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 10, 2023
Leadership
Speaker	Melissa Minor-Brown (D) ; since January 14, 2025
Majority Leader	Kerri Harris (D) ; since January 14, 2025
Minority Leader	Tim Dukes (R) ; since January 14, 2025
Structure
Seats	41
Political groups	Majority Democratic (27); Minority Republican (14);
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article III, Section 1, Delaware Constitution
Salary	$48,237/year.
Elections
Last election	November 5, 2024 ; (41 seats)
Next election	November 3, 2026 ; (41 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	House of Representatives Chamber; Delaware Legislative Hall ; Dover, Delaware
Website
	Delaware House of Representatives

Last updated February 28, 2025

The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. 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, and their terms start the day after the election.^[2] 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. Valerie Longhurst was the first woman to serve as speaker and Melissa Minor-Brown, currently speaker-elect, would be the first Black woman in the role.^[3]

Office	Representative	Party	District
Speaker of the House	Melissa Minor-Brown	Democratic	14
Majority Leader	Kerri Evelyn Harris	Democratic	15
Majority Whip	Edward Osienski	Democratic	32
Minority Leader	Timothy Dukes	Republican	21
Minority Whip	Jeffrey Spiegelman	Republican	34

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

27	14
Democratic	Republican

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
November 8, 2022^[4]	26	15	41	0
Current	27	14	41	0
Latest voting share	65.9%	34.1%

Current members

District	Name	Party	Since	Residence	County
1	Nnamdi Chukwuocha	Democratic	2018	Wilmington	New Castle
2	Stephanie Bolden	Democratic	2010	Wilmington	New Castle
3	Josue Ortega	Democratic	2024	Wilmington	New Castle
4	Jeff Hilovsky	Republican	2022	Long Neck	Sussex
5	Kendra Johnson	Democratic	2018	New Castle	New Castle
6	Debra Heffernan	Democratic	2010	Wilmington	New Castle
7	Larry Lambert	Democratic	2020	Claymont	New Castle
8	Sherae'a Moore	Democratic	2020	Middletown	New Castle
9	Kevin Hensley	Republican	2014	Townsend	New Castle
10	Melanie Ross Levin	Democratic	2024	Wilmington	New Castle
11	Jeffrey Spiegelman	Republican	2012	Clayton	Kent, New Castle
12	Krista Griffith	Democratic	2018	Wilmington	New Castle
13	DeShanna Neal	Democratic	2022	Wilmington	New Castle
14	Claire Snyder-Hall	Democratic	2024	Rehoboth Beach	Sussex
15	Kamela Smith	Democratic	2024	Bear	New Castle
16	Franklin Cooke Jr.	Democratic	2018	Wilmington	New Castle
17	Melissa Minor-Brown	Democratic	2018	New Castle	New Castle
18	Sophie Phillips	Democratic	2022		New Castle
19	Kimberly Williams	Democratic	2012	Wilmington	New Castle
20	Stell Selby	Democratic	2022	Milton	Sussex
21	Frank Burns	Democratic	2024	Newark	New Castle
22	Michael Smith	Republican	2018	Newark	New Castle
23	Mara Gorman	Democratic	2012	Newark	New Castle
24	Edward Osienski	Democratic	2010	Newark	New Castle
25	Cyndie Romer	Democratic	2022	Newark	New Castle
26	Madinah Wilson-Anton	Democratic	2020	Newark	New Castle
27	Eric Morrison	Democratic	2020	Newark	New Castle
28	William Carson Jr.	Democratic	2007	Smyrna	Kent
29	William Bush IV	Democratic	2018	Camden	Kent
30	Shannon Morris	Republican	2018	Camden	Kent
31	Sean Lynn	Democratic	2014	Dover	Kent
32	Kerri Evelyn Harris	Democratic	2022	Dover	Kent
33	Charles Postles Jr.	Republican	2016	Milford	Kent
34	Lyndon Yearick	Republican	2014	Magnolia	Kent
35	Jesse Vanderwende	Republican	2018	Bridgeville	Sussex
36	Bryan Shupe	Republican	2018	Milford	Sussex
37	Valerie Jones Giltner	Republican	2024	Georgetown	Sussex
38	Ronald Gray	Republican	2012	Selbyville	Sussex
39	Daniel Short	Republican	2006	Seaford	Sussex
40	Timothy Dukes	Republican	2012	Laurel	Sussex
41	Richard Collins	Republican	2014	Millsboro	Sussex

Past composition of the House of Representatives

References

↑ "2022 Legislator Compensation". ncsl.org. National Conference of State Legislatures.
↑ "Delaware Constitution". delcode.delaware.gov. State of Delaware. Schedule, section 4.
↑ "Delaware House, Senate pick leadership". WDEL (AM) . November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
↑ Delaware legislators' terms begin the second Wednesday in November (i.e. the day after Election Day), even though they are not sworn in until January. Constitution of Delaware, Article II, Section 3

External links

Delaware House of Representatives

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "2022 Legislator Compensation". ncsl.org. National Conference of State Legislatures.

[2] "Delaware Constitution". delcode.delaware.gov. State of Delaware. Schedule, section 4.

[3] "Delaware House, Senate pick leadership". WDEL (AM) . November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.

[4] Delaware legislators' terms begin the second Wednesday in November (i.e. the day after Election Day), even though they are not sworn in until January. Constitution of Delaware, Article II, Section 3

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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

v t e Legislatures of the United States
United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate
State legislatures	Alabama (H, S) Alaska (H, S) Arizona (H, S) Arkansas (H, S) California (A, S) Colorado (H, S) Connecticut (H, S) Delaware (H, S) Florida (H, S) Georgia (H, S) Hawaii (H, S) Idaho (H, S) Illinois (H, S) Indiana (H, S) Iowa (H, S) Kansas (H, S) Kentucky (H, S) Louisiana (H, S) Maine (H, S) Maryland (H, S) Massachusetts (H, S) Michigan (H, S) Minnesota (H, S) Mississippi (H, S) Missouri (H, S) Montana (H, S) Nebraska Nevada (A, S) New Hampshire (H, S) New Jersey (GA, S) New Mexico (H, S) New York (A, S) North Carolina (H, S) North Dakota (H, S) Ohio (H, S) Oklahoma (H, S) Oregon (H, S) Pennsylvania (H, S) Rhode Island (H, S) South Carolina (H, S) South Dakota (H, S) Tennessee (H, S) Texas (H, S) Utah (H, S) Vermont (H, S) Virginia (H, S) Washington (H, S) West Virginia (H, S) Wisconsin (A, S) Wyoming (H, S)
Other legislatures	District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands
Legislative elections	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
List of U.S. state legislators Lists of past U.S. state legislatures

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Germany United States Israel