Kathy Jennings | |
|---|---|
| Jennings in 2022 | |
| 46th Attorney General of Delaware | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2019 | |
| Governor | John Carney Bethany Hall-Long Matt Meyer |
| Preceded by | Matthew Denn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 4,1953 Wilmington,Delaware,U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Delaware (BA) Villanova University (JD) |
Kathleen Jennings (born April 4,1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Attorney General of Delaware. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Jennings was born on April 4,1953 in Wilmington,Delaware. [1] She was raised by a single mother and two grandparents. [2] Jennings graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1971 and subsequently earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Delaware and Juris Doctor from the Villanova University School of Law. [1] [3]
She worked for the Delaware Department of Justice for twenty years as a state prosecutor and chief deputy attorney general. Among other cases,she successfully tried serial killer Steven Brian Pennell. [4] In 1995,she and Charles Oberly opened their own law firm. [5]
Jennings served as Chief Administrative Officer for New Castle County for one year. She resigned in January 2018 to run for Attorney General of Delaware. [6] [7] She won the Democratic Party nomination. [8] She defeated Republican Bernard Pepukayi in the general election, [9] and was sworn into office on January 1,2019. [10] [11]
In the 2022 election,Jennings won a second term in a closer election,defeating Republican Julianne Murray with 53 percent of the vote. [12]
Jennings has participated in corporate-sponsored Attorney General junkets during her tenure as Attorney General. In addition to several events around the United States,she and her husband traveled to South Africa in November 2023 for an event paid for by the Attorney General Allianc e,a nonprofit whose funding comes from corporate sponsorships,including from companies that state attorneys general are tasked with investigating. While Jennings has stated that no taxpayer money paid for her flights,Jenning's $6,5000 annual membership in the alliance is funded by Delaware taxpayers. [13]
Jennings was married to Tom Molyneaux,an English professor at the University of Delaware,until his death in 1977. She married Wilmington police detective Bill Jennings in 1983 and has a son,Billy,and a daughter. [1] [2]
| Election results | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Election | Subject | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | ||
| 2018 | Attorney General | General | Kathy Jennings | Democratic | 218,351 | 61.31% | Bernard Pepukayi | Republican | 137,730 | 38.68% | ||
| 2022 | Attorney General | General | Kathy Jennings | Democratic | 171,837 | 53.83% | Julianne Murray | Republican | 147,369 | 46.17% | ||