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The Weed Is Freed in Delaware!

It is with great joy and excitement that we celebrate Delaware becoming the 22nd state to legalize cannabis for recreational use. This is a revolutionary reform that decreases the power of the carceral state and empowers the working class.

One of the most important aspects of Delaware’s legalization of cannabis is the positive impact it can have on marginalized communities. The disproportionate impact of cannabis criminalization on communities of color has been well-documented, with unfair arrests, convictions, and harsh sentencing contributing to systemic racism and social injustice. Legalization presents an opportunity to correct these injustices by reducing the criminalization of cannabis and promoting social equity initiatives, additional assistance with expungement of past cannabis-related convictions and creating pathways for diverse ownership and participation in the cannabis industry. This is a significant step towards rectifying the harm caused by the War on Drugs and promoting equity and justice.

We send our gratitude and thanks to Zoe Patchell, Andrea Brown Clarke and all DECAN coalition partners. as well as the prime sponsor Rep. Ed Osienski and of course all of DEDSA’s endorsed state legislators and all other legislators who voted for these bills, for making this a reality. We also thank Gov. John Carney for putting the people of Delaware above corporations and special interests this time around.

As we celebrate this historic moment, let us recognize that Delaware’s decision to legalize marijuana is not just about adult use, but also about promoting social justice, economic empowerment, and equity in the cannabis industry. We must continue to advocate for responsible and equitable cannabis policies that prioritize the well-being of all individuals, especially those who have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization, such as automatic expungement of all nonviolent cannabis offenses, home-grow, and public cannabis consumption lounges. Together, we can continue to push for progress and strive towards a more just and inclusive approach to cannabis policy.

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Delaware DSA-Backed Candidates Go 9-1, Southern Delaware DSA Gets on Electoral Board

While 2022’s Election Day wasn’t a perfect one for our chapter, it was an excellent one. All of our members running for public office won their offices and all but one of our endorsed non-members did. Our endorsed candidates running at the State Senate level won, and all but one of our candidates at the State House level did. We congratulate all of our candidates, both in victory and defeat, for advancing progressive, class-conscious ideals in all three counties of the state–in urban, suburban, and rural parts of Delaware. We especially congratulate endorsed non-member Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown on becoming the House Majority Whip–the first person of color to ever occupy a House leadership role in the history of our state! We are building a mass movement that demands a Delaware that puts people over profits, and puts the interests of Delaware’s working class over its major corporations.

The loss:

Susan Clifford (RD-39, Seaford): 30-70%.

The wins:

Sen. Marie Pinkney (SD-13, Bear): Unopposed

Rep. Larry Lambert: (RD-7, Claymont): 71-29%
Rep. Rae Moore (RD-8, Middletown): 58-42%
Rep. DeShanna Neal* (RD-13, Elsmere): 61-39%
Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown (RD-17, Wilmington Manor): Unopposed
Rep. Sophie Phillips (RD-18, Christiana): 71-29%
Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton*: (RD-26, Bear): 70-30%
Rep. Eric Morrison* (RD-27, Glasgow): 53-47%
Rep. Kerri Evelyn Harris (RD-32, Dover): 58-42%

(* indicates a Delaware DSA chapter member)

DSA-recommended candidates Auditor-Elect Lydia York also won 54-46% and New Castle County Councilman Brandon Toole (CD-1, Bear) won unopposed.

These DSA-endorsed electoral wins represent a DOUBLING of our chapter members in Dover and a 33% increase in our non-member endorsees in office—clearly, the appetite for democratic socialism in Delaware is growing. This election cycle also marks the beginning of electoral relevance for our Southern Delaware DSA branch. One endorsed non-member in a district entirely located in Kent County was elected. Kent County is not sapphire-blue the way Northern Delaware is; while it voted for President Biden in 2020, it went for President Trump in 2016. This should put to rest the tiresome narrative that we are a fringe group only capable of winning in overwhelmingly Democratic communities. While in Delaware, at least, we might not be a competitive force in red or purple districts, or in our state’s one red county of Sussex (yet!), we have proven that with quality candidates, quality messaging, and a quality work ethic, we can go into Kent County, compete, and win.

Still, the relentless attack ads, aimed not only at the candidates we support, but at candidates such as Dr. Frank Burns and Rep. Paul Baumbach who merely donate to our endorsees, should not be ignored, even though they were largely ineffective in a state that both leans left and prides itself on a congenial political climate. It is important that we continue to grow our chapter in membership and in organizing capacity so that candidates continue to view our endorsement as an asset and not as a liability. Mailers and texts attacking us seem to be more effective than robocalls, as several of our candidates who were targeted with these—Reps. Moore, Neal, and Morrison—while all victorious, underperformed Biden’s 2020 performances in their districts at a statistically significant level. Meanwhile, Rep. Lambert, who was merely attacked by robocalls tying him to us, actually slightly overperformed the President’s 2020 results in his district. Granted, other factors are at play here too—racism, sexism, transphobia, and homophobia directed at our candidates, betrayal by some state-level Democrats overtly or covertly supporting our GOP opponents, and of course, Biden’s natural boost up and down the state of being Delaware’s “favorite son”. In the case of Rep. Morrison, who had the biggest underperformance of any candidate we backed, the Delaware GOP ran an experienced political candidate, giving him a (paper thin) moderate veneer, and poured massive amounts of money and manpower into the race. Given all of these vulnerabilities, they’ve probably hit their high-but-not-high-enough ceiling against him, at least for the coming decade in which his district will remain the same.

There is some internal work to be done to shore up our positions—both we and other Delaware progressive organizations have run into frustration when trying to get a mostly Northern New Castle County membership base down to canvas and volunteer even in Southern New Castle County, let alone downstate. While we made up for this by redirecting more fundraising money to our candidates in these communities, nothing compares to on-the-ground support and we can realistically probably never out-fundraise the corporate elite of Delaware. Now that we have multiple electoral successes in the region, southern NCCo in particular is a critical area for us in which to build our base and destigmatize the word “socialism” from meaning “the Soviet Union” to meaning “a society in which the interests of working people are favored over the interests of the elites.” The part of New Castle County below the canal is more underrepresented in our membership than redder Kent County is. While we should not compromise our platform—doing so in the face of electoral SUCCESS looks comically weak, there are possibly some points that could be clarified, especially on criminal justice. It is one of the few issues on which Delaware is right-of-center on, and it is by far and away the issue on which the attack ads against us hammered the hardest—the Republicans can’t hit us on our healthcare policies or environmental policies very much, simply because they are overwhelmingly popular among Delawareans. It is critical that we make it abundantly clear that while our goal is to fight against the carceral state and not just to get nicer cops and prison guards, we do not plan to eliminate police departments and empty all of the prisons the moment we gain power. We actually have a plan for public safety that transfers functions from the police and resolves socio-economic conditions conducive to crime.

Overall, this was a highly successful electoral campaign for the Delaware DSA chapter in 2022! We owe our profound thanks to all of our members, all of our supported candidates, everyone who volunteered and worked for the candidates, and other progressive organizations and labor unions that threw down in money and time for many and in some cases all of our candidates. Thank you all so much!

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DSA’s Big Primary Night—Incumbents Hold On, While Neal Scores Massive Upset in 13th RD

September 13th, 2022 was a day that will be remembered as pivotal in the growth of our chapter. Thanks to our aggressive endorsement campaign, recruitment efforts into our chapter, and the work of our members on the ground and on the phones, we are poised not just to more than double our number of chapter members in the Delaware General Assembly, but to hold sole possession of the second highest number of DSA members in our state legislature in the country! (Second only to New York, the bulwark of American socialism for the past 110 years, of course.) Our lone non-member endorsee facing a primary, Kerri Evelyn Harris, also won, and won big—she scored 64% of the vote in a four-way race! Overall, our members went 5-2 in their primaries, and including Harris, our endorsees went 6-2—a spectacular night for Delawarean leftism! Here is a more detailed account of the races.

SD-14 (Smyrna)-DSA member Kyra Hoffner vs. Sam Noel, Rob Sebastiano, Michael “Tater” Hill Shaner, and Kevin Mustowin

DSA member Kyra Hoffner (she/her) won with roughly 34% of the vote, besting her closest competitor Tater Hill-Shaner’s 27%. Despite concerns that fellow progressive Sam Noel would steal votes from Hoffner and cost her the election, Noel actually came in dead last, not even clocking 10%, despite raising the most money out of the crowded five-candidate logjam. In a reverse of what commonly happens in American politics to the ire of leftists everywhere, the moderate candidates actually scored 58% of the vote combined, but moderate voters were less disciplined than progressive ones and DSA’s discipline—along with that of Progressive Democrats of Delaware—in rallying behind Hoffner helped her consolidate progressive support. Hoffner leaned heavily into being the only woman against an all-male slate of opponents; she had stickers saying “Don’t be shady, vote for the lady” and touted her history as a League of Women Voters lobbyist while focusing on women’s issues such as reproductive rights on the campaign trail. Women responded—especially Moms Demand Action, who tirelessly worked on her campaign. Hoffner faces the toughest general campaign of any of the primary winners, but if she can survive (as she should—her district gave over 60% of its votes to Pres. Joe Biden in his 2020 campaign, and, per FiveThirtyEight, Delaware has one of the fewest numbers of swing voters per capita in the country), she will not only be the first DSA member in the history of the Delaware State Senate and our first Southern Delaware DSA branch member to hold public office, but she will be the first DSA member to take office in any former slave state in the 40-year national history of our organization-which would ideally deliver death blows to discouraging myths about where socialism can succeed. Still, this is probably our most competitive race in the general election and definitely one we need to show up heavily for!

RD-1 (Wilmington)-Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha vs. DSA member Wilmington City Councilwoman Shané Darby-Bey—loss

Unfortunately, despite winning the Election Day vote, Councilwoman Darby (she/her) lost by a 52-48% margin in her effort to primary incumbent Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha, who has faced heavy criticism for his centrist votes such as those to expand the city of Wilmington’s ability to gentrify residents out through eminent domain and to weaken gun control legislation despite the pandemic of gun violence that is ripping apart his district. Unfortunately, absentee ballots and early votes, combined with his strength in the majority-white neighborhoods of the Triangle, Trolley Square, and his home area of Brandywine Hills, were enough for Rep. Chukwuocha to prevail by just 90 votes. Thankfully, the vast majority of the district will still be represented at the city level either by Councilwoman Darby or City Councilwoman Linda Gray, who endorsed Councilwoman Darby, as well as by Ernest “Trippi” Congo, the City Council President who also endorsed the Councilwoman.

RD-6 (N. Wilmington)-Rep. Deb Heffernan vs. DSA member Becca Cotto—loss

Becca Cotto (she/her) ran an extraordinary campaign by all accounts-she started knocking on doors as early as November, braving the ice-cold Brandywine Hundred winter to get out and talk to the voters of the 6th District. Unfortunately, however, she came up short by a 56-44% margin. Several factors can explain the loss. Despite Rep. Heffernan’s questionable record on some issues—such as police and the environment—unlike the other incumbents our members faced off against, she does have bona fide progressive credentials on other issues, particularly education and labor, which earned her nearly unanimous union support in addition to her establishment backing, support that helped her build a staggering war chest of nearly $75,000. Another factor that cannot be ignored is race—Delaware DSA endorsees have yet to win any open seats in districts that are over 64% white, and RD-6 has a 74% white population—it may not be a homogenous bubble, but it’s certainly not diverse either. While Cotto was able to score a couple of wins in Pennyhill and in the the district’s lone majority-minority precinct of Edgemoor, Rep. Heffernan ran the rest of the table, even winning over 60% of the vote in Bellefonte, the one precinct in the district which gave openly socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders a win in his 2016 presidential run. The support of Scott Mackenzie, the President of Town Council (and under Bellefonte’s system, its de facto mayor), who while not a DSA member is also an open socialist, may have also helped Rep. Heffernan pick up a win even in a town known for its progressivism.

RD-13 (Elsmere)- DSA member DeShanna Neal vs. House Majority Whip Larry Mitchell—WIN!!!

In the biggest upset of this primary cycle by far, DeShanna Neal (she/they) knocked off the third-in-command of the Democratic House Caucus, 16-year incumbent, and former police officer Rep. Larry Mitchell by a 51-49% margin—just 24 votes! Every single canvass that DSA members participated in mattered, and the Working Families Party and Moms Demand Action were also enormously active in helping make this historic victory possible. Neal, who lives in a safely Democratic district, will almost assuredly be the first Buddhist and first non-binary person ever to hold public office in Delaware. As expected, her path to victory lay in the eastern part of the district, which is more diverse than its western section and sits next to the city of Wilmington; and while Neal lost the absentee vote, Election Day ballots made up the difference and carried the day for socialism in Delaware!

RD-18 (E. Newark)-DSA member Sophie Phillips vs. Martin Willis-win

In Delaware DSA’s biggest blowout of the night, Sophie Phillips (she/her), who in her safely Democratic district will almost assuredly become at age 26 the youngest member of the Delaware General Assembly in addition to its first-ever Jew of color and its first-ever Asian American, defeated Martin Willis by a whopping 71-29% margin. There isn’t a whole lot to analyze here: Phillips comfortably won every single precinct in the entire RD, thanks to her incredible discipline, error-free campaigning, and hard work canvassing every day during the home stretch of the campaign. She was able to coalesce the support of unions, activist groups, and even many moderates with her charisma and impeccable history of environmental activism and expertise in environmental policy—a must in a district suffering from as much pollution and congestion as the 18th.

RD-26 (Bear)-DSA member Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton vs. Kelly Williams-Maresca—win

In another comfortable win, Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton (she/her) fended off right-wing nut job cum Democratic primary challenger Kelly Williams-Maresca in a 68-32% rout. Despite tens of thousands being poured in by dark money groups to attack Rep. Wilson-Anton, the Democratic primary voters of the 26th District could see right through Williams-Maresca’s paper-thin “Democratic” veneer. While Williams-Maresca posted respectable numbers and even two narrow wins in some of the smaller, whiter, more affluent precincts of the district such as Salem Woods, she lost by laughable margins in the more diverse ones-probably because comparing COVID vaccine mandates to the Holocaust and comparing January 6th favorably to Black Lives Matter protests doesn’t play well in majority-minority districts. Rep. Wilson-Anton, the first Muslim member of the Delaware General Assembly, also turned out her faith community, which heavily supported her.

RD-27 (Glasgow)-DSA member Rep. Eric Morrison vs. Michael Hertzfeld—win

Everyone’s favorite progressive firebrand, Rep. Eric Morrison (he/him), won by a nearly two-to-one margin (66-34%) against his primary opponent Michael Hertzfeld despite a determined effort by “Democratic” House “leadership” to punish him by giving him as much of Southern New Castle County as possible—this effort also included a second five-figure hate mail campaign that proved to be money flushed down the toilet. Hertzfeld’s campaign was likely doomed from the start—it was light on policy and even reluctant to identify itself as Democratic—maybe not the best strategy when running in a Democratic primary! Rep. Morrison, on the other hand, took nothing for granted, kept his high motor running full speed, and made sure to canvass and send canvassers to the new parts of his district. While Rep. Morrison—the first openly gay man to ever serve in the Delaware General Assembly—was dominant across the board, he did especially well in absentee voting, showing his strength in highly responsive constituent services and in the senior community—not necessarily a strength any openly gay man with a lot of piercings would have in a majority-white, suburban district—but this shows Rep. Morrison’s political skill and acumen—he is a great politician as well as a great leader! However, he faces a tough challenge in November from experienced political candidate John Marino, who despite his efforts to rebrand as a “moderate” Republican is a COVID-denying Donald Trump supporter. It is important that we support Rep. Morrison in his effort to retain his seat!

RD-32 (Dover)-DSA endorsee Kerri Evelyn Harris vs. Lamont Pierce, LaVaughn McCutchen, and Phil McGinniswin

Despite fears that a crowded field could hand this race to another right-wing nut job cum Democratic primary candidate Phil McGinnis, Kerri Evelyn Harris (she/her) prevailed handily by a 40-point margin, 64% to McGinnis’s second place 24%, with neither of the other candidates sniffing double digits. There is not a ton to analyze here; Harris won every precinct except a tiny, white coastal one she lost 10-7 to McGinnis, an anomaly in this majority-minority district. Harris would be the first openly gay woman in the Delaware House of Representatives, and would be tied with Sophie Phillips to be the first multiracial state representative in Delaware should she prevail in her general election. While given the Democratic nature of her district, this should be an easy task to accomplish, unfortunately nothing is easy for a biracial, Black, LGBT, disabled woman facing the full wrath of the old Southern Delaware white establishment. Harris will face a tough battle and have a lot of powerful enemies, so it’s critical we give her our support as well!

Recommended candidates

Both of our recommended candidates won—Lydia York for Auditor of Accounts defeated incumbent Auditor Kathy McGuinness 71-29% and Brandon Toole for New Castle County Council (CD-1) defeated Frank Maule 58-42%.

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Delaware DSA Releases Four Rounds of 2022 Endorsements! Vote Sept. 13th in the primary and Nov. 8th in the general election!

Round 1

  • State Rep. Eric Morrison (RD-27, Glasgow, incumbent, DSA member)-the first openly gay man in the history of the Delaware General Assembly, everyone’s favorite progressive firebrand faces a primary challenge from Capitol Police Chief Michael Hertzfeld and Republican John Marino. Being that having a massive number of former police officers in the state legislature is a huge obstacle to enacting any type of police accountability in Delaware, it is crucial to defend Rep. Morrison’s seat.
  • State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton (RD-26, E. Newark, incumbent, DSA member)-the first Muslim in the history of Delaware legislature, as well as its youngest member, Rep. Wilson-Anton is best known for her fierce advocacy on environmental and housing issues. She too, faces a primary challenger (from Kelly Williams-Maresca, a self-described “fiscal conservative” who downplayed the January 6th coup attempt and compared it unfavorably to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, in addition to likening COVID restrictions to the Holocaust) as well as Republican opponent Timothy Conrad. Despite Maresca’s abhorrent views, she is being funded by Rep. Wilson-Anton’s archnemesis, corporatist Democrat, and Reybold Industries owner Jerry Heisler as well as the former Rep. John Viola who was defeated by Rep. Wilson-Anton last primary cycle.
  • Rep. Larry Lambert-(RD-7, Claymont, incumbent)-Rep. Lambert is running unopposed this cycle, but we still want to re-endorse him and shout him out for his work on criminal justice reform, creating the Delaware EARNS program, and implementing environmental justice. Way to go, Rep. Lambert!
  • Sen. Marie Pinkney-(SD-13, Bear, incumbent)-Sen. Pinkney, the first queer Black person in the Delaware General Assembly, is also running unopposed, but she has earned DSA’s re-endorsement. From her tireless work on giving Delaware its first-of-its-kind in the nation family/medical leave to a majority of its workforce by the middle of the decade to pushing through the “momnibus bill” to reduce the disparities in treatment that Black women face in maternal healthcare to offering a broader variety of healthcare options to women up and down the state, Sen. Pinkney has been our most tireless voice for justice in the Delaware State Senate. Thank you for all your hard work, Sen. Pinkney!

Round 2

  • Wilmington City Councilwoman Shané Darby-Bey (RD-1, Wilmington, DSA member)-Councilwoman Darby-Bey from the 2nd Ward is taking on Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha, who has been in opposition to the tenants’ right to counsel despite his district having a very high proportion of renters. She is the founder of Black Mothers in Power, has been a vocal advocate for police reform, reproductive justice, and the Black Lives Matter movement, and is a young, dynamic voice for change. She also has experience working from the very bottom up in politics-before she was a city councilwoman, she worked with Co-Chair Jonathan while they attended Temple University together in the Residence Hall Association!
  • Kyra Hoffner (SD-14, Smyrna) is in a clown car primary to take over the retiring Sen. Bruce Ennis against 4 all-male opponents who range from a union man and Representative District Democratic Committee Chairman to a two-time Trump supporter. She has been a fierce advocate against gun violence and for fair re-districting in Delaware. We know that Kyra’s good government advocacy will do a lot of good in Dover, where the Delaware Way and corruption bog down progress whenever we try to make it.
  • Rep. Rae Moore (RD-8, Middletown), a progressive incumbent, is facing fierce opposition in the general election from a Republican who is being supported by Middletown’s Dixiecrat mayor and town councilmen. While her district should probably be safely Democratic, this Democratic opposition still puts her in unique danger. It is important to keep Rep. Moore in office as she is more quiet about it than our firebrand members in the legislature, she was both one of the driving forces behind the paid family and medical leave making it through the House even with its corporate Democratic leadership and a key hard-worker on much of the abortion justice progress we’ve seen in Delaware.
  • DeShanna Neal (RD-13, Elsmere) is challenging House Majority Whip Rep. Larry Mitchell, who has been a major obstacle to police accountability efforts as a former police officer himself, and who has opposed even the most basic human rights for homeless people. DeShanna is a nationally known activist on behalf of their transgender daughter Trinity and would be the first nonbinary state legislator as well as the first Buddhist legislator in Delaware history. Currently, they sit on the Red Clay Consolidated School District’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee where they helped shepherd their first of its kind in Delaware trans-inclusive policies as well as the RD-13 Democratic Party Committee. We know that she will be a fierce advocate for LGBT, BIPOC, and low-income Delawareans, and while she has a Republican opponent, winning the nomination would almost certainly be tantamount to election given the makeup of her district.
  • Kerri Evelyn Harris (RD-32, Dover) is running for Andria Bennett’s soon-to-be-vacated seat. The DNC National Committeewoman for Delaware, best known as Tom Carper’s DSA-endorsed 2018 primary challenger, is a disabled, biracial, Black, LGBT veteran (no, she was not cooked up in a DSA-ideal-candidate lab) in a race against Phil McGinnis, son of a Delaware politician and real estate agent, and two other more recent arrivals. Harris got enough national attention to bring DSA icon Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez here to the First State. She also will face the winner of the Republican primary in the fall, but winning her primary would likely amount to victory.
  • Susan Clifford, (RD-39, Seaford) is facing House Minority Leader Danny Short in the general election, who has not faced Democratic opposition since 2008. While it is an uphill battle, due to Seaford diversifying and the district being redrawn, Clifford, the former Sussex County DSA branch chair (the Sussex and Kent branches have since merged into our Southern Delaware DSA branch) has a real shot. She is a tireless volunteer and canvasser, was big in the Bernie 2020 campaign in Delaware, and will be a much needed voice in Dover.
  • Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown (RD-17, New Castle, unopposed). While Rep. Minor Brown is running unopposed, she has shown herself to be a strong progressive who has led the charge in maternal healthcare and reproductive justice, and continues to do so in her quest with Rep. Morrison to get Medicaid to fund abortions in Delaware. We are proud of you, Rep. Minor-Brown!

Round 3

  • Sophie Phillips (RD-18, Bear, DSA member) is running in a primary against union man Martin Willis. Phillips recently obtained her Master’s Degree in energy and environmental public policy from the University of Delaware, started a community garden in the Southbridge neighborhood of Wilmington, and was Miss Delaware 2021. She has a lifelong passion for environmentalism and climate justice, and would be the first Jew of color and the first Asian American to ever serve in Delaware’s General Assembly as well as its youngest member. This is a very winnable primary for one of our members, as her opponent has yet to campaign as of this post, and there is no Republican opposition.

Round 4

  • Becca Cotto (RD-6, North Wilmington, DSA member) is a tireless activist and educator from Brandywine Hundred who is now running to be a State Representative! She got her start in activism through the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign like so many of us did, and has since continued her work with Delaware United, the Delaware Working Families Party, and now Delaware DSA. She works as an an antiracism educator for a local nonprofit and serves on the RD-6 Democratic Party Committee. She was previously the vice chair of the New Castle County Democratic Party before running for office. We appreciate all of Becca’s hard work, as well as her refusal to take corporate money, and we know that she will be a fierce advocate for marginalized people in Dover when she gets down there!