Delaware House of Representatives

Delaware House of Representatives
Delaware House of Representatives
Delaware General Assembly
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 8, 2013
Leadership
Speaker of the House	Peter Schwartzkopf (D) ; since January 8, 2013
Majority Leader	Valerie Longhurst (D) ; since January 8, 2013
Minority Leader	Daniel Short (R) ; since January 8, 2013
Structure
Seats	41
Political groups	Majority Democratic (25); Minority Republican (16);
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article III, Section 1, Delaware Constitution
Salary	$45,291/year
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2016; (41 seats)
Next election	November 6, 2018; (41 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	House of Representatives Chamber; Delaware Legislative Hall; Dover, Delaware
Website
	legis.delaware.gov

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the US state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two-year term. Its members are not subject to term limits. The House meets at the Delaware Legislative Hall in Dover.

Name

From 1776 to 1792, the chamber was known as the House of Assembly, a common name for lower houses of colonial legislatures and states under the Confederation. The name was changed by Delaware's 1792 Constitution, reflecting the new federal House of Representatives. This change on the part of Delaware initiated a movement that has resulted in a majority of the lower houses of U.S. state legislatures sharing the name of the federal House of Representatives.

Leadership

The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the full House through the passage of a House Resolution. The Speaker is the chief leadership position of the body. The other House leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses. The Majority Leader determines which bills are brought to the floor for debate from an Agenda prepared by the Speaker of the House and manages debates and floor votes.

Terry Spence (R) was the longest serving speaker in the history of the Delaware General Assembly.

Office	Representative	Party	District
Speaker of the House	Peter Schwartzkopf	Democratic	14
Majority Leader	Valerie Longhurst	Democratic	15
Majority Whip	John Viola	Democratic	26
Minority Leader	Daniel Short	Republican	39
Minority Whip	Deborah Hudson	Republican	12

Qualifications

Members of the House of Representatives must be citizens of the United States, have lived in Delaware for three years, been a resident of their constituent district for at least one year preceding their election, and must be at least 24 years old by the time of their election.

Current composition

25	16
Democratic	Republican

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	style="background-color:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color" \|	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color" \|
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of 147th legislature	27	14	41	0

Begin of 148th legislature (2014)	25	16	41	0
End of 148th legislature	25	15	40	1

Begin of 149th legislature (2016)	25	16	41	0
Latest voting share	60.98%	39.02%

Current members, 2016–2018

District	Name	Party	First Elected	Residence
1	Charles Potter, Jr.	Dem	2012	Brandywine Hills
2	Stephanie Bolden	Dem	2010
3	Helene Keeley	Dem	1996	Wilmington South
4	Gerald Brady	Dem	2006	Wilmington West
5	Melanie G. Smith	Dem	2002	Bear/Newark
6	Debra Heffernan	Dem	2010	Edgewood Hills
7	Bryon Short	Dem	2007
8	S. Quinton Johnson	Dem	2008	Middletown
9	Kevin Hensley	Rep	2014
10	Sean Matthews	Dem	2014	Delaware
11	Jeffrey Spiegelman	Rep	2012	Clayton
12	Deborah Hudson	Rep	1994	Fairthorne
13	John Mitchell, Jr.	Dem	2006	Elsmere
14	Peter Schwartzkopf	Dem	2002	Rehoboth
15	Valerie Longhurst	Dem	2004	Bear
16	James Johnson	Dem	2004	Jefferson Farms
17	Michael Mulrooney	Dem	1998	Pennwood
18	David Bentz	Dem	2015
19	Kimberly Williams	Dem	2012	Klair Estates
20	Stephen Smyk	Rep	2012	Milton
21	Michael Ramone	Rep	2008	Drummond Hill
22	Joseph Miró	Rep	1998	Pike Creek Valley
23	Paul Baumbach	Dem	2012	Newark
24	Edward Osienski	Dem	2010
25	John Kowalko	Dem	2006	Newark South
26	John Viola	Dem	1998	Newark
27	Earl Jaques, Jr.	Dem	2008	Glasgow
28	William Carson, Jr.	Dem	2008	Smyrna
29	W. Charles Paradee	Dem	2012
30	William Outten	Rep	2004	Harrington
31	Sean Lynn	Dem	2014	Dover
32	Andria Bennett	Dem	2012	Dover
33	Charles Postles, Jr.	Rep	2016
34	Lyndon Yearick	Rep	2014
35	David L. Wilson	Rep	2008	Bridgeville
36	Harvey Kenton	Rep	2010
37	Ruth Briggs King	Rep	2009	Georgetown/Lewes
38	Ronald E. Gray	Rep	2012	Selbyville
39	Daniel Short	Rep	2006	Seaford
40	Timothy Dukes	Rep	2012	Laurel
41	Richard Collins	Rep	2014	Millsboro

Past composition of the House of Representatives

References

^ https://budget.delaware.gov/budget/fy2018/documents/hb275-hs1.pdf

External links

Delaware House of Representatives

[1] ttps://budget.delaware.gov/budget/fy2018/documents/hb275-hs1.pdf

[1]

v t e Members of the Delaware House of Representatives
153rd General Assembly (2024–2026) Speaker of the House Vacant (D) Majority Leader Melissa Minor-Brown (D) Minority Leader Vacant (R)
▌Nnamdi Chukwuocha (D) ▌Stephanie Bolden (D) ▌Josue Ortega (D) ▌Jeff Hilovsky (R) ▌Kendra Johnson (D) ▌Debra Heffernan (D) ▌Larry Lambert (D) ▌Sherae'a Moore (D) ▌Kevin Hensley (R) ▌Melanie Levin (D) ▌Jeffrey Spiegelman (R) ▌Krista Griffith (D) ▌DeShanna Neal (D) ▌Claire Snyder-Hall (D) ▌Kamela Smith (D) ▌Franklin Cooke Jr. (D) ▌Melissa Minor-Brown (D) ▌Sophie Phillips (D) ▌Kimberly Williams (D) ▌Esthelda Parker Selby (D) ▌Frank Burns (D) ▌Michael F. Smith (R) ▌Mara Gorman (D) ▌Edward Osienski (D) ▌Cyndie Romer (D) ▌Madinah Wilson-Anton (D) ▌Eric Morrison (D) ▌William Carson Jr. (D) ▌William Bush IV (D) ▌W. Shannon Morris (R) ▌Sean Lynn (D) ▌Kerri Evelyn Harris (D) ▌Charles Postles Jr. (R) ▌Lyndon Yearick (R) ▌Jesse Vanderwende (R) ▌Bryan Shupe (R) ▌Valerie Jones Giltner (R) ▌Ronald E. Gray (R) ▌Daniel Short (R) ▌Timothy Dukes (R) ▌Richard G. Collins (R)
▌Democratic (27) ▌Republican (14) Delaware General Assembly Delaware House of Representatives Delaware Senate

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