New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer becomes first to enter 2024 governor's race

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer announced Tuesday that he will run for governor in 2024, becoming the first candidate to enter the race.

Meyer, who has been county executive since 2016, launched into Delaware politics as a progressive outsider. He primaried and defeated then-three-term incumbent Tom Gordon, an embattled politician who had his hands in New Castle County politics for decades.

Before entering politics, Meyer worked as a school teacher, attorney, entrepreneur and economic development adviser for the U.S. State Department in Iraq. He didn’t have much government experience before leading the state’s largest municipal government, which has an annual budget of about $300 million.

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Many in Delaware have expected Meyer to run for governor in 2024, an election cycle that will usher in a new cast of Democratic leadership in Delaware. He signaled in his announcement that health care, affordable housing and education will be key issues in his campaign, noting the state “needs to move with greater urgency to tackle” these problems.

Over the years, Meyer has been a polarizing figure, including to some members of his own party. He has frequently publicly sparred with the county’s police union, which supported his opponent during his bid for county executive reelection in 2020.

Not long into his tenure, the police union representing the New Castle County Police Department filed a lawsuit against Meyer’s administration. It accused Meyer of diminishing the police chief’s power by giving more authority to the county’s top human resources manager on how police are punished for workplace infractions.

County police officers also publicly blasted the county executive on multiple occasions over compensation. (Meyer had repeatedly said that every officer was offered a raise.) Against the advice of the police chief, Meyer in 2021 released body camera footage of a shooting involving county officers in the death of 30-year-old Lymond Moses. 

It was the first time the county has ever released such a video. Activists hailed Meyer for this decision.

Meyer’s profile increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, as he had a role in getting the county $300 million in federal funding – of which the state then wanted a piece. He was also key in helping Delaware connect with its first testing provider and received national attention for working with scientists to analyze sewage to better understand the spread of the virus in New Castle County.

The county executive recently touted how next year's budget includes a property tax reduction for homeowners, which he said was a first in 50 years.

Meyer’s campaign enters the gubernatorial race with a war chest of just over $1 million, according to campaign finance reports filed in February.

Contact Meredith at [email protected] or at 302-256-2466.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Matt Meyer announces bid for Delaware governor in 2024 election