WILMINGTON — Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long has formalized her run for the governor’s mansion, filing paperwork for the 2024 election on Monday.
Hall-Long has been campaigning since September. Her announcement solidifies the three-way primary race for Delaware Democrats. The lieutenant governor’s filing comes week after New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and Collin O’Mara, a former Delaware Secretary of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
“I am thrilled to officially file my candidacy for governor. I believe in the potential of our state and its people, and I am committed to making Delaware the best place to live, work, and raise a family for generations to come,” she said in a prepared statement.
If elected, Hall-Long would continue a Delaware custom of choosing a lieutenant governor as the next chief of state as Govs. John Carney and Ruth Ann Minner both did so in the last two decades. She would become Delaware’s second female governor. Minner served from 2001 to 2009.
Hall-Long is a seasoned politician, having served in public office for the last 20 years. She has been seen on the streets, handing out opioid testing strips, hosting mental health summits and working the annual point-in-time count that serves as a rough census of Delaware’s homeless population.
Hall-Long has spent her time focusing on improving health care access, notably as the chair of the Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium and co-chair of the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission. Those groups have boosted collaboration with other stakeholders to launch new strategies on street outreach, improving the treatment service in the state as well as Narcan distribution.
For the first time in a decade, Delaware saw a slight reduction of accidental drug related deaths in 2023.
“I’m proud of my record of innovative ideas like leveraging public-private partnerships to help students in need through the Basic Needs Closet, creating the Behavioral Health Consortium, and managing Delaware’s robust pandemic recovery, and I’m ready to lead on day one,” Hall-Long said in a prepared statement.
Despite her experience as the lieutenant governor, she has been hampered by prior campaign finance issues and a shifting campaign staff. But that has not stopped Hall-Long’s efforts as she has secured endorsements from Gov. John Carney, the Delaware State AFL-CIO union, Nurses of America PAC and other politicians for her current campaign.
By the end of 2023, Hall-Long raised $827,928, with $7,370.92 in her own dollars, according to her year-end report. Many donations are under $1,000 and come from residents in Middletown, Wilmington, Bear, Newark and other parts of the state. A notable few companies and major Delaware leaders, politicians and restaurants have contributed to her campaign.
