	Rep	2012	Milton
21	Michael Ramone	Rep	2008	Drummond Hill
22	Michael F. Smith	Rep	2018	Meeting House Hill
23	Paul Baumbach	Dem	2012	Newark
24	Edward Osienski	Dem	2010
25	John Kowalko	Dem	2006	Newark
26	Madinah Wilson-Anton	Dem	2020
27	Eric Morrison	Dem	2020
28	William Carson Jr.	Dem	2008	Smyrna
29	William Bush IV	Dem	2018
30	W. Shannon Morris	Rep	2018	Willow Grove
31	Sean Lynn	Dem	2014	Dover
32	Andria Bennett	Dem	2012	Dover
33	Charles Postles Jr.	Rep	2016
34	Lyndon Yearick	Rep	2014
35	Jesse Vanderwende	Rep	2018	Bridgeville
36	Bryan Shupe	Rep	2018	Milford
37	Ruth Briggs King	Rep	2009	Georgetown/Lewes
38	Ronald E. Gray	Rep	2012	Selbyville
39	Daniel Short	Rep	2006	Seaford
40	Timothy Dukes	Rep	2012	Laurel
41	Richard G. Collins	Rep	2014	Millsboro

Past composition of the House of Representatives[]

References[]

^ https://budget.delaware.gov/budget/fy2018/documents/hb275-hs1.pdf
^ Delaware legislators' terms begin the second Wednesday in November (i.e. the day after Election Day), even though they are not sworn in until January. Constitution of Delaware, Article II, Section 3

External links[]

Delaware House of Representatives

[1] ttps://budget.delaware.gov/budget/fy2018/documents/hb275-hs1.pdf

[2] Delaware legislators' terms begin the second Wednesday in November (i.e. the day after Election Day), even though they are not sworn in until January. Constitution of Delaware, Article II, Section 3

[1]

[2]

show v t Members of the Delaware House of Representatives
151st General Assembly (2020–2022) Speaker of the House Peter Schwartzkopf (D) Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst (D) Minority Leader Daniel Short (R)
Nnamdi Chukwuocha (D) Stephanie Bolden (D) Sherry Dorsey Walker (D) Gerald Brady (D) Kendra Johnson (D) Debra Heffernan (D) Ray Seigfried (D) Sherae'a Moore (D) Kevin Hensley (R) Sean Matthews (D) Jeffrey Spiegelman (R) Krista Griffith (D) John Mitchell Jr. (D) Peter Schwartzkopf (D) Valerie Longhurst (D) Franklin Cooke Jr. (D) Melissa Minor-Brown (D) David Bentz (D) Kimberly Williams (D) Stephen Smyk (R) Michael Ramone (R) Michael F. Smith (R) Paul Baumbach (D) Edward Osienski (D) John Kowalko (D) John Viola (D) Earl Jaques Jr. (D) William Carson Jr. (D) William Bush IV (D) W. Shannon Morris (R) Sean Lynn (D) Andria Bennett (D) Charles Postles Jr. (R) Lyndon Yearick (R) Jesse Vanderwende (R) Bryan Shupe (R) Ruth Briggs King (R) Ronald E. Gray (R) Daniel Short (R) Timothy Dukes (R) Richard G. Collins (R)
Democratic (26) Republican (15) Delaware General Assembly Delaware House of Representatives Delaware Senate

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