Delaware Democrats Avoid Embarrassing Situation in Primary Race

Delaware, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island finished out the primary season on Tuesday. There is only one newsworthy race in the Delaware primary that took place on Tuesday, but it is an interesting one.

Auditor is not a position that gets much attention nationally, but Delaware’s race has managed to do that because the incumbent, Kathy McGuiness, gained the unfortunate distinction of being the first sitting statewide office holder in Delaware to be charged with a crime in October of last year. Then in July of this year, she followed that up by becoming the first sitting statewide office holder in Delaware to be convicted of a crime.

Despite the convictions and calls from fellow Democrats to resign, she has refused to step down or take a leave of absence, causing lawyer and accountant Lydia York to challenge her for the party’s nomination in Tuesday’s primary.

McGuiness was convicted of two misdemeanors: official misconduct and conflicts of interest.

Lydia won the nomination with 69.9% of the vote, with 60% reporting.

According to the state indictment, McGuiness hired her daughter and her daughter’s friend to work in her office while they were high school seniors. She hired them after several employees had to stop working at the office because of a lack of available hours. Despite this, McGuiness’ daughter and her friend were allowed to work the maximum number of hours allowed for seasonal employees. McGuiness has stated that her daughter still works in the position.

McGuiness was also found guilty of a third misdemeanor charge of non-compliance with state procurement rules, after allegedly constructing a contract to keep it as a no-bid contract and then awarding it to a campaign consulting firm that her campaign worked with. However, that charge was thrown out by a judge last month.

The auditor’s office oversees spending by state agencies and school districts in Delaware. The Democratic party in the state officially endorsed York, a rare move, as the party usually backs incumbents.

McGuiness’ sentencing date on the two remaining charges has not been set, and her defense team plans further appeals. She previously called the charges politically motivated.

Had McGuiness won the primary, Delaware Governor John Carney would have been faced with an interesting decision. Carney has indicated that he may move to remove McGuiness from office after her sentencing. Had McGuiness won the primary and then went on to win the general election, she could have been reinstated by voters in January.

After McGuiness’ conviction, York called it a sad day in Delaware politics.

“My honest-to-goodness initial reaction when the verdict came down was that this is a sad day, in Delaware politics as well as Delaware state government,’’ York told WHYY News. “That we’ve got a sitting statewide elected official that’s been convicted of misconduct in their office. It’s just a bad thing.”

Lydia will face Republican Janice Lorrah in the general election in November.