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Bethany Hall-Long

Democratic Party

Prior offices:

Governor of Delaware

Years in office: 2025 - 2025

Predecessor:John C. Carney Jr. (D)

Successor:Matt Meyer (D)

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Lieutenant Governor of Delaware

Years in office: 2017 - 2025

Successor:Kyle Evans Gay (D)

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Delaware State Senate District 10

Years in office: 2009 - 2017

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Delaware House of Representatives District 8

Years in office: 2003 - 2009

Elections and appointments

Last election

September 10, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Thomas Jefferson University

Ph.D

George Mason University

Graduate

Medical University of South Carolina

Personal

Profession

Professor of nursing & joint faculty urban affairs, University of Delaware

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Bethany Hall-Long (Democratic Party) was theGovernor of Delaware. She assumed office on January 7, 2025. She left office on January 21, 2025.

Hall-Long (Democratic Party) ran for election forGovernor of Delaware. She lost in the Democratic primary onSeptember 10, 2024.

Hall-Long becameGovernor of Delaware on January 7, 2025, to replaceJohn Carney Jr. (D), who resigned after being electedMayor ofWilmington, Delaware.^[1]

Biography

Hall-Long grew up inSussex County, Delaware, graduating from Indian River High School in 1981. Hall-Long graduated from Thomas Jefferson University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She then attended the Medical University of South Carolina, where she acquired her M.S.N., and later attended George Mason University, where she obtained her Ph.D. She also worked as a fellow in theU.S. Senate andU.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

At the time of her 2016 election as lieutenant governor, Hall-Long was a professor of nursing and a joint faculty member in the Urban Affairs Department at the University of Delaware.^[2]

Elections

2024

See also: Delaware gubernatorial election, 2024

General election

General election for Governor of Delaware

Matt Meyer defeatedMichael Ramone in the general election for Governor of Delaware on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Meyer (D)	56.1	279,585
		Michael Ramone (R)	43.9	219,050

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	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 498,635
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Danny Ace Valentine (Nonpartisan)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Delaware

Matt Meyer defeatedBethany Hall-Long andCollin O'Mara in the Democratic primary for Governor of Delaware on September 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Meyer	47.0	40,518
		Bethany Hall-Long	36.6	31,588
		Collin O'Mara	16.4	14,142

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	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 86,248
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Delaware

Michael Ramone defeatedJerrold Price andBobby Williamson in the Republican primary for Governor of Delaware on September 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Ramone	72.3	26,414
		Jerrold Price	16.3	5,971
		Bobby Williamson	11.4	4,153

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	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 36,538
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Julianne Murray (R)

Endorsements

2020

See also: Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020

Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020 (September 15 Democratic primary)

Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020 (September 15 Republican primary)

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware

IncumbentBethany Hall-Long defeatedDonyale Hall in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bethany Hall-Long (D)	59.1	285,638
		Donyale Hall (R)	40.9	197,343

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	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 482,981
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kevin Baron (Independent)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. IncumbentBethany Hall-Long advanced from the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled.Donyale Hall advanced from the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.

2016

See also:Delaware Lieutenant Gubernatorial election, 2016

Hall-Long was aDemocratic candidate for lieutenant governor of Delaware in 2016. She competed in the September 13Democratic primary with former Sussex County Register of WillsGreg Fuller, New Castle County Register of WillsCiro Poppiti III, Rehoboth Beach CommissionerKathy McGuiness, Wilmington CouncilwomanSherry Dorsey Walker, and Kent County Levy Court CommissionerBrad Eaby.^[3] She competed withRepublicanLa Mar Gunn in the November 8 general election.

Bethany Hall-Long defeatedLa Mar Gunn in the Delaware lieutenant governor election.

Delaware Lieutenant Governor, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bethany Hall-Long	59.44%	248,141
	Republican	La Mar Gunn	40.56%	169,291
Total Votes				417,432
Source:Delaware Secretary of State

The following candidates ran in the Delaware Democratic primary for lieutenant governor.

Delaware Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bethany Hall-Long	29.09%	18,326
Sherry Dorsey Walker	21.82%	13,748
Kathy McGuiness	17.24%	10,860
Ciro Poppiti III	17.21%	10,835
Greg Fuller	9.05%	5,701
Brad Eaby	5.59%	3,522
Total Votes		62,992
Source:Delaware Department of Elections

2014

See also:Delaware State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for theDelaware State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 8, 2014. IncumbentBethany Hall-Long was unopposed in the Democratic primary, whileJohn Marino was unopposed in the Republican primary. Hall-Long defeated Marino in the general election.^[4][5][6]

Delaware State Senate, District 10, General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bethany Hall-LongIncumbent	51.1%	6,230
	Republican	John Marino	48.9%	5,963
Total Votes				12,193

2012

See also:Delaware State Senate elections, 2012

Hall-Long ran for re-election in the2012 election forDelaware State Senate District 10. Hall-Long ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on September 11, 2012 and was unchallenged in the general election on November 6, 2012.^[7][8]

Delaware State Senate, District 10, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bethany Hall-LongIncumbent	100%	16,498
Total Votes				16,498

2008

See also:Delaware State Senate elections, 2008

On November 4, 2008, Hall-Long won election to theDelaware State Senate from Delaware's 10th Senate District. Hall-Long received 13,965 votes in the election, defeating James Weldin (R), who received 7,554 votes.^[9] Hall-Long raised $95,384 for her campaign in 2008; Weldin raised $32,465.^[10]

Delaware State Senate, District 10 (2008)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Bethany Hall-Long (D)		13,965	64.9%
James Weldin (R)		7,554	35.1%

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Bethany Hall-Long did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Bethany Hall-Long did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Hall-Long's 2016 campaign website included the following positions:

• On the economy: "[W]e need to invest in the traditional pillars of Delaware’s economy like the Port of Wilmington and the agricultural sector all across the state. But ... we also explore new industries in the biological, health, and financial technology fields ... . To further that goal, as we invest in business, we must also continue to invest and expand workforce training and educational opportunities for all Delawareans regardless of means or age."^[11]

• On healthcare: "Bethany has championed causes to fight for expanded addiction and mental health services, lower cancer rates, and expanded dental benefits among low-income families in Delaware. We must continue to invest in these causes to create a healthier Delaware."^[11]

• On education: "Bethany believes in investing in education to support teachers, to ensure all schools are performing at a high level and to provide state of the art technology to schools so that our children are able to receive a first-class education."^[11]

• On the environment: "Cleaning up our waterways, protecting our air quality and preserving our farmland and open space is essential for our quality of life."^[11]

• On infrastructure improvement: "[I]ssues of traffic congestion, road development and maintenance and financing are at the forefront of the policy agenda. Bethany will work with state and local leaders to explore innovative financing through public private partnerships and other mechanisms to address these pressing needs."^[11]

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Notable endorsements

See also:Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia'scoverage scope. Know of one we missed?Click here to let us know.

State legislative tenure

Committee assignments

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Hall-Long served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Hall-Long served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Hall-Long served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Hall-Long served on these committees:^[12]

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Scorecards

See also:State legislative scorecards andState legislative scorecards in Delaware

Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Delaware scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.

2016

In 2016, theDelaware General Assembly was in session from January 12 through July 1.

• Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence

Legislators are scored on their votes for bills supported by the organization.

• National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to business issues.

• The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

2014

2013

Personal

Note: Pleasecontact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Hall-Long is married to Dana Long.

Noteworthy events

Campaign finance violations

In September 2023, staff on the Hall-Long campaign discovered discrepancies while reviewing years of campaign finance reports.^[13]

In November 2023, Hall-Long submitted several years of amended campaign finance reports, acknowledging that she and her husband had made campaign-related expenses that had not been properly reported. According to election officials, the amended reports still did not bring Hall-Long into compliance with state campaign finance laws.^[13]

On July 13, 2024, the Delaware Department of Elections released a report that found improprieties in the campaign finances of Hall-Long. Hall-Long said in a statement, “As I’ve always done, I have voluntarily cooperated with the Delaware Department of Elections and I will continue to do just that.”^[13]

See also

Delaware	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis
Delaware State Executive OfficesDelaware State LegislatureDelaware Courts	2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016Delaware elections:2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016	Party control of state governmentState government trifectasState of the state addressesPartisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

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