Matt Meyer has been elected as the governor in the Northwestern state of Delaware, after defeating Republican lawmaker Michael Ramone.
His victory on Tuesday makes him the second Jewish governor in Delaware history, after democrat Jack Markell was elected to the position in 2009.
“I feel good,” Meyer told The Associated Press prior to addressing to supporters in Wilmington. “We set out a vision for the future of our state."
The 53-year-old continues the trend of Democrats holding the top office in Delaware, a position they have maintained for over 30 years. The last time Delawareans elected a Republican was in 1988.
He is the country executive in New Castle Country — the state’s largest local government — a position he has held since 2017.
Growing up in Delaware, he was a leader in Jewish youth movements. Being part of a small Jewish community “makes you a little prouder of your Judaism,” he told the Jewish Insider, comparing the experience to his time in New York.
“If I don’t do something to retain the connection to my family’s own history and our community’s own culture, it will be lost,” he said.
After studying Computer Science & Political Science at Brown University, Meyer moved to Nairobi, Kenya where he created Ecosandals, a recycled footwear company. He then spent a year in Mosul, Iraq as a diplomatic embedded with the US Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.
He returned to Delaware and became a maths teacher, where he was exposed to issues facing young people including gun violence and unstable housing.
As governor, Meyer has pledged to invest in education, expand access to affordable housing and stand up “the Trump Administration to deliver locally”. He has previously called for universal prekindergarten, higher salaries for public school teachers and Medicaid funding for abortions.
On Tuesday, he defeated Ramone, the Republican minority leader of the Delaware state House of Representatives.
His path to victory began when he won a three-way primary race against Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and former state Environmental Secretary Collin O’Mara in a September.
Hall-Long, who has held public office since winning a state House seat in 2002, was the Democratic establishment's favourite until she became enmeshed in a campaign finance scandal. The scandal led to the resignation of several top staffers and prompted election officials to commission a forensic audit.
After winning the primary, Meyer said Delaware voters were looking for political leaders with “honesty and accountability”.
Joe Biden served as Delaware’s U.S. senator from 1973 through 2009, and the state is also where the former president calls home.
The state has long been a democratic stronghold, with the party controlling both chambers of the General Assembly as well as the Executive branch.
