CJF Calls on Delaware to address its disastrous failures of judicial equity and transparency before being considered as an earlier primary state

Today, following reporting that the Democratic National Committee is considering moving Delaware forward in the Democratic presidential primary calendar – potentially even to first – in 2024 at the urging of Delaware Governor John Carney and other state leaders, Citizens for Judicial Fairness Campaign Manager Chris Coffey released the following statement:

“If the Democratic National Committee designates Delaware as the site of the first Democratic presidential primary election in 2024 and beyond, it will be an utter betrayal of its purported ideals of equity and diverse representation. Delaware and Governor Carney shouldn’t be rewarded for bad behavior – including continuously ignoring the voices of the state’s marginalized communities – with outsize influence over who the Democratic presidential nominee is not just in 2024, but for decades to come.

“While Iowa’s 2020 caucus debacle looms large, moving Delaware to number one in the primary calendar is just as egregious to those of us who have been paying attention to the shenanigans in the state. From a Supreme Court and Chancery Court which have had just one Black justice in their 200+ year histories, to a longstanding practice of giving no-bid contracts to sketchy law firms like Skadden Arps, Delaware has a long history of enriching and empowering wealthy white corporate elites at the expense of everyone else, something which hasn’t changed a lick under Governor Carney.

“Until Delaware makes real strides to increase equity and root out the corruption of the state’s Old Boys’ Club, it should be ‘The First State’ in nickname only, not in determining who becomes our next president.”

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220804005665/en/