Matt Meyer | |
|---|---|
_Mett_Meyer.jpg) Meyer in 2025 | |
| 76thGovernor of Delaware | |
| Assumed office January 21, 2025 | |
| Lieutenant | Kyle Evans Gay |
| Preceded by | Bethany Hall-Long |
| 11th Executive ofNew Castle County | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 7, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas P. Gordon |
| Succeeded by | Marcus Henry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1971-09-29)September 29, 1971 (age 53) Bay City, Michigan, U.S.[citation needed] |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lauren Meyer |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Brown University (BA) University of Michigan (JD) |
Matthew S. Meyer (born September 29, 1971[1]) is an American politician and attorney. A member of theDemocratic Party, he has served as the 76thgovernor of Delaware since 2025. He was previously theNew Castle County executive from 2017 to 2025. Prior to this, Meyer worked as an attorney in private practice, and was an economic advisor to former governorJack Markell and an advisor within theU.S. State Department.[2]
Meyer was born inBay City, Michigan,[citation needed] and grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. He graduated fromWilmington Friends School,Brown University (cum laude in political science and computer science), and theUniversity of Michigan Law School (member,Michigan Law Review).[3]
Meyer worked on then-U.S. senatorJoe Biden’sfirst presidential campaign in 1988 while in high school at the Wilmington Friends School.[4] He then worked on the upstart, successful, 1990 gubernatorial campaign ofBruce Sundlun while attending Brown University.[5]
Meyer joined Teach for America, and taught public school in Washington, D.C. for three years.[6] He also taught at Prestige Academy in Wilmington. He won aSkadden Fellowship upon graduation from law school and used it to work for Community Legal Aid in Wilmington. He then became an attorney working in mergers and acquisitions withSimpson Thatcher and Bartlett. He served in Iraq as a diplomat for theU.S. State Department, as a senior economic adviser on the ground inMosul,Iraq, working with military and economic aid leaders to assist the Iraqi people.[7][8]
Later, he worked as an economic advisor toDelaware governorJack Markell and was a partner at Potomac Law Group.[2] In 2003 at theKennedy Center in Washington, Meyer was awarded theSam Beard Jefferson Award for the Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years and Under; at that same ceremonyCondoleezza Rice received a Jefferson Award.[9]
In the2016 Democratic primary for New Castle County executive, Meyer's campaign focused on integrity and economic policy.[10] On September 13, Meyer upset three-term incumbentTom Gordon, winning 52% of the vote.[11] Meyer defeated Republican Mark Blake in the general election in November with 67% of the vote. He took office on January 3, 2017.[12]
In2020, Meyer faced a primary challenge from morecentrist Maggie Jones.[13][14] In July, Meyer faced allegations he made "belligerent" calls to two mayors who were supporting his opponent in the Democratic primary.Elsmere mayor Eric Scott Thompson andNewark mayor Jerry Clifton said Meyer's phone conversations with them were heated, and they felt the county executive made threats toward their communities by telling them that he "will remember this". Meyer refused to specifically address the accusations.[15] On September 15, Meyer won the Democratic nomination, defeating Jones with 57% of the vote.[16] Meyer won the general election unopposed.[17]
Meyer selected the first African-American police chief and chief administrative officer in the 106-year history of the New Castle County Police Department.[18][19]
A joint report byNational Association of Counties andNational Academy of Public Administration on the use of federalCARES Act funds recognized New Castle County for using “innovative strategies in deploying Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars, with special attention to programs focusing on inclusive economic recovery and on assisting vulnerable and underserved populations.”[20][21] In a July 2020 editorial forThe News Journal, Meyer advocated for sending all teachers and studentsback to school in the fall during thecoronavirus pandemic.[22]
In October 2020, New Castle County purchased the former Sheraton South Hotel at auction with a winning bid of $19.5 million, also using CARES funds.[23] The hotel can house more than 350 residents. The facility officially opened its doors in December 2020.[24]
Meyer was awarded a regional Emmy in the Societal Concerns, Long-Form category at the 2022Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards as an executive producer on the short film "The Pathway Home" which chronicles the origins and first year of The Hope Center, a hotel-turn-homeless shelter New Castle County opened to house the homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic.[25]
Meyer, as a second-term county executive, was limited to serving two consecutive terms in office. In 2020, prior to his entrance into the race, he was characterized as a likely afront-runner for the Democratic Party's nomination forgovernor of Delaware in2024.[26] He officially announced his campaign on June 6, 2023.[27] In the Democratic primary, he facedLieutenant GovernorBethany Hall-Long. During the primary, he led Hall-Long in fundraising.[28] He became the party's nominee after winning the primary on September 10, 2024.
In the general election, he facedRepublican challengerMike Ramone, a former state legislator. Meyer's campaign focused on a progressive platform, with stated goals such asuniversal pre-K,universal free school meals, the cancellation ofmedical debt,police accountability, and a state constitutional amendment enshrining the right toabortion.[29][30] Meyer defeated Ramone, continuing the state's long streak of Democratic governors; no Republican had been elected since 1988.[31]
Following reports thatFacebook parent companyMeta Platforms was considering leaving Delaware to reincorporate elsewhere, Meyer reportedly convened with attorneys whose firms represented Meta, as well asElon Musk andTesla.CNBC reported that these meetings were scheduled in an effort to avoid a "DExit" ofcompanies incorporated in Delaware; some 20% of state revenue derives from corporate franchise fees.[32]
On January 24, 2025, just days into his tenure, Meyer signed an executive order aimed at streamlining the construction of affordable housing.[33]
In May 2017, Meyer issued an executive order forbidding New Castle County law enforcement from stopping, questioning, searching, or arresting an individual because of their immigration status, and forbidding county officials from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement operations, effectively making New Castle County asanctuary county. Speaking on the executive order, Meyer stated, "Our county police, their job is to keep us all safe. Their job is not to execute and implement the immigration laws of the United States. Nor is the job of librarians or other people working for county government."[34]
Meyer is an advocate for thelegalization of marijuana, and wrote an opinion piece in 2022 criticizing GovernorJohn Carney's decision vetoing the bill to legalize marijuana in Delaware and encouraged the state legislature to override Carney's veto.[35]
Meyer supports a$15 an hour minimum wage, and raised the minimum wage for county workers to $15 an hour.[36]
Following GovernorJohn Carney's veto of the legalization ofassisted suicide for patients with a terminal illness, Meyer criticized the veto, and stated that he would push for the bill to be passed again and would sign it into law if he is elected Governor.[37][38]
Meyer faced protests from police unions in 2017 and 2019 due to disagreement over contract negotiations.[39] Meyer responded, "I'm not going to give double or triple the salary increases to senior union leadership over the union membership. That's the line I'm drawing on behalf of the taxpayers of the county."[40] Meyer supports theBlack Lives Matter movement, and spoke of his support for the guilty verdict inthe trial ofDerek Chauvin, a police officerwho murdered an unarmed black man,George Floyd.[41] Following the 2021police killing of 30-year old Lymond Moses, Meyer ordered the release ofbody camera footage of the incident against the request of police unions, saying that New Castle County residents have a "right to transparency". Moses's family supported Meyer's decision.[42]
Meyer lives inWilmington, Delaware with his wife Lauren and their son.[43] He is Jewish.[44]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Matt Meyer | 22,478 | 52.3% | |
| Democratic | Thomas P. Gordon (incumbent) | 20,478 | 47.7% | |
| Total votes | 42,956 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Matt Meyer | 162,595 | 66.59% | +2.69% | |
| Republican | Mark Blake | 81,578 | 33.41% | −2.69% | |
| Write-in | 32 | 0.00% | |||
| Total votes | 492,635 | 100% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Matt Meyer (incumbent) | 43,833 | 56.5% | |
| Democratic | Maggie Jones | 33,735 | 43.5% | |
| Total votes | 77,568 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Matt Meyer (incumbent) | 209,480 | 99.16% | +32.57% | |
| Write-In | Mike Stewart | 1,770 | 0.84% | +0.84% | |
| Total votes | 211,250 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Matt Meyer | 40,518 | 46.98% | |
| Democratic | Bethany Hall-Long | 31,588 | 36.62% | |
| Democratic | Collin O'Mara | 14,142 | 16.40% | |
| Total votes | 86,248 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Matt Meyer | 279,585 | 56.07% | −3.39% | |
| Republican | Mike Ramone | 219,050 | 43.93% | +5.30% | |
| Total votes | 498,635 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Executive ofNew Castle County 2017–2025 | Succeeded by Marcus Henry |
| Preceded by | Governor of Delaware 2025–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byasVice President | Order of precedence of the United States Within Delaware | Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held |
| Succeeded by OtherwiseMike Johnson asSpeaker of the House | ||
| Preceded byas United States Senator | Order of precedence of the United States Outside Delaware | Succeeded byasGovernor of Pennsylvania |
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