Bryan Townsend (American politician)
American politician / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bryan Jeffrey Schurgard Townsend (born May 19, 1981) is an American politician who represents District 11 in the Delaware Senate.[1] Townsend was elected Senate Majority Leader in 2020. He graduated from the University of Delaware in 2003.
Bryan Townsend | |
---|---|
Majority Leader of the Delaware Senate | |
Assumed office November 4, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Nicole Poore |
Member of the Delaware Senate from the 11th district | |
Assumed office January 8, 2013 | |
Preceded by | Anthony DeLuca |
Personal details | |
Born | (1981-05-19) May 19, 1981 (age 43) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | University of Delaware (BA, BS) University of Cambridge (MPhil) Yale University (JD) |
As a political newcomer, Townsend defeated Anthony J. DeLuca—who was then President pro tempore of the Delaware Senate—in the 2012 Democratic primary by 57 percent to 42 percent.[2][3] Townsend went on to defeat Republican Evan Queitsch in the general election, winning 78 percent of the vote.[4][5]
Townsend was reelected in 2014. He defeated primary challenger David L. Tackett with 78 percent of the vote,[6] and was unopposed in the general election.[7]
In September 2015, in the wake of Representative John Carney's announcement that he would run for governor of the state, Townsend announced his candidacy for Delaware's at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.[8] On September 13, 2016, his candidacy ended when he placed second in a six-way Democratic primary, behind former state Secretary of Labor Lisa Blunt Rochester (25% to 44%).[9][10]
Townsend supports gun control and has supported a bill in 2018 to ban assault weapons.[11]