2018 Delaware Attorney General election

The 2018 Delaware Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018. The Delaware primary election for federal and state candidates took place on September 6, 2018. Incumbent Attorney General Matthew Denn announced on August 28, 2017, that he would not seek re-election.^[1]

2018 Delaware Attorney General election

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Nominee Kathy Jennings Bernard Pepukayi Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 218,351 137,730 Percentage 61.3% 38.7%

County results Precinct results Jennings:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Pepukayi:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Tie:      50%      No data

Attorney General before election Matthew Denn Democratic Elected Attorney General Kathy Jennings Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kathy Jennings, former New Castle County chief administrative officer^[2]

Eliminated in primary

• Chris Johnson, former counsel for the City of Wilmington Law Department^[3]
• Tim Mullaney, former chief of staff for the Delaware Department of Justice^[4]
• LaKresha Roberts, former Delaware Chief Deputy Attorney General^[5]

Declined

• Matthew Denn, incumbent state Attorney General

Endorsements

Chris Johnson

State legislators

• Sean Lynn, State Representative^[6]

City Councilpersons

• Kevin Kelley, former Wilmington Councilman
• Jen Wallace, Newark Councilwoman

Individuals

• Sylvester Johnson, former Philadelphia Police Commissioner
• Coby Owens, social justice activist, CEO of Youth Caucus of America, and 2016 delegate for Bernie Sanders^[7]

Organizations

• Blue Wave Crowd Source
• The Broader Representation Advocacy Team
• Delaware United
• Moms Demand Action
• The Political Revolution
• Progressive Democrats for Delaware^[8]
• Real Justice^[9]
• Working Families Party

Kathy Jennings

Organizations

• Delaware State Education Association

LaKresha Roberts

Organizations

• Eastern Sussex Democratic Club

Results

Results by county

Map legend

•   Jennings—60–70%
•   Jennings—50–60%

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Jennings	46,038	56.6
	Democratic	LaKresha Roberts	17,584	21.6
	Democratic	Chris Johnson	12,194	15.0
	Democratic	Tim Mullaney	5,513	6.8
Margin of victory			28,454	35.0%
Turnout			81,329	25.4%[10]
Total votes			81,329	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Bernard Pepukayi, former New Castle County attorney^[11]

Withdrawn nomination

• Peggy Marshall Thomas, former chief Sussex County prosecutor^[12][13]

Withdrew

• Tom Neuberger, lawyer^[14][15]

Independents

Candidates

Declared

• Allen Jester (write-in)

General election

Endorsements

Kathy Jennings (D)

U.S. Vice President

• Joe Biden, 47th Vice President of the United States

U.S. Senators

• Tom Carper, U.S. Senator from Delaware
• Chris Coons, U.S. Senator from Delaware^[16]

U.S. Representatives

• Lisa Blunt Rochester, U.S. Representative from Delaware

Governors

• John Carney, 74th Governor of Delaware^[17]

State legislators

• James Johnson, State Representative

Political candidates

• Krista Griffith, Democratic nominee for Delaware’s 12th House district

Organizations

• Delaware State Education Association
• Democratic Attorneys General Association
• Democratic Party
• EMILY's List
• LiUNA Eastern Region
• Mary Ann’s List
• Planned Parenthood

Bernard Pepukayi (R)

Political candidates

• Scott Walker, Republican nominee for U.S. House in Delaware in 2018^[18]

Declined to endorse

Declined to endorse Bernard Pepukayi

• Peter Kopf, former New Castle County Republican chairman

Results

Delaware Attorney General election, 2018^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Jennings	218,351	61.31%
	Republican	Bernard Pepukayi	137,730	38.68%
Total votes			356,081	100.0%
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Attorney General Matt Denn will not seek re-election".
2. Cherry, Amy. "Jennings running for attorney general, resigns top New Castle County post".
3. Mueller, Sarah. "Chris Johnson joins crowded Democratic field for Delaware AG".
4. "Former Beau Biden aide to run for Delaware attorney general". October 20, 2017.
5. "DOJ's second-in-command running for attorney general - Delaware State News". January 10, 2018.
6. "Endorsements - Chris Johnson for Attorney General". Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
7. "Coby Owens on Twitter".
8. "Progressive Democrats for Delaware on Twitter".
9. "Chris Johnson for Delaware Attorney General". Retrieved January 7, 2019.
10. "State of Delaware - Department of Elections · Office of the State Election Commissioner". elections.delaware.gov. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
11. "Longtime Democrat Bernard Pepukayi to run for Delaware AG as a Republican". delawareonline. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
12. Diehl, Josh. "Peggy Marshall Thomas enters Attorney General race".
13. "Delaware's lone Republican in the attorney general race drops out".
14. "Lawyer known for suing state plans run for attorney general - Delaware State News". October 25, 2017.
15. McAneny, DJ. "Republican Tom Neuberger drops from Attorney General race". Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
16. "Chris Coons on Facebook".
17. "John Carney on Instagram: "Thank you to everyone who came out to the Sussex County Jamboree this weekend! We have a great slate of candidates this year, and I'm…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
18. "Log In or Sign Up to View". www.facebook.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
19. "State of Delaware General Election (Official Results)". State of Delaware Election Commissioner. Retrieved November 6, 2018.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Kathy Jennings (D) for Attorney General Archived 2018-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Chris Johnson (D) for Attorney General Archived 2018-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
• LaKresha Roberts (D) for Attorney General
• Peggy Marshall Thomas (R) for Attorney General